Surrendering to the Lord for healing is, in and of itself, a process. It’s coming to terms with admitting you need healing, it’s realizing that there will be some tough stuff to relive, walk through, evaluate, and even admit; it’s recognizing that you probably won’t know how healing will come—just that it will.
At first glance, one may raise an eyebrow at the title of this article. Why would one need to surrender to healing? We pray for, ache for, and generally search for healing in so many aspects of our lives. So why would someone resist it when it is offered to them?
Or is it resistance? Perhaps, surrendering to God’s healing has nothing to do with fighting against it so much as coming to the realization and acceptance that we need it. This means coming to a point of humility and admitting our shortcomings or, perhaps worse, our failures.
But then, we may be well aware we need healing. So then, surrendering to God’s healing isn’t something fraught with resistance or stained with denial, but it is shrouded in the doubt that God really can bring healing to a broken life. Or that He will bring healing. Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I know God can heal my life, but I don’t know if He will.”
Whether surrendering to God’s healing has to do with resistance to healing, denial of the need for healing, or doubting the possibility of recovery, it’s good to step back when in need of healing and take a clear photograph of your spirit and heart.
What might stand in the way of our surrendering to God’s healing?
Here are some areas to self-examine and see if any of these may be a part of your surrendering difficulties or process:
1. To heal means to admit your weakness.
There’s a verse in II Corinthians 12 that is often quoted when it comes to recognizing one’s weaknesses. “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” Paul states in the last part of verse ten. The idea is that to gain strength, one is best set by coming to the end of themselves. Only in that weakness can their strength be infused with the might of the Holy Spirit, thus bringing a strength that only comes from God, Himself. But let’s step back a bit to a portion not as often quoted in verse 9. “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.” This is a critical portion of the text when looking at the final part of verse ten and coming to terms with your weakness.
Admitting our weaknesses can make us feel as though we’ve been put into a vulnerable and exposed position. In a way, it’s coming before God for healing with naked souls and our sins, failings, hurts, and brokenness splayed with no disguises. But His answer in this healing process has nothing to do with pointing out the errors of our ways or making sure we are valid in our hurt, or that our brokenness is justified. His answer is straightforward and strong: “My grace is sufficient for you.” His grace is enough.
Enough.
To admit our weakness is to place ourselves into the submissive role of someone who needs to be rescued. And Who better to do this with than the one whose power is made perfect in weakness?
2. Abandoning denial means you embrace the truth.
The truth can be a painful place to go. The whole “the truth will set you free” concept from John 8 may be remarkably true, but it can also mean coming to terms with some frank realities. It may mean you must face the abuses that have broken you. You may need to travel to some dark places to come out the other side into a place of hope.
Denial can be a protective mechanism. If it doesn’t exist, therefore, there is no problem. Or, stated differently, if everything is working, then nothing needs fixing. But are you thriving just because you have duct-taped and paper-clipped your life together in a way you can function? Are you experiencing the strength and power of God’s grace being sufficient for you when pretending to be healthier than you truly are?
Surrendering to healing may mean ripping off some bandages that have dried onto the wounds. The hurts may need to bleed again in order to, this time, be healed properly with as minimal scarring as God will allow.
Can you find the courage to be honest and say, “I need to experience God’s healing in my life”?
3. Surrendering means acting in faith that God will keep His promises.
Nothing can kill a dream faster than the disappearance of hope. So when doubt and trepidation enter the healing process of our brokenness, we can begin to embrace the lies and the insinuations that God may not do what He has said he will do.
However, God has promised to heal the brokenhearted. He has promised to meet our needs. He has promised to be the Savior to a bleeding and busted soul. Coming before God in surrender may mean you go to Him with speculation and concern. It might also mean you come to Him and lay aside your perceived ideas of how He will heal you. In the same way physical healing may not be provided to you in the way you imagine it, your emotional, spiritual, and mental healing may come through avenues and processes you have not considered.
To surrender genuinely does mean to step out in faith, trusting and believing that He is sufficient and can bring healing; not presenting Him with a list of ways you believe He needs to bring that healing and then stepping back to bite your fingernails, doubting He’ll read it.
Can you fully say, “I trust God to do what He has promised without expecting Him to tell me how and without putting a timeline on it?”
Healing is a process. It’s not a simple one, nor is it straightforward and standardized. Plus, let’s be honest. Since when is God predictable in the journeys He takes his people on? Surrendering to the Lord for healing is, in and of itself, a process. It’s coming to terms with admitting you need healing, it’s realizing that there will be some tough stuff to relive, walk through, evaluate, and even admit; it’s recognizing that you probably won’t know how healing will come—just that it will.
In the end, healing isn’t a simple process with an easy answer. Neither is surrendering. You may find yourself surrendering to God’s healing in one moment, and then in the next, you’re taking it all back and building up your defensive walls once again.
So hold on to and grasp that His strength will be made perfect in your weakness. That His grace is sufficient for this journey on which you will embark. And also, know that His healing isn’t a three-step process. His healing will be customized for His relationship with you and for His glory to be seen and shown to the world around you.
Be ready for great things. Healing is miraculous, so hold on tight and proceed with great hope!
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Tom Merton
