Changing your internal environment

Realize that if you have or had cancer that you need to make changes. It is not enough to get surgery, chemo, radiation, etc. Current thinking is that you have cancer cells in your body regularly or at least periodically. Your body fights them off and no big deal. If, however, you developed cancer, whatever in your internal environment that allowed the cancer to grow needs to be restructured.

I have already talked about many physical ways to change. Realize that what you think and what you do spiritually may be even more important. Harboring bitterness, unforgiveness, or judgments of others especially of your parents leaves you wide open for disease. Dis ease means you are no longer at ease with yourself. You need to ask why.

So many diseases of the body, mind or spirit start with not forgiving. Withholding forgiveness is like sticking a knife in yourself to hurt someone else.

Forgiving is not just a decision you make, it is a miracle which you start in the moment you make the choice to forgive and it is finished in you by the work of God. Forgiveness is always supernatural. It is not easy or cerebral. It involves constant turning the matter to God. The Bible says "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." When we hold the slightest grudge, it makes our environment unhealthy, inside and out. The best book on this that I have ever seen is "Choosing Forgiveness" by John and Paula Sandford and Lee Bowen. It is available under resources in elijahhouse.org.

Most big hurts come to us from those really close to us. The biggest would be in our formative years especially involving our parents. It is not easy to see the places we have made judgments of our mom and dad, but it is crucial. The process must involve asking God to help and eventually coming to the point of forgiving the other person, yourself and any blame you put on God for letting the hurt happen to you.

It is best to enlist a trusted friend to listen to your confession as you speak forgiveness and ask forgiveness for any judgments you made rightly or wrongly. It is
not your job to judge anyone. When you do you will be judged also . It is a principle.

Start today making your environment more healthy. Choose forgiveness constantly for big and little things and look back to see where you have not done this in the past. Go through the process for every remembered hurt and then pray forgiveness for every unremembered hurt. It is hugely healing.
I promise this will be worthwhile though not easy.