I had been struggling with health problems for years. I went to many different doctors with no success. After a few recommendations, I started going to a new doctor. He suspected that I had been exposed to mold for a prolonged period of time and ordered blood tests to see if I had mold in my body. Much to my surprise, I did. I quickly started to discover that not all of my symptoms were from chronic Lyme. Yikes! How could that be?
It didn’t make sense, because I didn’t know yet that we had a water drainage problem outside of our house that had made its way inside.
Almost a year later, I walked downstairs to see mold on the wall of our finished basement. I quickly remembered those previous blood tests from a year earlier. I started piecing together the cause of many of my health problems and what my doctor suspected all along. The mold had been there a while but just finally moved out to a place that was visible for me to see.
There was something hidden going on in my home that was hurting me, but I wasn’t aware of it until it was exposed. Since dealing with the mold issue after it was exposed, my body has finally been healing.
This reminds me of what happens when God exposes something in our hearts that needs to be healed or dealt with.
When God desires to heal places in our heart, He often exposes that area to us as if it has a bullseye on it.
Years ago I found myself feeling angry (all the time). I was angry with everyone and everything. I started wondering where all of the anger was coming from, until God finally showed me. He was exposing bitterness that took root in my heart due to not forgiving several different people over the years. It wasn’t until I started recognizing how angry I was, that I finally realized I needed to make forgiving others a much bigger priority in my life.
Holding onto unforgiveness had been hurting me for many years, but I didn’t realize it until God exposed it to me.
Often, we don’t realize the state of our heart until it is exposed to us. This can come from something we start to notice about ourselves or even through others. When we don’t know what is going on, we can feel shame, fear, pain, overwhelmed, anger, grief, and emotions of any kind as a response to what we are seeing.
God doesn’t expose areas of our hearts or lives to shame us but to show us what is there so we can be healed.
It may be overwhelming and scary, and there can most definitely be pain involved. He doesn’t expose anything just for the sake of exposing it, though. He desires healing and restoration in our lives and in the lives of others.
It is so important to deal with what He is showing us, because we have all seen situations where people are exposed publicly for issues they had kept hidden. By the time it is exposed publicly, it is a huge mess that has already hurt many people. This is an extreme example, but I mention it because I believe the Holy Spirit most likely started convicting them privately before it was eventually exposed publicly.
Jesus doesn’t expect us to handle these situations on our own. We can’t independently fix ourselves. He heals us, but we also have a part to play. It takes vulnerability, obedience, and sometimes even being transparent with someone else who can pray with us and hold us accountable when necessary.
It is often beneficial if we find someone trustworthy to talk to or pray with us as we walk through situations like this. It can be a friend, counselor, or someone trustworthy who has a strong walk with the Lord. James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Some of the most difficult heart healing I went through was with a counselor years ago. It was like someone walking along side me as Jesus healed my heart. Was it difficult? Most definitely, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Maybe this has happened to you before or is happening now. If there is an area where you feel exposed and like a bright light is shining on it, take this to Jesus. Ask Him what to do next.
- Is there something you need to surrender to the Lord?
- Is there is someone you need to forgive (including yourself)?
- Do you feel deep pain or anger all the time, but you don’t know why? (Or maybe you know exactly why.)
No matter what is exposed in your heart, the Holy Spirit will guide you through it. Jesus loves you, and you can trust Him to heal you. He has healed my heart, (and continues to heal it) and I know He wants to do the same for you.
