If you hang around our family for very long you will probably hear us throw out the term “inner healing” or “healing of the heart” or “heart restoration.” They may sound silly or even super-spiritual to you, but in reality they are very simple phrases that have become a part of our family’s every-day vernacular.
All of us are born broken, thanks to that moment of weakness in the Garden of Eden. Eve, with the help of the serpent’s subtle suggestions, felt like God was holding out on her. Let me show you:
Genesis 3: 1-5 (emphasis mine) Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Notice the underlined parts above:
First the serpent questions if God really said something. That places a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind.
Second, Eve adds to what God said - not to touch the fruit - but He never said that.
Lastly, the serpent basically says, “God doesn’t want you eating this because you’ll become like Him.”
This last statement really shakes Eve up. It causes her to doubt God’s heart for her. So, instead of going to Him and asking Him about it, she responds by eating the fruit. And the rest is history.
So, as I said earlier, we are all born broken. As life progresses, we pick up unhealthy habits many different ways: how we were raised, situations we were/are thrown in, trauma that may happen to us, etc. We then live our lives based off of the unhealthy filters we’ve picked up. Everything we do or say goes through those filters.
This means we all need to have our filters cleaned up a bit. Every person has those unhealthy filters. We need to receive healing for the things that have happened to us as well as learn new ways - create new filters - to live our lives and interact with God and people.
Is this even scriptural?
Some of you may be saying, “Well show me where it is in the Bible and I’ll do it.” You’ll not find the words “inner healing” in the Bible anywhere. But what you will find are many scriptures on being sanctified.
Sanctification can be defined as, “the state of proper functioning.” So we can say this: A pen is sanctified when it is used for writing. Eyeglasses are sanctified when they are used to improve sight. In the theological sense, then, a person is sanctified when they are living according to God’s design and purpose (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology). 2 Thessalonians 2:13 English Standard Version 13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
So how do I get “inner healing?”
First let me emphasize that you can’t heal yourself - only Holy Spirit can do that. But, we can participate with sanctification through being in relationship with one another and confessing our weaknesses to one another that we might be healed. Putting ourselves in situations where we can say, ‘Okay - Holy Spirit, sanctify me - come and make me who I really should be so I can do what I really should do.”
Ask Holy Spirit to reveal the things that are unhealthy in you. Maybe talk with a spouse or close friend to ask for their observations as well.
Talk through those unhealthy things with a pastor or counselor - getting to the root of why you do what you do or say what you say or act the way you act. This can be weekly or bi-weekly for a season or as needed.
From those sessions, your counselor can give you tools to help you navigate through things yourself as you have issues pop up or conflict arise, so that you can process it from a healthier place. The goal isn’t to be dependent on your pastor or counselor to solve everything, but for them to teach you how to approach a lot of it by yourself.
Make sure you are involved in a community that comes alongside you, to help celebrate your journey to healing, be a sounding board for when you have questions, as well as provide the “iron” to help sharpen you and draw out those things that aren’t healthy inside of you so you can deal with them. Community is key to being the healthiest you - we cannot do life alone.
1 Timothy 4:7-9 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
I’ve been on this journey now for 10 years and my life has totally changed because of it. I thought I would lose “me” in the process of walking out healing, but instead, I find that I’m still me - just a much healthier version. Even now I continue to work through things that pop up that could become unhealthy habits and if it’s too much for me to deal with alone, I set up a session with a trusted pastor or counselor to talk through it.
The path to wholeness and healing is a journey, not a destination. You don’t arrive until you reach heaven. So while we are here, we continue to learn, to grow and to heal. This series called "well-check" is meant to hand you tools to help you with two things: 1. See that you have areas of your heart/mind/soul that need to be healed from wounds, critical thinking, lies you're believing, etc. and 2. Stir up a hunger inside of you to reach out for guidance/help from Holy Spirit and people in your life who are walking close to God, who can help you navigate through the healing process.
I'd love to hear your thoughts along the way. You can either comment on this post or hit me up with the contact form at the bottom of the home page. See you next time!