Uncovery: The Power of Community to Heal TraumaChikamu

When Jesus walked the earth, healing was high on His priority list. Blind eyes were opened, deaf ears were unstopped, lame people leapt, and the speechless shouted for joy, just like the prophet Isaiah said they would. More so than itinerate ministry or table flipping, Jesus loved to heal—and He did it just about everywhere He went. But He didn’t always do it in the same way.

Let’s focus on one of His favorite types of healing—blind eyes. A single touch from Jesus was all it took to heal two blind men. This kind of instantaneous healing inspires grateful remembrance and worship song lyrics.

Sometimes healing blind eyes required a muddy mix of dirt and Son-of-Man saliva to make a healing mask. This kind of healing is probably a little messier than most of us would like.

And sometimes it took Jesus spitting straight into your eyes and laying hands on you, like it did for the blind man at Bethsaida. This might come off as a little reckless for some churchgoing folk.

Jesus’s wild variety of healing styles demonstrates that God’s grace doesn’t always look like we think it should and that progressive deliverance is not only a possibility but a promise. Apply this truth to recovery, and you’ll realize it’s high past time to diversify our approach.

Now, I certainly believe God can and does heal addiction, mental health problems, and suicidal thoughts instantaneously and miraculously. Scripture proves it. I’ve seen and personally experienced it. You’d better believe I’m believing for it. But I also believe God values the recovery journey as much if not more than the moment of deliverance. It’s like falling in love—it looks different for every person and every relationship, in every stage.

The Uncovery bores down deep beneath the surface, allowing any underlying issues to be named and dealt with progressively in God’s perfect timing.

Twelve-step meetings, inpatient rehabilitation centers, and self-help practices all have their places in recovery. But the problem is, one-size-fits-all, mass-produced, secret-sauce programming gives far too many people whiplash, bouncing between sobriety and relapse. The Uncovery never assumes what works for one person will work for everyone. Each recovery journey is as unique as the person braving it.