Devotionals for the Heart: Why we need to take time to be healed

Take Time to Heal
A devotional by Essie Faye Taylor

“A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up.”

—Ecclesiastes 3:3 (NKJV)

As I sat in silence with my eyes closed, I opened my heart and ears to receive from God. I focused on four words mentally. Lord, please heal me.

I waited for the presence of God to wash over me. I calmly inhaled and exhaled as I practiced patience. I eagerly anticipated meeting God in this moment. I made time to stop my busyness and quiet the noise in my world to make space for a God encounter. It was my time to heal. At the feet of Jesus Christ, I knelt to bask in His healing presence.

Ecclesiastes 3:3 is a declaration of a wise man named Solomon. After having lived life as a king, he reflects on his life’s lessons. He emphasizes the importance of the cycles of life. There is a time and season for all things, he assures us. There is a time to kill. In order to birth new things many times, we must experience the death of the old. Dying makes room for life and new things. While we should never kill a human being (Exodus 20:13), we must kill anything that would inhibit God’s purpose in our lives. This includes toxic relationships, unhealthy or destructive patterns, negative or false beliefs, and bad practices in our lives.

Healing has its proper place in the cycles of life. Sometimes we are wounded by the ones we love and honor unintentionally. Sometimes we are the casualties of our life’s battles, or the battles of others. We hurt in different ways. We experience loss and disappointment. We are wounded physically, spiritually, emotionally, or psychologically. We experience some sort of trauma.

It’s easy to ignore the hurt and put on a brave face. It’s easy to refuse to grieve properly and become busy. It’s easy to drown yourself in work or in the care of others. But we must learn how to stop. We must make and take time to heal. As women—mothers and wives—we take on so much. As natural nurturers we are very much concerned with the care of others. So much so, that we sometimes neglect ourselves and our self-care.

If we do not care for ourselves, our body will cry out with warning signs. This may look like body aches, emotional turmoil, forgetfulness, insomnia, crankiness, depression, anxiety, isolation, increased stress levels, etc. Our bodies tell the story. Our bodies are our physical houses—we only get one, so we must care for it intentionally. King Solomon admonishes us that healing is essential to a healthy lifestyle. We can heal in several ways.

I’d like to discuss a few ways that we can heal today:

We heal ourselves with our diet. I’ve learned that food is the fuel that nourishes our bodies. Nutritious foods provide the necessary elements for growth and nourishment to our bodies. Water hydrates us and positively benefits all the systems in our body. Conversely, what we ingest has the power to destroy and break down our body systems. A diet high in sugar, salt, and fat can clog arteries, cause weight gain, and overwork organs. Obesity is a very real disease that causes other physical diseases and can shorten our lifespan. Take time to heal the body with a healthy diet.

We heal ourselves with rest. Rest encompasses sleep and awake time. Sleep plays an intricate role in our healing. During sleep, our bodies and minds reset for the coming day. Our body clocks set again and prepare for the work ahead. Our sleep patterns monitor our hormones and daily functioning. We should sleep for one fourth of our day to power up for the remaining 16 hours. During our time awake, we must also take mental and physical breaks. We can practice silence or Christian meditation. We can also sit and reflect and take time to rest our bodies and minds. Our bodies will thank us.

We heal ourselves with self-care. It matters how we treat ourselves. The first relationship that we have is one with ourselves. It is healing to truly love and accept yourself. We deserve love and to know how much our Maker loves us. We should ask God to help us see ourselves how He sees us. The Bible says we are beautiful and valuable to God (Psalm 139:14). He says that we are good and worthy of love (Genesis 1:31). We should treat ourselves as such. Encourage yourself and care for yourself. Treat yourself to a good life and new experiences. Take the trip. Eat your favorite food sometimes. Get the massage and take yourself on a date. You deserve it. Make time to be still and reflect on God’s goodness. Speak kindly to yourself. Journal and reflect on your wins and celebrate. Process the pain and talk to a licensed therapist. Deal with your trauma and heal your inner child. That is self-care. It is your time to heal.

We can heal our relationships. This includes your relationships with God and others. If you are far from God or angry at Him, reconcile with Him. God loves us more than we can ever know or understand. Express your anger and bitterness toward Him; He already knows how you feel. He’s waiting for you to come to Him and talk about it. He is not intimidated by our feelings. Deal with the relational hurt from family members and/or friends that has plagued you for years. Acknowledge and release the bitterness and resentment from years past. Face the woundedness from experiences of rejection and being misunderstood by people you love. Admit your struggle with misplaced anger and frustration. Mourn that loss and properly grieve instead of ignoring the pain or covering it with busyness. It’s time to stop and make space for your healing, for your health’s sake.

Remember: God has made us stewards over our temples (bodies), time, talent, and treasure. In order to be great stewards, we must prioritize our healing. This means that we must heal our temples through our diet. We must heal our temples with appropriate rest. We must heal our temples with appropriate self-care. And we must heal our relationships with ourselves, God, and others. Healing is a process that requires time and intention. It is your right. You deserve to heal and be healthy.

Let’s Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are the Lord our God who heals us. Help us to understand that healing is essential to our life and it is our right as Your children. Cause us to make time to heal. Help us to quiet the noise and stop our busyness for your purpose of healing in our lives. Cause us to see the signs in our lives that cry out for healing then help us to respond with giving ourselves rest and proper self-care. Help us to heal our relationship with ourselves, with You, and with others. Grant us the grace to take the first step in our healing journey. Teach us how to partner with You so that we may be healed and whole. Thank You for hearing and answering our prayers.

In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection #1: “Healer” by Casting Crowns. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “Healing Has Begun” by Matthew West. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Essie Faye Taylor is a woman of faith. She’s a bilingual author, educator, speaker, psalmist, and interpreter. 

Essie is the author of the “Finding the Love You Deserve” series for women and teens. She is deeply committed to motivating minorities, women, and youth to heal themselves, love and accept themselves, and pursue God while chasing their dreams and carving out their life’s path.

Essie is a Chicago native where she lives today.

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Connect with Essie:
Website: www.essiefayetaylor.com
Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Essie%20Faye%20Taylor/author/B09XF3TC22
Listen to Essie’s music at https://on.soundcloud.com/X6DeoRXra7YoKcC2A.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_essie_faye/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esther.tate.39
Read Essie’s YouVersion Devotion Plan here: http://bible.us/r/Abn