Every believer who walks long enough on this earth discovers a sobering truth: no one escapes life without pain. It may come through betrayal, loss, sickness, disappointment, or rejection, but the reality is the same—we all carry scars. And yet, what we do with those wounds determines whether we limp through life in brokenness or rise up in the abundant life Jesus purchased for us at Calvary.
Too often, instead of facing the hurts honestly, we bury them. We press them down beneath busyness, hide them behind a smile and pretend they’re not there. And before we know it, the walls we’ve built to protect ourselves become a prison.
Jonathan Miller reminds us in his new book Healing Hurts that ignoring wounds doesn’t heal them—it allows them to control us. His point reflects a kingdom principle: God never calls us to denial but to transformation. Healing hurts, but in the end it brings freedom.
The walls of self-protection feel safe, but they are deceiving. Scripture warns us: “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Heb. 12:15). Left unhealed, bitterness doesn’t just wound us—it infects everyone around us.
The abundant life Jesus promised in John 10:10 requires us to tear down these walls. Healing means choosing to let the Holy Spirit expose the wounds we’ve hidden, surrendering them at the cross, and allowing His blood to cleanse not only the sin we’ve committed but also the damage done to us by others. Yes, it’s painful. Yes, it requires vulnerability. But freedom is found on the other side of that surrender.
One of the most powerful truths about healing is that it’s never just about us. When God heals a life, He changes a family line. Patterns of dysfunction—addiction, abuse, fear, poverty—can be broken through Christ’s redemption. Miller points out that the healing process sets not only ourselves free but also shifts the destiny of the generations that follow us.
Think of it: the choice to face our wounds, forgive those who hurt us, and walk in the Spirit doesn’t only rewrite our story; it writes a different chapter for our children and grandchildren. The psalmist declared, “From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children” (Ps. 103:17). God’s healing power transforms families and nations.
When pain defines us, insecurity thrives. We second-guess every relationship, assume rejection is inevitable, and sabotage opportunities God places before us. But when Christ heals us, He restores our identity. No longer are we “the abandoned one,” “the failure,” or “the brokenhearted.” We are sons and daughters of the Most High, seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).
Healing moves us from insecurity to confidence—not self-confidence, but God-confidence. The enemy wants our hurts to paralyze us, but Jesus’ healing power mobilizes us for kingdom destiny. Too often believers separate spiritual healing from emotional or physical healing, but Scripture never does. God’s design is wholeness—spirit, soul, and body aligned under His lordship. Pain fractures that unity. Trauma in the soul can manifest in the body. Sin in the spirit can twist emotions. But the blood of Jesus flows into every broken place.
The enemy wants us stuck in cycles of dysfunction, convinced that our past defines us. But Jesus declared His mission clearly: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). That “life to the full” doesn’t mean absence of pain; it means victory over it.
Living abundantly means allowing Christ to redeem every loss, every heartbreak, every betrayal. It means believing His purpose is greater than our pain. It means stepping into freedom and refusing to be chained by yesterday. It means changing not only our destiny but the destinies of those who come after us.
If you’re reading this today carrying wounds that feel too deep to heal, take courage: the cross is enough. Healing may hurt, but it leads to wholeness. It may require you to revisit places of pain, but it also promises you won’t leave the same.
Jonathan Miller’s Healing Hurts echoes this truth, but the greater testimony is Christ Himself. He bore our griefs, carried our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed (Isa. 53:5). Healing is not optional if we want to live abundantly; it’s essential. When God heals, He doesn’t just heal us—He heals generations.
Friend, it’s time to stop hiding behind walls of fear and bitterness. It’s time to let the Healer touch the deepest places of your life. It’s time to live abundantly, as Jesus intended—healed, whole and free.
Jonathan Miller grew up as a pastor’s kid, witnessing both the joys and struggles of church life. He shares these insights, helping others overcome devastation, abuse and brokenness to experience supernatural transformation and lasting freedom. His new book, Healing Hurts, is available now at amazon.com.
