Close the Gap

Throughout my adult life, I have battled different issues related to head pressure and aches, mouth pain and discomfort, and ear and jaw pain.

My pastor, Chief Apostle Gunn, taught me that I can not only be healed, but can also pray and ask God to reveal the root of these problems, and for specifics about the situation, even down to which doctor to go to.

So I followed his counsel and asked God to heal my dental issues and lead me to a good doctor for these conditions, and a few years ago, God did. God was so specific that my new dentist’s name was "Dr. Good." She took the time to investigate the issues, go over my health history, conduct tests, advocate with my insurance company, and refer me to specialists.

I found out that the issues I was having with my head, mouth, ears, and jaws were all tied to uncorrected spacing and gaps that left my teeth, gums, bones, and joints misaligned and vulnerable to various conditions. Many of those issues started in childhood and went unaddressed.

Why am I sharing this? It is a visual example to me of what Chief Apostle Gunn taught us, as God revealed it to him, a few weeks ago.

He said what caused Adam and Eve to fall was the increasing gap in their closeness as a couple. There was too much space between them, and it made them an easy target for the enemy. That space resulted from the gap in the closeness they had to God (Genesis 3). Had those gaps been closed, the disease and pain of sin, pride, and rebellion would not have had room to come in.

Chief Apostle Gunn showed us how gaps in our relationship with God and our failure to draw close to him are what cause lust to come in—and we know that lust is designed to entice us and draw us away from God and to all manner of evil.

James 1:14-15: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (Death can represent separation from God.)

He also talked about how the space between us and those who are sincerely seeking the Lord opens the doors for all kinds of temptations and drawbacks.

But what dentistry teaches us is that gaps can be closed.

God wants to be a "Dr. Good" in our lives. If we come to him, he will examine us, listen to us, advocate for us, get to the root of our issues, and fill in those dark spaces.

God also showed Chief Apostle Gunn another great example of why we need to close the gap.

In manufacturing, the company products we use every day fail when gaps go unidentified and unaddressed. That’s why the products have to go through quality assurance. The testing of products to identify gaps in quality and address them is what results in a perfected product.

Chief Apostle Gunn said: God takes the time to see and identify the gaps in our lives. By allowing us to go through tests and trials, he helps us be perfected and close the gaps.

Imagine if God allowed the gaps found in Adam and Eve, their offspring, and the generations that followed to go unaddressed? Where would we be? He loved us so much that he had to send some orthodontics from Heaven—salvation through Jesus Christ, whose testing and sacrifice on the cross was designed to bring us back to closeness with God.

Orthodontics (braces, aligners, retainers) is what my dentist prescribed to help fix the gaps and spaces causing trouble in multiple parts of my body. And that’s why we need Jesus and his Spirit. That’s why we need the written and spoken word of God. That's why we need prayer and time with God: to brace us, align us, retain us, repair us, and close the spiritual gaps in our lives.

The closer we draw to God, the less room we give sin and flesh. And as Chief said the other week, if you remove the sins, you can remove the problems.

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