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. Only this one thing can complete it.

Sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalms 51:12 NASB

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

The Deep Sickness at the Core of Our Being

What is our deadliest sin-sickness? It is the turning of our innermost life from God to self. In this we followed "our father" the devil who infamously declared his independence (and therefore rebellion) from God with a series of defiant "I wills": "I will ascend... I will sit on the throne... I will sit on the mount..."[1] This deep sickness at the core of our being was inevitable, once sin broke our connection to God. No longer able to behold the Lord with sighted eyes, we lost the ability to carry His True Image within our hearts. Our hearts and minds have been veiled by the god of this world ever since.[2] Into this spiritual vacuum we inevitably began "beholding" ourselves! We became self-focused and self-centered.

The gospel has come to liberate us from our separation from God and restore the true image of our God "in the face of Jesus Christ" so that by beholding Him we can grow ("be transformed") from glory to glory.[3] We are set free to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for Him who died for us.[4]

And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:15

A New Life; A New Choice

Until we are born again, we have no other option but to live with self at the center. Now that Jesus has been revealed, we are given a daily choice: Will we seek and serve Him, or follow our own will into a life apart? The first healing of our spiritual disease, therefore, comes through the revelation of who Jesus is as our Lord and Savior. However, until Jesus becomes the Lord we freely choose to trust and follow each and every day, the healing of our spirit has not gone nearly far enough.

David prayed to be sustained by a “willing spirit” — to fully be recovered from the sin that led him away from God and His ways.[5] That is true spiritual health! Like any other form of health, it cannot be faked: genuine surrender to and submission to the Lord Jesus will always produce His peace. Rebellion to His leadership or straying from His Person always robs us of peace. Having tasted the bitter fruit of going his own way, David yearned to stay yielded to and united to the Lord.

As we gain spiritual health our questions inevitably change from self-centered, self-directed, self-promoting and self-defending to Jesus-seeking: If we still ask, “What do I want to do?” it is only to remind ourselves, "I know, I want to do what Jesus would want me to do!" As we "allow" Jesus to be our Lord, He is able to cleanse us of the spiritual and emotional garbage we carry inside. Then, as our inner life becomes cleansed and healed, we live in ever greater measures of freedom, peace and joy. This in turn becomes a wellspring of health to our bodies. That is truly being healed from the inside out!

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:22

A Spiritual Health Check List

Willingness is the coin of the realm when it comes to experiencing new life in the Spirit, genuine spiritual health and growth, as well as receiving guidance from the Lord. Have you ever seen someone trying to get a resistant dog on a leash to walk obediently in the direction the master wants to go—and at the pace the master desires to set? Some dogs are rebellious; some are easily distracted by cats or other dogs. Such dogs may not be taken out beyond necessity! Then there are other dogs who don’t even need a leash, who go everywhere in tandem with their masters.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you. Don't be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, Who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you. Psalm 32:8-9 WEB

If you would love to be readily and frequently guided, then the issue of living with a surrendered heart and a willing spirit is paramount. When Isaiah saw the Lord, he fully yielded himself to God and became willing for anything (Isaiah 6:1-8). So, let’s review what a surrendered heart is saying to the Lord. Then keep checking your heart to make sure your surrender and willingness stay intact. Let the acronym SAAW remind you to look to Him.

Father, according to Your love and wisdom,

S: Send whatever You desire to send (He is the Giver of blessings).

A: Allow whatever You have to allow (of free will and its consequences).

A: Ask of me whatever You desire or require (of inward and outward obedience).

W: Withhold me from and withhold from me whatever is necessary (to fulfill your plans).

Make me willing to be made willing to surrender everything to You.

Beware: Even a twinge of unwillingness to surrender is a step towards the Great Rebellion. If you see it in you, you have met the enemy! Carry that thought captive to Christ. True spiritual healing is a surrendered heart!

A Prayer of Surrender

Father, according to Your love and wisdom, send whatever You desire to send of Your grace and blessings, allow whatever You have to allow of free will and its consequences, ask of me whatever You desire or require of inward and outward obedience, withhold me from and withhold from me whatever is necessary to fulfill Your plans. Help me to fully trust that You are working in and through all things for my good and Your glory. Make me willing to be made willing to surrender everything to You that I may spend the better part of my days flowing in Your river of peace! May it carry me often into Your presence and always into Your purposes.

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!

Visit our sister site, Healingstreamsusa, where all the lessons are free as PDF, MP3 and MP4 downloads or you can go through them in a well-ordered progression by taking the eCourse.

Endnotes

[1] "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15

[2] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

[3] But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

[4] For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

[5] Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalms 51:12 NASB