There is nothing we can experience in life but that we can be assured that we can be healed from it. There is no wound too great that God cannot restore. Our greatest wounds are experienced at a soul level and God is able to make even these whole again.The life of Mary Magdalene gives us a glimpse into the healing power available to us. The scriptures tell us she came to Jesus with seven demons. The number seven gives us an idea of the complete or perfect darkness that she was struggling with. As Jesus lived in complete light, so Mary had come to the point where she lived in complete darkness. The Spirit had led her to a place where she could receive help and healing from Christ.
We don’t know what Jesus said or did to exorcise the demons from her, what we do know is that the darkness that had filled her was now filled with light and that she followed Jesus from then on—sitting at his feet, assisting in his ministry, anointing him for his burial, the last at the tomb, the first to see Jesus.
Her story gives us hope today because Mary represents the struggle we all have with life. Her case was extreme and yet her redemption and restoration was complete. She represents each one of us and the love that was showered upon her by Christ is the same love that he showers on us. As her wounds were completely healed and she became the Apostle to the Apostles, so we can be healed and do the work of the Divine.
It was the Spirit that drew Mary to seek help and healing. It is the Spirit that also draws us to seek healing for our wounded hearts and souls. When Mary came into the presence of Christ a sense of hope and the desire to be whole filled her. The Spirit “woke her up” to the greater reality that was waiting for her. When she chose to receive healing from Christ and believed that it was possible, it was given to her.
Part of the healing process involves our participation. We must open our hearts, minds, and souls to God and invite the Spirit into our lives to heal us. If we stay closed off and hold a skeptical, critical, unbelieving view of God, we will not receive the healing that we are seeking. The reason is simple. God respects our free choice and will not move in our lives uninvited.
Jesus’ words were repeated numerous times after healing people, “Your faith has made you whole.” Our faith reflects our free will choice to invite God into our lives to heal and restore us. Without it, the Spirit cannot do its healing work.
Often times we are not looking for true heart healing but for the removal of some physical ailment from our lives. If we pray to be cured from a disease and the disease continues, we believe that God has failed us. In reality, the disease may be there to serve a greater purpose in our lives.
Our greatest need for healing is at a soul level, because it is at a soul level that we are all sick. The restoration and healing of our soul is the most important healing work to be done in our lives. When that is accomplished we can truly set about to do the work we are here to do. As the Spirit wakes us up to a greater reality we begin to long for true healing in order that we might better serve others.
When we receive healing from the Spirit and learn to live our lives under the direction of the Spirit, then we begin to experience true freedom. We are free from the demands of our ego, our past wounds, and the desire to try and impress and please others. We can then do the work of Christ in the world.
If we allow them, our life experiences, the darkness that we struggle with, will all help to teach us to seek Christ for the healing we need in our lives. They serve as teachers to lead us to the light. They wake us up to the greater reality that waits for us.
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