Mark 1:41
The Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing:be cleansed."
Yesterday was a "God" day.
By that, I mean God's directions took me to a place where He knew I needed to go. Sometimes I don't follow so well, so God has to kind of thump me on the noggin to get my attention.
A good friend of mine, who I met through the Rapha program, had been after me to go with him to another treatment center. After coming to Rapha three times, failing to recover, his family had sent him to this particular place in hopes that this one would work for him. It did.
Situations and circumstances had come up each time we were scheduled to go and I was not able to. But last week when he called I felt that God was saying..."You have to go. You've got to take this trip." Little did I know that God was setting me up.
Lot's of good conversation on the way down, as my friend shared his story of how God literally turned him inside out and upside down during his stay in treatment. I could tell that this experience had made this treatment center special to my friend.
Now I'm going to say something and I don't know if it will come across the way I intend it to. Have you ever been somewhere you've never been before, but the moment you get there it just felt like home? That it had a feeling that this was a special
place? That is what happened when we turned off the main road and made our way up a long and winding entrance. I could sense that God was here.
The place was beautiful and the buildings immaculate. Greeted by several of the staff, there were hugs and handshakes all around. As we walked down a long corridor, you could hear music off in the distance. You see this particular treatment center is truly a "Christ-centered" program. Each day is begun with a worship service. Now here is where God has a sense of humor. Back in 1998 when we were looking to start our recovery service, House of Blue, at the Vineyard, God gave me the idea of taking secular songs and rewriting them for our worship service. Not saying I was the first one to ever do this, but I think we may have been the first ones in this area to do such a thing. Anyway, the first song I ever rewrote was "Can't You See" by the Marshall Tucker band. Well, wouldn't you know it,as we walked into the room where their worship service was going on.....the worship team was playing the song I had rewritten. "Can't you See"! To me it was God's way of saying that I was in the right place and this was the right time. What were the odds that they would be playing the first song we ever took back for recovery?
This was a full blown, lay-all-your-junk-down, let-the-Spirit come worship. Men were crying, men were being prayed for. It was out there. What made it even better was that I saw two former Rapha clients and they looked great. Both came over and hugged my neck thanking me for God had done through me in their lives. Needless to say, I took off my shoes and jumped in the worship river. "Come on in boys, the water is fine!" kept running through my mind as the song continued. There were men laying on the floor, face down praying. What I was seeing was something I needed to be reminded of. That the ruling arm of the mental health division of the state of Alabama may think they have the reins on recovery and the way to do it, but God is the healer. '
And God will not be stopped by the mandate of men or government.
There was such a freedom in that room, a freedom that I had not felt in a long time.
God was not an outsider that had been pushed aside by paperwork and regulations, He was front and center at this treatment program. He was the reason it existed. It was His place and those who worked there and served there honored Him. Was it a perfect place? I doubt it. Such an animal does not exist on this side of heaven. But for the first time in a long time, I went away with a renewed hope that God was going to move in the area of recovery in a new and exciting way. I want to be a part of His move when it begins. I want to be swept up in the wave of God's healing and mercy as we reach out to those who are drowning in addiction.
Like I said, it was a good day.
God on you...
mb
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