The Man MinuteSample

SOUL SURGERY

After two decades of ministry, I’ve learned something about everyone walking the planet: we all have things going on inside us that need to be treated to be healed. In some cases, that healing requires surgery—soul surgery. Here’s what I’ve also learned about soul surgery: it must be done in the light, never in the dark. Here’s the problem, though: those of us who carry around things inside us, things that require soul surgery, have what seems to be an inborn need to keep those things—those problematic spiritual tumors— hidden from view. The reason is simple: we don’t want people to know about the ugly things going on inside us—the struggle with unresolved anger, the habit of viewing pornography, or our battle with materialism. We’re terrified of what others might think of us if they knew. . . . So we keep our sickness in the dark, hidden from view. We believe the lie that we can go on living healthy spiritual lives with these things hidden in the dark. God didn’t create us to work that way. David wrote that his body was wasting away from lack of confession. I’ve seen it myself more times than I’d care to count, and I’ve learned this truth: silence kills the heart. When we keep things in the dark, the enemy finds it easier to lie to us all the more because darkness distorts reality. The reality is that everybody has something going on in their lives. You are not really alone; you’re just choosing to live alone by remaining silent. The truth is, you cannot possibly know how many brothers in Christ there are who have “been there,” who can walk you through your surgery, and who will show you more grace, more hope, and more practical truths than you can imagine. . .if you’ll only let them know your heart.