Healing: the pathway to change

Wouldn’t it be nice if self-awareness equalled change? If we simply had to find out what was broken in us and then course correct?

There is a step or rather a process between awareness and change that is multi-faceted, often difficult and without a one-size fits all.

I’m going to call it healing for the sake of simplicity but it could be called by other names depending on the issue one is addressing: repentance, restoration, to name a few.

Healing might be a good word to use because we are all both a sufferer (impacted by the brokenness of the world) and a sinner (contributing to the brokenness of the world and the brokenness of our own lives).

The good news is that if we are “in Christ” we are also a saint which gives us both the power and the promise of healing— some this side of heaven and ALL when we get there.

If we become self aware but do not pursue healing, we will remain stuck.

The book of James, in chapter 5, talks about this being like a man looking in a mirror and then walking away and forgetting his reflection. This passage goes on to say that we don’t just see ourselves clearly for the sake of seeing but for the sake of living out the Word of God for freedom and joy.

What, then, is healing?

It’s worth first mentioning what healing is not:

Healing is not just trying harder.

Healing is not simply behavior modification.

Healing is not denial.

All of these options might look or feel good or even “work" for a time but they don’t produce lasting change.

Because we “do” who we are.

An apple tree produces apples. A rose bush produces roses.

Only heart healing can uproot weeds that we have simply mowed or address the fire causing smoke in our lives.

We have to be changed at the root, at the core. Healed from the inside out.

So where do we begin? Let’s start with the source of healing. God, himself.

We see God from the beginning of the world as the source of ALL and specifically all that is GOOD.

The world is then broken my mankind.

God continues to be the initiator, restorer and promise keeper. Unveiling over time His plan to redeem all that is broken through sending Jesus.

Jesus shows himself to be the healer that He was promised to be throughout his walk on earth. Healing physical ailments, spiritual oppression and ultimately the broken relationship between God and man.

So, God is our healer, ultimately. But He often uses means to take us through the healing process.

Healing is the process by which we are restored to who we were meant to be.

How does this healing happen?

This will be explored in even more depth in future posts but for now a brief overview.

The main requirement of healing is to have the humility to receive help. I would suggest that a second requirement is the perseverance to not give up when the process is longer and harder and scarier than you expected.

It would be impossible to provide an exhaustive list of the means of healing but I love Henry Cloud’s summary that it is ultimately through grace+truth+time.

We often receive grace and truth through the Word of God and through other people—often a beautiful combination of these two gifts. We need grace and truth because our minds are renewed and we are transformed as grace and truth help us replace lies we are believing and living according to whether conscious or subconscious.

This might look like journeying with a counselor or a spiritual director over a period of time—being pointed to Scriptural truth in the practicalities of day to day experiences and patterns or uncovering lies that began to be believed at different points in the past.

Or this could be through vulnerable friendship where you are able to share honestly and your friend loves you enough to both tell you the truth and empathize with your experience. A key role that a friend can play is to ask good questions and listen well.

The body of Christ (the church) is also crucial to our healing process. Just as our own physical body relies on other parts when part is "broken" so we can rely on others as we heal and can return this gift to others in places that we are gifted and strong. The church also reminds of us grace and truth as we gather together and remind each other of the gospel. Together we are the bride of Christ, being built up and restored together until the culmination of that growth and healing at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19).

Good resources - BOOKS and ARTICLES and PODCASTS - can also serve as incredible tools in helping us see where we are believing lies and replace them with truth. In my next post, I'll share a list of some of my favorites specifically helpful in the transformational healing and change process.

Now let’s be sure to pause on this word TIME. Self awareness takes time. Healing takes time. Change takes time. If it wasn’t painful, we wouldn’t mind that it was slow but in many ways a healing can feel like a death before it gives birth to growth and change.

We have to be convinced that a transformation is possible to make the journey bearable.

More on that next week.

For now, I’d love to hear from YOU.

What questions do you have about your first step to pursue and receive help with a healing process in your life?

I’d encourage you, as an action step to take, to reach out to a trusted friend or counselor to practice sharing vulnerably what you are becoming aware of that needs to change in your life.

Or start with asking your Creator: Where do you want to heal me? Where do I need healing?

Check out the FREE self awareness reflection guide under resources to help you as you consider taking the next step towards healing so that change can be a reality.

In this with you,

Lauren