Medicines and Miracles
Our friend John Crissman blends two strategies when he prays for healing, "Lord, by medicine or miracle, heal our friend." (He works for the Beaumont Hospital system but we believe praying this way is not part of his job description.)
Our pastor, Doug Walker, just finished a message series, "Born to give us life" to bridge Christmas and Lent, from the cradle to the cross.
He introduced that the word translated "life" in the New Testament comes from three Greek words,
- "Bios" - physical, from which we get word biology;
- "Psuche" - mind, emotion, will, origin of word psychology; and,
- "Zoe" - the uncreated, divine life of God, spirit or spiritual.
Bios and Psuche is where we humans primarily dwell and care (obsess?) most about but those are the lesser to the two in God's realm where Zoe is where it's at in both heaven and earth. Nevertheless, when we see the English "life" in the Bible, drilling down to which word was used is helpful. In his series, Doug emphasized that all forms of life come from God and he particularly camped on the Bios and Zoe meanings.
As we focus on cancer and Cindy's AML, that's primarily bios. When we pray regarding her Bios, we bring Zoe to the equation.
Last night I slept fitfully and I awoke to sit in my "prayer recliner" to try to calm down my Bios and Psuche with a strong dose of my Zoe - the Holy Spirit living in me. It took awhile. Ya know how the Lord is always urging us to rest in him, wait on him, abide in him, trust in him? Zoe involves pausing our broken, not quite getting it done Bios and Psuche so Zoe can gracefully, mercifully, calmly put everything into perspective, even when we don't understand what God is doing or how.
My favorite verse for how he works in this is Proverbs 3: 5-9:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; (rather) Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. (NASB)
See how God distinguishes between his way and ours?
"You are in my thoughts and prayers," is an endearing expression we often say to offer comfort. But I've come to believe that a thought is not rooted in God is stuck in Psuche, limited by human capacity, even as that capacity has soared to the seemly unparalleled heights in this exciting time we live.
Cindy and I love our Bios and Psuche lives as much as anyone else. But we love our Zoe life most and we pray for Zoe life to heal whatever is broken in Cindy's Bios.
We echo John's prayer for Cindy and all of us, "Lord, by medicine (Bios) or miracle (Zoe)."
Or how about we "TRUST" God to figure out just the right blend of both?
Comments (9)
Right on Brother!
Amen, Glenn! I was in my prayer closet praying Prov 3:5-8 just yesterday. This morning I read a devotional that speaks similarly, resting in Jesus...as I read I thought of Cindy in the hospital room and prayed the presence of The Lord to flood her room and every place she is - so that there’s a constant peace, trust! He is healing! Here’s the devotional, I pray it blesses you as it did me. I love the Word of God, and the truth His Word brings! The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord. Psalm 97:5 Your Fears and Anxieties Dissipate in God’s Presence No matter where you are, the Lord is with you. Even in the midst of your fears, while you are alone in your room, He is there with you. The moment you begin to be aware of His presence and cultivate His presence, all your fears, anxieties and worries will melt like butter on a hot day, or as the psalmist David puts it, "The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord." You cannot psych yourself out of fear nor can you psych yourself out of worry. You can't just tell yourself, "Come on, stop worrying. There is nothing to worry about." It just doesn't work. The debt will still be staring you in your face and your problems will still be as insurmountable as ever no matter how hard you try to psych yourself up. That is what the world is trying to do, but it does not work. It takes the presence of the Lord to keep you free from worry. Jesus is not asking you to psych yourself up and live in a state of denial. No way! He is saying to you, "In the midst of your affliction, I am your shield. I am your defender. I am your fortress. I am your refuge. I am your supply. I am your healing. I am your provider. I am your peace. I am your joy. I am your wisdom. I am your strength. I am the glory and the lifter of your head!" (Psalm 3:3). Amen! He is not asking you to pretend that the facts are not there. He wants you to realize that HE IS THERE WITH YOU! When you know that He is with you and for you, and you put your problems in His mighty hands, you will begin to get a more accurate evaluation of just how "big" your problems are. When they were in your hands, the weight and burden of your problems may have crushed you. But when you involve Jesus, the once-monumental problems become microscopic against the largeness of His love and goodness toward you! Today, as you consider all that you need to do and the expectations placed on you, see Jesus there with you. He is your supply, wisdom, peace and strength. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Amen, dearest sister in Christ.
Love this message and will add this to our prayer for Cindy. Thanks for sharing!
Perfect. As always, you are both in my heart - my psuche! - and my prayers. Focusing my Zoe on you these days, praying for your remission and cure. One question for Glenn, my extraordinary mentor: If God is love, then is our love, not only for Him, but also for each other, Zoe? Or is it psuche? See, I'm still paying attention. ;)
My quick answer would be "common grace," God's love is so lavish that he "commonly graces/dispenses" it to everyone, whether or not they believe in him, including those who either hate him or deny he exists. All love is gifted from God but you need to know God to access Zoe. Zoe only comes to us via God's revelation because God has barred our intellect from tapping into it. So perhaps love/Psuche is the most common love on earth, from God but limited vs. Zoe?
Thanks, Glenn. I think I get it.
I asked one of my "spiritual mentors about this and heard back: " I think she's asking if God's love is zoe, and thus the love of believers is zoe as well. I guess I would say yes because 1 John 4 tells us we love because He first loved us, but it's difficult to figure how zoe fits into that equation - especially as it compares to psuche....in the end I'm not sure there's a definitive." answer." So that should settle you or anyone else thinking I have a line on the mind of God. I most certainly DO NOT. But I think we can count on God being infinitely merciful and gracious and "in" all the love we have for him and each other.
Yes, he is "In" the love, whether Psuche or Zoe. Thanks - rest well, Glenn!