I got a book from the campus bookstore called "Healing is a choice." It targets emotional healing in particularly. I've needed a book to read in my spare time, and seeing my current circumstances, I picked up this one in the hope that it may shed light on some ways I can further my emotional healing. According to the author (and I agree with him), God wants to heal us, but we have some decisions and actions we must make as well. There is no quick-easy fix for healing those scars that have left us broken and bleeding.
Some people believe that if emotional wounds are left untouched, they'll fade with time. He counters this by saying, "A physical wound must be cleaned and medicated rather than ignored. Emotional and spiritual wounds also need attention. They don't just simply fade away." (viii) He continues, "God built... emotional and spiritual healing ability into must of us. If the ability to heal were not there, loss after loss, piling pain on top of pain, would so overwhelm us that we could not continue. We would lose our minds and not go on."
How do we tap into this healing ability, though? The first step, obviously, is prayer. When searching for healing, most people just stick to praying. The author does not believe that this is enough. In some cases prayer brings about instantaneous healing, but most of the time it does not. Prayers can go unanswered for years. Throughout his book, the author outlines several different ways to pursue true healing. However, some people miss the simple step of prayer because they often are afraid of rejection: "I don't want to pray for healing, because if I don't receive it, then I've been rejected by God." We must remember God's promise that He will give us what we desire as long as it is in accordance with His divine will.
A great danger in pursuing healing is the idea that God wants to heal us instantaneously. "We come to believe that God wants us to be instantly healed, and sometimes we demand it, but that is usually not the case. God rarely provides an instant fix to our problems, because it does little to change our hearts or grow our characters. As a result, we either stay stuck in our difficult lives or finally decide to do things God's way--or we at least come to believe that our own way may not be the best way." (xxiii)
The author stresses one point with abandon: God wants to heal us. He refers back to the passage in John 5 where Jesus approaches a diseased man and asks, "Do you want to get well?" God is asking us the same question: "Do you want to get well?" Do I want to get well? Yes! I do not want to be stuck in this awful misery. I want to taste again the great joy and peace of being in a deep, rich, beautiful communion with God. Jesus said to the diseased man, "Take up your mat and walk." Just as the diseased man had a job to do in order to be healed by Jesus, so we, too, have specific tasks to bring God's marvelous healing into our lives.
As he sums up the introduction, the author says:
Some people believe that if emotional wounds are left untouched, they'll fade with time. He counters this by saying, "A physical wound must be cleaned and medicated rather than ignored. Emotional and spiritual wounds also need attention. They don't just simply fade away." (viii) He continues, "God built... emotional and spiritual healing ability into must of us. If the ability to heal were not there, loss after loss, piling pain on top of pain, would so overwhelm us that we could not continue. We would lose our minds and not go on."
How do we tap into this healing ability, though? The first step, obviously, is prayer. When searching for healing, most people just stick to praying. The author does not believe that this is enough. In some cases prayer brings about instantaneous healing, but most of the time it does not. Prayers can go unanswered for years. Throughout his book, the author outlines several different ways to pursue true healing. However, some people miss the simple step of prayer because they often are afraid of rejection: "I don't want to pray for healing, because if I don't receive it, then I've been rejected by God." We must remember God's promise that He will give us what we desire as long as it is in accordance with His divine will.
A great danger in pursuing healing is the idea that God wants to heal us instantaneously. "We come to believe that God wants us to be instantly healed, and sometimes we demand it, but that is usually not the case. God rarely provides an instant fix to our problems, because it does little to change our hearts or grow our characters. As a result, we either stay stuck in our difficult lives or finally decide to do things God's way--or we at least come to believe that our own way may not be the best way." (xxiii)
The author stresses one point with abandon: God wants to heal us. He refers back to the passage in John 5 where Jesus approaches a diseased man and asks, "Do you want to get well?" God is asking us the same question: "Do you want to get well?" Do I want to get well? Yes! I do not want to be stuck in this awful misery. I want to taste again the great joy and peace of being in a deep, rich, beautiful communion with God. Jesus said to the diseased man, "Take up your mat and walk." Just as the diseased man had a job to do in order to be healed by Jesus, so we, too, have specific tasks to bring God's marvelous healing into our lives.
As he sums up the introduction, the author says:
"Don't be discouraged.
Don't lose hope.
God has not given up on you,
so don't give up on God or His plan.
God has given you favor.
God loves you so much.
He wants the best for you." (xxv)
I have a feeling that I'll love this book or hate it. I'm generally reluctant to explore self-help books, but after the author shared his own story of a heart-wrenching divorce and how he was able to experience healing, I figure that if this man's doing okay then maybe his words can help.
Don't lose hope.
God has not given up on you,
so don't give up on God or His plan.
God has given you favor.
God loves you so much.
He wants the best for you." (xxv)
I have a feeling that I'll love this book or hate it. I'm generally reluctant to explore self-help books, but after the author shared his own story of a heart-wrenching divorce and how he was able to experience healing, I figure that if this man's doing okay then maybe his words can help.
1 comment:
I disagree with him that most people STICK to praying. I think that most people pray once or twice, and then give up. One of the things that is lacking, one among many, but one that this book doesn't seem to advocate is persevering prayer.
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