Recognizing Your Need for Inner Healing

​YOUR NEED FOR INNER HEALING

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

Do you hurt inside? Does it feel like the pain will never leave?

Maybe you are grieving over losses that came at the hands of your chronic illness. Perhaps your doctor or loved ones do not believe you are sick. They may have said or done insensitive things or dismissed your health concerns.

Your inner pain may be related to something outside of your illness. Perhaps you have been betrayed, abused, or neglected. Regardless of the source of your wounds, you know you need to heal. Read on to discover insights into inner pain and inner healing.

THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR PAIN

Your pain matters. You don’t have to compare what you’ve been through or what you feel with anyone else.

You do not need to minimize what you feel. Downplaying your misery will not heal it. Simply be honest about how you feel.

Your pain does not define you. There is so much more to you than the deep struggles you face. You have wonderful traits that make you unique. You have something beautiful to offer others.

THOUGHTS ABOUT INNER HEALING

• God loves you and offers you his comfort. (“…For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” Isaiah 49:13b.) You can think of God as your safe place. If you have difficulty believing He is there for you, think of how you feel when someone you love is hurting – how you long to help or comfort that person. Consider that God loves you more than anyone else can. How much He must want to heal and comfort you
• While healing can be instantaneous, it’s often a process that occurs over time. So, if it has not happened for you yet, don’t despair. As you work through issues, please know you are getting closer to the relief you need.
• There is hope for inner healing, even if it feels impossible. That does not mean it cannot happen, even if you doubt it.
• You have opportunities awaiting you. You may not be able to see it now (In dark times, it is hard to fathom.), but once you have healed, you can help others experience the same type of restoration (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
• Once you have healed, you will be better able to feel positive emotions. When you hurt so deeply, it isn’t easy to feel happy. When you are numb to the pain, you are also numb to positive feelings. You may have hurt so long that you do not know what you are missing. Perhaps you do not remember ever feeling truly happy. Even so, please know that there is joy waiting for you.

A PLACE TO START

• Pray. “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8). You can trust God with anything you feel. If you cannot put your sorrow into words, you can still tell Him you hurt and sit quietly with Him, figuratively showing Him your heart.
• Believe. Believe that God can heal any inner pain – because He can. Reject the idea that you are beyond help, that the pain is too deep, or that it has been there too long. Replace those thoughts with the truth that God is a powerful and healing God. No pain is buried so far that the Lord can’t reach it. No wound is so deep that He cannot heal it. No agony is so vast that God’s compassion cannot alleviate it. No matter how overwhelming the torment, He is there to comfort, heal, and restore you.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…(Isaiah 43:2).

AN INVITATION

No matter how long you’ve been hurting or how deeply your heartaches, there is hope for healing. You have a loving God who can heal you. Consider how you can approach Him and what you can do to open your heart to His restorative hands.

(Watch for an upcoming article entitled Suggestions for Inner Healing that will include practical suggestions you may want to consider using in your healing journey. For today, check out the 13 Verses to Lean Into.)