Despite our differences, and thank goodness for them, there’s also an incredible constant within all of us. We all need healing (of our brokenness), we all need hope (especially in the crazy times in which we live) and we all need a place to call home, a place to pull away from “normalcy,” whatever that is, and draw close to God.

And there’s more, another constant we all have is we all tend to try to “fix” life our own way. Give me: “a couple more hours,” “a couple more dollars” or a “couple more whatever” and I’ll be Ok. Umm…sorry, but nope…won’t work. Never has, never will.

What we really need is to get closer to God “Come near to God and he will come near to you” James 4:8.

To know him better…trust him more, walk with him willingly and joyfully, and experience “healing and hope” as only he can give it. To indeed “Give the Lord a chance to show you how good he is. Great blessings belong to those who depend on him!” Psalm 34:8.

And oh, by the way this isn’t optional. We can only run our life, our way, so long before the wheels come off, and then we’re really in deep weeds. He, for sure, is the source of the strength and resiliency that we so desperately look for in everything else, and often in all the wrong places.

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trusted him with all my heart. He helped me,” Psalm 28:7

You can do life without God, on your own, but it eventually won’t go well, and it certainly won’t end well.

So the very simple question is this: What will you do, on a daily and weekly basis, to find God and get closer to him? What will you do to experience his “hope, healing and sense of belonging?”

And I realize there are a lot of traditional practices, all of which are valuable: prayer, fasting, sacraments, etc. But the reality is as you actively, intentionally “draw closer” to God, you can become “holier”, and then you can become more “whole,” experiencing the healing and hope we so desperately desire. So although the “what you do” things are important, what’s really important is drawing close to Jesus in “who you are.” Finding delight in drawing close to God will trump card duty every time.

Trying to choose one without the other (healing and wholeness without drawing close to God), I think has really brought people a great deal of unnecessary pain and heartache. We go through the motions of holiness never realizing what God really desires is to “hangout” with us, not for us to try to impress him. You can’t do that anyway!

This confusion has brought well meaning people to the conclusion that no real change takes place in this life. Thankfully, that’s not true. It’s just that discipline, programs, books, and even church isn’t the formula.

You can’t repent your way out of brokenness. It simply doesn’t work. You see, we repent of our sins (1 John 1:9), but the brokenness must be healed. Furthermore, this isn’t simply about the sweet love of Jesus. You have an enemy, strongholds are real, and life is tough. It is God alone who, “heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

So if you’re looking for some healing of brokenness, past or present, some hope for life or a place to simply find some peace — draw close to Jesus.

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Darrell Wireman is a pastor at The Journey Church, 604 Electric Ave., Lewistown.