Why Do We Need Healing?

Who. . . Me?

 

Sharing an article by Ken Unger

To quote the Book of Jeremiah 30:12-13: "This is what the LORD says: 'Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you’.” I’ve come to accept that the “wound” God is referring to is that of a broken heart. Afterall, there is no surgery, therapy or medicine available that can CURE that kind of wound. It’s something only Christ can do, WHEN we see our need to be healed. And, as I’ve mentioned before –
"It would seem that God often allows and creates a need within us, before He willingly fills (Heals) it."

When we’ve been hurt by someone, the emotional wounds we receive will often result in a broken heart. In my own healing journey, I’ve come to recognize and acknowledge just how badly I had been wounded during my lifetime. Fortunately, God brought me to the place where I could no longer deny the pain and infection from my past hurts that had been building up (tearing me down) for so many years. And, not only were those hidden, past, heartfelt wounds affecting me personally, but they were also affecting my relationships with others and the choices in life that I was making.

Prior to beginning my Healing Journey in Christ, I never knew just how blind I was. Not only regarding my own woundedness, but also in regard
to seeing the effects of a broken heart within others. To make my point –
if you never had the measles, than you probably wouldn’t recognize the symptoms in someone who does. But once you’ve had that infection, you can easily spot that sickness in others, because “you’ve been there.” Yes indeed, for a while I was truly blind. Not only did I have “eyes, but could not see” – “ears, but could not hear” – and “a heart that didn’t understand,” there were also many other “symptoms” of my wounds and brokenness.

Following is a list of symptoms that people tend to have when they’re suffering from a broken and wounded heart. And truly, I’m not providing this information to “point the finger” at anyone in particular. But when it came to my own past woundedness, I recall having a number of these symptoms, prior to beginning my Healing Journey in Christ. I found the information while I was researching How Forgiveness affects our ability to Heal. You can find the entire article on Forgiveness, Healing and Transformation at www.annemurchison.com/forgiveness.htm

Here's a direct excerpt from the article written by Anne Murchison:
 

In the table below we see just a few of the poisonous fruit of unforgiveness* [*symptoms of a broken heart - rbd] in no particular order of importance. They are all devastating to our relationships with God and one another.

Bitterness                        Resentment            Unbelief          Impatience

Hopelessness                  Rebellion                 Tension          Passivity

Being Judgmental             Negativism              Self-Pity         Anxiety

Self-Righteousness           Selfishness             Gossip           Racism

Broken Relationships        Rejection                 Criticism        Pride

Chronic Unmet Needs       Addictions               Deception       Rigidity

Punishing Silence             Frustration               Legalism        Adultery

Perfectionism                   Manipulation            Sarcasm        Divorce

Physical Abuse                Verbal Abuse           Isolation         Control

Loneliness                        Backbiting               Whining         Hatred

Some Depression              Some Sickness       Jealousy        Rage

Shallowness in Relationships                            Despair          Blame

Dishonesty with Self, Others & God      Withholding of Love and Affection

Insensitivity to Self, Others & God         Lying to Self, Others & God

These are not endearing qualities nor are they easy to live with in others
or ourselves. Unforgiveness is fertile soil for their propagation and growth. God's Love and Forgiveness are our only hope and remedy for a broken heart, a shattered life and a wicked world.

So when we see all of this “stuff” going on, what are we to do? Well, I’ve personally experienced that each of us needs to come to that place of hearing Jesus ask: “Do YOU want to get well?” You see sometimes it IS about us, and our personal need for Healing through Heartfelt Forgiveness. And sometimes, the first person we need to Forgive. . . is ourselves. You just can’t give to others what you don’t have and possess within yourself.

The following article is part of a monthly newsletter* which is published by Ken Unger. After being introduced by Dan Copan and then talking with him on the phone, I first met Ken when I attended a Transformational Healing Retreat with Dan back in May of 2008. Ken and Dan have been close friends for nearly thirty years now and have been working on Dan’s own Transformational Healing Journey for over twenty years.

In Dan’s own words, “Ken personally showed me a love and concern that
I had not experienced before. I felt he really accepted me and listened to me as I gradually opened up and shared the painful hurts of my past with him. His true friendship simplified the Healing Process for me and made it accessible. Despite my own previous religious mindset and background, Ken helped undo the “religious shoulding process” and helped bring me
to a healing place in Christ through his true unconditional love. Similarly,
I feel that Jesus did the same thing. He abolished religion and established relationships – in Love.”

And wouldn’t you know it. . . it was Dan Copan who brought what he had received and learned, through Ken and others, to me. I get the feeling that just like when you throw a stone in a pond – True Unconditional Love has a ripple effect. Once we receive and experience it, it goes on and on. Yes indeed. . . “Love Never Fails!”

Copan & David

Why Do We Need Healing?

(By Ken Unger)

I once wondered that. The whole healing quest evolved from my journey of leading spiritual growth retreats and finding ways to help my counselees get healthier. When it happened, I felt it was a diversion from my calling to equip the church to make disciples through learning how to love God and one another.

Then I saw the amazing results in churches where I led Transformational Healing Seminars and realized how badly God wanted His people healed. Only healed people could risk the radical love necessary to become true disciple makers. Those churches that embraced this usually doubled in 

a matter of months as the fire of God’s awesome love began to radiate, shine and warm the surrounding community. One pastor told me this seminar changed his whole city!

Only later did I discover how deeply rooted such healing is in the purposes of God. Biblical names reveal a person’s calling and destiny. Jesus name means salvation, for He will “save us from our sins.” Christ’s name shows us how He does that. Christ means Messiah, which in turn means "the Anointed." What was Jesus anointed for? To heal the broken, liberate the bruised, free the captives, bring good news to the poor, the year of Jubilee that releases us from our spiritual debts, and restoration of sight to the blind. (Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18)

I’ve seen all those things happen and more through Transformational Healing. People are sufficiently humbled to ask forgiveness. They’re often adequately convinced of God’s love for them even at their worst depravity that they can freely accept His love without feeling they must deserve it. This frees them from judgmentalism to truly love others, risk rejection, go the second mile and find compassion for the hurting, even those who have wronged them. It liberates them to care about the things God cares about: loving Him above all and their neighbors as themselves. In other words, it transforms them enough that they can now make disciples. And that’s why we're here. Unless we are doing that we will never experience the abundant life He came to give us.

Is healing necessary? Yes. Without it, most people will never be able to truly follow the Spirit.  A better question is what are you waiting for? Find 

a way to bring healing to yourself and your church. It will change your life, your church and maybe even your city like nothing else ever can. It’s why Jesus is the Christ.

*You can receive a free subscription to Ken’s newsletters by emailing him at KenRUnger@aol.com and putting the word “NEWSLETTER” in the email subject line.