Healing is A Choice by Stephen Arterburn - Book Review

Healing is a Choice

by Stephen Arterburn

Published by Thomas Nelson

Publisher's Description:

  Do you want to get well?

The power to heal—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—is in God's hands. But the choice to be healed is ours. Everyone, at some level, needs healing. In this book, Stephen Arterburn outlines ten choices crucial to receiving healing and ten lies that can prevent us from making them. Readers will find the wholeness God desires for them in a practical and prayerful way through this book.
Now including the full workbook, this combined release emphasizes the fact that we must choose to let the hurt go and let the healing begin.
The book asks the participant, "Do you want to be healed?" If the answer is yes, then ten choices are provided to make the path toward healing a restorative experience.

About the Author and his Ministry:

New Life Website 
About the Ministry 

My Review:

I was not expecting such a thick book when this one arrived from Thomas Nelson publishers.  My first thought was that it would take months to get through all the material in the book.  However, I have read most of the text and skipped the workbook parts so I feel that I can give a reasonable review. 

The book is by well know author, Stephen Arterburn.  Some other titles of Mr. Arterburn that you might recognize are Every Young Man's Battle, More Jesus, Less Religion:  Moving from rules to relationship, and Every Man's Marriage.  The author has a radio ministry and is a popular speaker. 

The book is subtitled:   10 Decisions That Will Transform Your Life and 10 Lies That Can Prevent You From Making Them


There are ten chapters that correspond to the 10 decisions and lies.  And a final chapter concluding his thoughts on healing wraps everything up.  Each chapter has a workbook that is to be completed after reading the chapter.  Each workbook includes additional reading, prayers, songs, poems, questions to answer and a few exercises.  


On page 186 of the book, the author states, "This book is about healing choices."  This really sums up the purpose of the book.  Reading this book will not heal people of their problems and the author doesn't intend it to.  Reading this book will allow people to see their need for healing and explore why they don't get the help they need.  Once they understand their need, then the book helps them to know what the next step should be.  


Although I am still a broken vessel, God is gently putting me back together.  I am a little ways down the path of healing now, but I can see that if I had read this book in the beginning of my healing journey that it would have been very helpful.  


The author speaks very candidly of his own brokenness in the book.  He shares openly of his divorce and how it has affected his life.  I appreciated his honest approach in getting to the heart of behaviors that seem noble but are really sinful.  


I would recommend this book to anyone starting the journey towards healing.  Anyone could benefit from the information here, but it is clearly written for Christians.  

Thanks to Thomas Nelson publishers for providing this book free of charge in exchange for my honest review.