I’ll admit it.    I was tired of 2021 and all the troubles that came with it.  I was ready for a new day, a new page, and a new start.  Come quickly 2022!  

The change of the calendar brought a refreshing turn of page to the internal one inside my spirit.  And as always, people reflect as a new page turns.

Scrolling through Facebook, I noticed an ad placed by Google.  The first few words stopped me cold in my tracks.  I looked deep into my screen.  Yep, I saw that right.  The words were black and white, unmistakable.  I couldn’t believe what I had seen.

“This year more than ever, the world searched how to heal.”

Now the rest of the advertisement didn’t really mean much to me, but that one short phrase sure did.  It grabbed me by the collar and refused to let go.  My attention was on high alert.  My heart and mind were focused.  

Could it be true?  Is a hurting world really turning to the internet to find the answers a hurting heart, soul, or spirit needs?  Is the world really searching the phrase: how to heal?  Is that even something you can Google?  I suppose you can Google anything, right?

But who does really hold the answer to that question?  How do we heal?

It is 2022.  We want healed, and we want healed right now.  We want our physical health healed, our broken lives healed, our broken homes healed, our hearts healed, our emotional wounds healed, and our pasts healed.  

It might be that there has never been a time in history that we need more healing than we do right now.  The odd thing?  We might have brought it on ourselves in a way.  We have told God that we don’t need him anymore, placing our own dreams, desires, ambitions, goals, wants, and needs ahead of him.  We have replaced our dependency on God with our own powerful arm, assuming that, we, in this sophisticated age of science and reason, can fix everything ourselves.   We have taken God out of everything we do and say, and then, at that point, in our moment of brokenness, turn around and Google how to heal.

The thing is, while the world is running in every direction to find healing, we have it right here among us.

Do we want to give God that chance?

Human nature says that it is too easy, possibly too good to be true.  We tell ourselves it must be harder, that we must earn our healing.  That we must clear the wall, climb the mountain, scale the castle tower, and slay the dragon to be worthy of receiving the healing we so desire.  We must spend our last penny to obtain it.  We must travel to the ends of the earth to reach it.  We must find the sage that no soul knows about, the secret of ancient wisdom that has been lost for centuries.  It must be hard, right?

And we google How to heal.

Is it interesting that we are able and ready to do all the things that Google pops before our eyes but aren’t willing to get close to the one who really can heal us?

Someone once said healing is a journey.

Yes.  I’ve prayed for healing.  In the night, when it hurts, I’ve prayed to have the wounds closed shut and stitched tight. Of course there were times when I’ve prayed for physical healing.  But more so, I’ve prayed for the wounds that nobody else can see.  

Am I receiving my healing?  Isn’t healing sometimes a journey?

Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Hebrews 13:5-6 be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Sometimes it does hurt.  But the Lord is right beside me.  Sometimes, when life doesn’t go the way I think it should, I bleed raw and things get messy.  God is still there, though.  He’s right beside me.  Never leaves.  I’ve held my Bible through the night.  I’ve called to him and cried myself to sleep.  I’ve seen some hard things in life, and guess what?  God has had His hand on my heart and shoulder and saw them with me.  One day, I’ll understand.

His mercies are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness.

God is healing me from the inside out.  It’s not a quick fix all the time.  It’s not a conditional, do x, y, and z to be patched up and on your way sort of thing.  My healing comes from the relationship I have with the Lord, and He’s going to see me through.  

So, when I see that the world is Googling “How to heal,” I must share the only thing that is working for me.

“for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” Ex 15:26

Please friend, open up to that Healer today.

Chuck Carr