“WHY NO TOTAL HEALING?”
I am getting to teach an online class for the university where I am an adjunct. The first assignment is simply to introduce yourself. I figure that this is one small way of personalizing a format that can be very impersonal.
One of the things that I mentioned about myself is that I am an addict, and while I have many years of sobriety, I still go to meetings, have a sponsor, and sponsor others. I am this frank when I am teaching a class in the flesh, so why not online?
A student of mine responded to this aspect of my introduction by telling me that he appreciated my honesty. He had a struggle with alcohol addiction some twenty years ago, but Christ had taken away even the desire to drink. Did I still struggle with desires?
Here is how I responded.
“I am glad for those whom Christ has set free even from the desires to do things that harm and enslave them, and cause them to hurt others. I think that such things do indeed occur, and I am always delighted to hear of them.
However, that is not my story. I still have desires that, if left unchecked, would destroy me. And, of course, I would hurt others in the process of going down.
I don’t know why I am not one of the “delivered from evil desires” crowd. I wish that I were. Maybe I don’t have enough faith in God. That’s certainly possible.
On the other hand, I sometimes wonder if Christ has left me with some left-over desires in order to keep me from becoming puffed up with pride, or unsympathetic to other sinners. I simply do not know. However, what I do know is that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I am trying to live under his Lordship every day.
We should always be glad for those who don’t even desire evil. We should pray that we too will be delivered from such desires. However, even if we are not delivered from them until we see Jesus face-to-face, we are still responsible for not yielding to those desires. And we are responsible for doing whatever works to assist us in obedience. For me, that means still attending 12-step meetings, checking in with my sponsor, and actually practicing the 12 steps.”
So, dear reader, if you have been delivered from even the desire to do evil, rejoice and be glad for such deliverance!
But if you’re still in the daily process of allowing God to help you to deny your evil desires, rejoice and be glad for such deliverance! Slow-motion miracles are just as miraculous as immediate miracles. They’re just slower.
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