How to Heal

Imagine a sick person who won’t tell anyone about their symptoms. Without help, getting through their illness would be challenging. Whether they need help from a doctor or just someone checking to see how they’re doing—it’s much easier to heal with the help of others.

Similarly, when we don’t tell anyone about the challenges we’re facing, it can be hard to work through them. Sometimes we do things we know are wrong, but we don’t tell anyone about it simply because we know it’s wrong. This is because we’re all affected by sin—our wrongdoing and brokenness that separate us from God. It can be hard to share our wrongdoings with others, but when we keep our sin to ourselves, we’re like the sick person who won’t ask for help—we suffer in isolation rather than allowing others to help us heal.

James 5:16 tells us to share our wrongdoings with other believers so that we can heal together and pray for one another. When we share our past mistakes with someone, we are released from isolation. And when we pray together, we give God the opportunity to heal our hearts. God is our healer—He saved us from the eternal consequences of sin through His Son Jesus. And because of Jesus, we have access to a relationship with God, and we can bring our requests to Him and trust that He will hear us.

This doesn’t mean God will always answer our prayers in the way we think they should be answered. Instead, when we share our brokenness with Him, He invites us on a journey that will help us grow closer to Him.

If you’re struggling with something today, take some time to share it with a trusted believer. Allow them to pray with you and ask God to guide you as you heal.