When the Lord called me to take on some very difficult restoration projects, it was the best of times and the worst of times. He gave me jobs no one else wanted. They were hard on me and harder on my reputation, and sometimes cost me good friends. But through them I got to know the heart of the Lord better than I ever had through study. The harder the job, the more deeply I grew to know Him and the more fulfilling it was, and I think, the more fruit that came.
We are all restoration projects. This includes having our minds renewed and our behavior changed. It includes growing in the fruit of the Spirit and turning from our carnal nature and burying our “old man,” or old nature. However, I have a problem with what many call “inner healing,” because I think it is nothing more than digging up the old man and trying to get him healed rather than leaving him buried and simply embracing our new nature that is only found in Christ.
However, there is some legitimate “inner healing” or the dealing with strongholds that are so gripping that we need help getting free of them. I understand that and appreciate it, as long as this is done under the anointing and power of the cross. I have grave concerns about those who presume they are wise enough to dig around in other people’s souls and fix them. In those cases I have not witnessed anyone really being set free, but rather falling deeper into the black hole of self-consumption, being overwhelmingly focused with themselves and their problems.
As we see in II Corinthians 3, we are changed by seeing the glory of the Lord, not the darkness of our own hearts. I am wary of those who are problem oriented, or who try to get us to focus on our problems more than the glory of the Lord. That’s my opinion, and I always try to remain open to correction about my opinion, but all of the examples of “healed” people I have been shown from this did not seem very healed to me. There may be some I just have not met. I’m sure I will get plenty of emails from them.
One reason I am so reticent to embrace the “inner healing” methods is that twice I have been knocked off my course because of them. Each one cost me years, by causing me to run from the call of God because I thought I had so many problems, which only led to me feeling inadequate. NEWS FLASH: We are all inadequate for what God calls us to do. It is in that place of inadequacy where the Helper takes over.
Letting feelings of inadequacy determine what you do or not do is a deadly trap and can cost us our calling. When I ran from God’s call to return to ministry because I still felt so inadequate, the anger of the Lord burned against me just as it did against Moses when he did this.
We will never be smart enough, experienced enough, strong enough, or righteous enough to do His work. Therefore, we will always need Him. What Moses did, and what I did, was the unimaginable arrogance of thinking that my inadequacy was greater than God’s adequacy.
When Moses did this, the Lord told him to throw down his staff, which represented his calling. When he did so, it turned into a serpent and chased him until he picked it up again. Is your calling chasing you?
Are you running from your calling because you feel inadequate? Here’s another news flash—it’s not about you or your inadequacy. It’s about His adequacy to use the foolish to confound the wise and the weak to confound the strong. So if you’re foolish or weak, you are a good candidate for being a great man or woman of God. If you think you are adequate, you are a very dangerous person. There is no way we can do the true work of God without dependence on Him, and we will only depend on Him when we know how inadequate we are. Embrace your inadequacies in full dependence upon His grace and power.