Healing Insights

Sometimes healing comes as easily as a gently breathed prayer. Sometimes, no matter how vigorously we may be pursuing prayer, doctors and everything else we can think of, the answer seems too long delayed. Simple, easy problems need little explanation or reflection. It is the difficult ones which require us to search deeper into the mystery of heath and healing. May these articles enhance your understanding with fresh insights, but remember: though God is our Healer, He is also our greatest Mystery to penetrate. That may be a dilemma, but it is also, wondrously, our delight.

All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

Lyrics to The Mercy of the Son by Cecilia Tomko

An Overview of Healing

Total Healing  Our God is committed to our total healing. He doesn't want to cleanse us only a little bit from the effects of sin upon us. Whether it was due to our own sins or the sins of the fallen world around us, whether we are broken in body, soul or spirit, God wants us healed!

Body, Soul and Spirit  The three parts of our being aren't separated in water tight containers. Jesus created us with seamless, elegant connections between all three. This has tremendous implications both for recovering health and for maintaining it. [1] In addition, it gives us three quite different, legitimate pathways for receiving healing from the Lord.

Three Paths to Healing  If we don't understand the realities we are dealing with, much heartache or wasted effort can result. Since our God has placed hierarchy and order in creation, we will move most powerfully into His purposes, if we stay attentive to the boundaries He has set.

Free Healing Resources

eCourse for Healing  The 24 Main Healing Lessons or our seminar, Matters of the Heart, will lead you on a journey of understanding your own heart and how to 'keep' it (Proverbs 4:23). You will learn how to recover from past emotional damage and discover the Lord's way for gaining mastery over your emotional state in present situations. These lessons are filled with 'field tested' tools for experiencing greater freedom and joy, plus exercises and prayers to help you "bring your heart to God and receive His heart for you.' Your life in Christ can become a River of Peace!

Main Healing Lessons  These are extended introductions to the 24 Main Healing Lessons of the eCourse, placed here so that you can see what the eCourse includes and get the benefit of many (though not all) of the insights waiting for you to discover. Jesus said that knowing the truth would 'make' us free. Freedom doesn't come just by mental recognition, but by deeply understanding, fully believing in and actively doing the truths needed to liberate our hearts. Get started now.

Illustrated Insights  Since Jesus lauded a childlike entrance into His kingdom on earth, explore these simple images in the same spirit, looking to see if they might lead you 'like a little child' beyond your present horizons of thought (Isaiah 11:6). Follow the links to see a full screen version of the illustration, complete with explanation, scriptures and a prayer for working the truth deeper into your heart.

Life Applications  This is where 'the rubber meets the road' with practical applications of gospel truth to the conditions of daily life. These teachings companion the 24 lessons set forth in Matters of the Heart, our eCourse for spiritual growth and emotional transformation.  

Healing Articles  This is a complete file of teachings organized by categories of interest or felt need, such as depression, self-hatred, fear, etc. These short articles deal with different aspects of emotional and spiritual healing. Many of the topics are also explored in our series Matters of the Heart , our  eCourse for spiritual growth and emotional transformation.

Videos on YouTube  The 24 Main Healing Lessons from our eCourse Matters of the Heart are available for viewing and downloading at youtube, so help yourself! While there take a moment to enjoy some zany stories on the spiritual life, especially Forgiving Cats , and an incredible worship song by our friend Cecilia Tomko, The Mercy of the Son.

Steve's Story   Over half of Rescued from Hell is posted on this site (for free) for two reasons: 1) You have a right to know about the one who is seeking to help you grow in the spiritual life, so that you can better decide if you want to trust me as a teacher and 2) practically everything on the site first came into my life as a truth I needed for the sake of my own growth. There are, therefore, many points where my story carries a testimony that could help you gain insights or inspiration to overcome your own obstacles.

Healing the Body

Physical Healing   When the body breaks down, it rightly cries out for our attention. Displaying a tremendous heart of compassion, Jesus healed everyone brought before Him. He didn't just do it once. He did it on every recorded occasion. This shows us our Father's heart as well: No matter how or why we get sick, God wants us healed! Because Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday, you can count on it that He is just as ready and willing to heal us now as He was then.[2]

Thrive and Be in Health  Do you believe that God wants you to thrive in life and enjoy good health? Then, be very glad, because He says that He does. We will examine this simple passage in detail later, but for now enjoy the beauty of this promise which shows us something wonderful in the heart of God, being spoken to us through Jesus’ “beloved” disciple, John.

Dis-ease and Disease Our modern medical science has brought forth a landslide of evidence that emotional stress (dis-ease) is the culprit causing most, if not all, of our diseases. We don't like either one, but we invest more energy and money in trying to drive out disease than in seeking to live free from stress. Jesus has the answer to both.

33 Biblical Blocks to Healing  It may not be enough just to pursue the right things; some wrongs things may have to be removed. Both healing and deliverance can be blocked from going forward by one or more of the 33 blocks to healing mentioned in scripture. We would be wise to pay attention to what our Great Physician is telling us.

The Bible on Diet and Health   Healing and health are separate, though related issues. When our bodies break down, naturally we want our health back, but isn't there a way to stay in health and avoid physical illnesses in the first place? Indeed, there is—and the Bible has a lot to say about it! What it also has to say about diet may surprise you, but who understands what's healthy to eat better than the One who created both food and bodies?

Healing the Soul (the Heart and Mind)

Emotional Healing  Both Solomon and Jesus declare that the important issues of life flow out from the depths of our hearts.[3] Practically all of us carry stuff from our past which can spill over and influence, even control, the new life that Jesus wants to give us. Emotions that overwhelm us in the present (like fear, anxiety, hurt feelings, anger, depression, etc.) are things God wants to free us from.[4] Go for this glorious liberty!

From Recovery to Mastery  When the peace of Christ enters our heart, it feels so good and liberating that we merrily float above all our old feelings. Eventually, however, we discover that our former host of negative emotions keeps showing up and dragging us down! To stay in Christ's peace we have to first learn how to get recovery over past issues that wounded us; then, we can use these same "tools' to gain mastery over our emotions in the present. This is exactly what the eCourse is designed to help you do with God's help.

Healing our Spirit

Spiritual Healing   Spiritual healing goes deepest of all. Even though the reality of our spirit lies beyond the ability of our five senses to experience, it nevertheless holds the answer to all that affects our lives. Every breakdown in heart, mind or body traces back to this deepest of all roots. God begins our spiritual healing through the gift of faith in Christ. However, before God can bring our spiritual life into genuine health, there is one thing that necessarily depends upon us. He will help us with it, but He cannot do it for us.

Healing Prayers and Scriptures

Prayers for Healing  Seeing what God was doing through Jesus' prayers, His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. There are many effective ways to pray for emotional, physical and spiritual healing. The prayers in this section are primarily for physical healing (though they can be used in all situations); the eCourse is filled with model prayers for all kinds of emotional and spiritual healing.

Scriptures for Healing  The scriptures show us what God has done in the past, explain the mysteries of suffering and restoration to us, and build our faith to believe for what God desires to do in the present - even through our prayers, even in our situation.[5] Since our salvation (which includes healing) comes to us by grace through faith, it is essential that we feed our faith with truths from God's Word.[6].

Free Download

pdf Healing Essentials (43-page eBook)

Interested in Going Deeper?

Consider taking our free eCourse for Healing! We have designed a complete series for personal transformation, 'Matters of the Heart,' to help Christians gain emotional freedom and inner healing. In all there are 24 Main Healing Lessons and 24 Head to Heart Guides to help you bring your heart to God and receive His Great Heart for you in return!