HEALING IS A CHOICE
By Steve Arterburn

I wanted to take a moment and share an excerpt from his powerful book. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr.Arterburn and of hearing him speak. He is truly one of my modern-day heroes.

"I invite you to pull out a Bible and take a moment to let God's Word sink in. Here are some convincing Scriptures that God's way is for us to work with one another and be there for one another--connected--as we seek healing. Look at God's truth:

- Romans 12:5 tells us to depend on each other as one body in Christ
- Romans 12:15 tells us to weep with each other, not to just weep alone
- Romans 15:14 tell us to counsel and teach each other, not to just wait to hear from God
- 1 Corinthians 12:25 tells us to care for each other
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to encourage one another and build each other up...
...
- James 5:16 tells us to tell each other what we have done wrong, not to just tell God--then we can experience healing
- Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear each other's burdens, rather than to just trust God to take care of them

Over and over we see Scripture pushing us back toward each other. Look at all of the healing actions encouraged by God. Look at how God directs us back to one another when we want to hide. It encourages us to deepen our connection with others by love, devotion, confession, honor, encouragement, prayer, hospitality, submission, kindness, forgiveness, service, counsel, acceptance and fellowship. We were born for connection--it sustains us and it heals us. Isolation is the way of the fool. Connection is the way of God."