CHRIST’S MESSAGE

And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

Philippians 1:12-14 NLT

Not that long ago, in November 2022, I read the above Scripture, fully identifying with Paul as he wrote those words while in prison. Living in fellowship with the suffering Christ was like being in a kind of prison. I faced many hardships and had for many years and yet I was able to keep sharing Christ’s message of love. Today, in July 2024, I look back on the piece of writing below and realize how much healthier I’ve grown to be. Everyone has been telling me that. And how very grateful I am!

I asked a Christian doctor friend why it was that I was doing so much better. What happened? He told me that it was God, blessing me for the work I’d been doing for him. How wonderful it is to have God’s blessings in my life today!

I can see now how the hurtful things in my past helped prepare me to play a part in God’s work I would otherwise not have had.  God has always led me to write. The more I suffered, the more I wrote. Today I find that the more grateful I am for what God has done for me, the more I keep on writing in service to him.

There are still so many things to share about finding healing in Christ’s unconditional love. So many ways in which to help understanding grow in the hearts of those who would like to be supportive to people with mental health challenges. I’m glad that God has given me so many good things to do.

In 2022, I wrote:

This morning I was reading from Philippians, the letter Paul wrote while in  prison. And I thought to myself, I too live in a kind of prison. I can’t live a normal life of freedom like others. More and more I have to cancel out of activities. Often I can’t manage the simplest chores. I can identify a bit with Paul. I know what it is to have my writings read, hopefully spreading God’s word afar.

Yes, I can write. And when I write, God’s messages pour from my pen with ease. The words aren’t my own, but God’s. In the writing I feel his love—for me and for others. I find a wholeness within myself not available elsewhere.

As I write, I pray especially for those many who, like me, experience suffering. I pray that they will realize that Jesus cares about them and that his healing hand is always reaching to them in love. All they have to do is to accept what he has to offer.

I pray that my words will find a home in my readers’ hearts and in the hearts of all those who need to know Jesus better.

marja