Healing Is a Choice By: Stephen Arterburn

“Healing Is A Choice” is a classic Christian self-help book. It was recently republished with some nice new elements to it, and here I am reviewing it. The basic premis of the book is that, healing is indeed a choice, that we can stay mired in our woundedness and fester, or we can choose to heal. This book highlights ten decisions that the author finds critical to make in the healing process, and ten lies that keep us from making those healing choices.

The new revised and updated version of this book incorporates the workbook into the book. I suppose this is handy, in that it keeps them together. However, being somewhat of a bibliophile, I like to keep my books clean and nice. If I really like a book, I like to pass it on to someone who will enjoy it or benefit from it as much as I did, and I like to pass it on in good condition. I also tend to mark up my workbooks, highlight, write in the margins, and journal about things I don't wish to pass along to my friends. So, for me, having the workbook in the text is a drawback.

Finally, I am not sure the book “works”. Maybe, I'm just not in a place to accept what it says. I'm ok with that possibly being the case. I am just not sure that healing is a choice. Sometimes, pain is inevitable, and there isn't much we can do to recover from some things. I think that is the brokenness of life that makes us long for our heavenly home, where we will be completely healed and eternally well in our bodies and souls. This is the healing I long for, that I don't think we often get this side of heaven. I think it is not a choice on our part really. We hold up nothing but empty wounded hands, and God graciously pours out blessings, forgiveness, grace, and healing because of the finished work of Christ on our behalf. I feel a bit ambivalent about the book, but it is well written, and it may be my own woundedness that keeps me from recommending it whole heartedly.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=9780785232438