Heal and Proclaim Liberty ­– by Tom Durst

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• Tom Durst

Nov 22, 2015 5808

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

—Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)

Our mission in life should be like that of the Savior.  Throughout the gospels we find Him bringing healing, new hope, and freedom to those who were oppressed and hurting.  We don’t find Him heaping “hellfire and brimstone” on those who were already deeply wounded.  The only people He strongly rebuked were the hypocritical religious leaders of the time who were binding heavy burdens on people.

Everyone that we meet is hurting in some way and often has issues to deal with that we could hardly imagine if we knew the full story.  We are tempted to judge them by their outward appearance.  Over the past 28 years of riding city buses I’ve met people often who were in need of a word of encouragement or someone simply to listen to their story.  As I listen and extend healing in my heart I always feel refreshed in my own spirit, no matter how sad or sordid some of their stories are.  I am refreshed because in order to meet the human need I’m drawing energy from Jesus Christ.  He is a fountain of life that never runs dry.

When we minister to a hurting person we are indeed receiving floods of healing life in our innermost being.  In extending healing to others we are at the same time opening the floodgates of healing to the whole world.  In some mystical way we are all connected and so what blesses one blesses all.

– Tom Durst, Used by permission from the Union with God Devotional Forum