Do You Want to Be Well? Discernment and Surrender in Healing
Discernment and surrender in healing is for the woman who keeps asking God, “What do I do next?” while also feeling a little scared He might actually answer. Friend, this is for the woman who wants to be whole, not just functional, and wants to learn how to hear God’s invitation, release what is not helping, and take the next obedient step with Him.
In our recent conversation on the podcast, “Do You Want to Be Well? A Biblical Conversation on Obedience, Surrender, and Whole Health,” my friend Desirée and I talked about physical health, spiritual health, obedience, and the tender question Jesus asked in John 5: “Do you want to get well?” Hand to heart, that question will stop you if you let it.
Because most of us would answer quickly. Of course I want to be well. Of course I want peace. Of course I want freedom. But here’s the thing, Jesus is often asking something deeper. Are you willing to follow Me into the healing I am offering, even if it means releasing what has become familiar?
Why Jesus’ Question Still Matters
I remember reading John 5 and almost wanting to answer for the man at the pool of Bethesda. He had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time. Then Jesus asked, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6 CSB).
How many of you have read that and thought, “Lord, isn’t the answer obvious?” But Jesus does not waste words. He was not asking because He lacked information. He was inviting the man to recognize what was happening in his own heart.
Desirée shared how God asked her that same question during a hard health season. Perimenopause had come in like a lion. Her energy was low. Her cochlear implant mapping was being affected. Listening took so much work, and her body felt like it was fighting her. She was asking God what to do, what to eat, what to stop eating, and how to get regulated.
And instead of giving her a neat checklist right away, God asked, “Do you want to be well?”
Can I tell you something? I think many of us want relief, but we have not always asked whether we want true wellness. Relief feels quicker. Wellness often asks for obedience. Relief says, “Take this discomfort away.” Wellness says, “Lord, show me what I have been carrying, consuming, avoiding, excusing, or dragging into this season that You never asked me to keep.”
Discernment and Surrender in Healing Starts With Honesty
Discernment and surrender in healing begins when we get honest with God about where we are stuck. Not polished honesty. Not the kind we use when someone at church asks how we are and we say, “Good,” while our mind is racing and our body is exhausted. I mean the kind of honesty that sits at the kitchen table with a journal, a pen, and a tired heart and says, “Lord, I don’t know what to do.”
I have been there. I have asked God questions about my own health, my rhythms, my spiritual disciplines, my stress, and my tendency to keep pushing even when my body and soul are asking me to pay attention. I know what it feels like to want the answer and fear the answer at the same time.
Discernment is not just trying to make the best decision with the most information. For us as believers, discernment is learning to listen for the Holy Spirit, weigh what we are hearing against Scripture, pay attention to wise counsel, and notice the fruit of what we are choosing.
Desirée said God began showing her that caffeine and sugar were not serving her body in that season. Ladies, let me tell you, I felt that. Coffee can feel like comfort, routine, reward, survival, and personality all wrapped into one warm mug. But for her, it was causing crashes and stealing energy. God was not being cruel. He was being kind.
That is where surrender enters the room. Discernment helps us recognize what God is pointing to. Surrender says, “Yes, Lord, I will trust You with this.”
If this is stirring something in you, you may also want to read about daily surrender for Christian women, because obedience is rarely one huge dramatic moment. Most of the time, it is a daily yes in ordinary places.
What God May Ask You to Release
Here’s the thing about discernment and surrender in healing. God may ask us to release something that other people can still have. That is hard, isn’t it?
Desirée talked about being around people who could eat or drink things she knew were not good for her body. She mentioned how people might say, “It’s only this,” or “It’s just one.” And yes, moderation can be real. But she said something that stayed with me. Sometimes moderation turns into compromise, and compromise becomes a lifestyle.
My friend, that applies to more than food.
It can be the anxious thought we keep rehearsing because it feels productive. It can be the relationship dynamic we keep tolerating because setting a boundary feels uncomfortable. It can be the ministry role we keep carrying because we do not want to disappoint anyone. It can be scrolling, comparing, numbing, overworking, people pleasing, or saying yes when the Holy Spirit is gently saying no.
Discernment and surrender in healing asks a tender question: What is keeping me unwell in this season?
Not everything harmful looks sinful at first glance. Some things are simply no longer assigned to this season. Some things were fine for a past version of your life, but they cannot come with you into what God is building now.
That is why I love the reminder in 2 Peter 1:3: “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (CSB). Desirée shared that she has been praying this truth in the morning, reminding herself that God has given her what she needs to live well and obey Him today.
Not next month. Not when everything feels easy. Today.
If worry has become one of the things you keep carrying, this may be a helpful next step: transform worry through prayer. Sometimes surrender starts with telling God the truth before we try to fix anything.
When Comfort Keeps Us Stuck
Comfort is tricky. It can feel safe even when it is slowly draining us. In John 5, after Jesus healed the man, He later told him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you” (John 5:14 CSB). That is sobering, but it is also loving.
Jesus was not shaming him. He was saying, “Do not go back to what kept you bound.”
How many of us need that reminder? We ask God to free us, then we feel tempted to return to the old pattern because at least we know how it works. The old pattern may be painful, but it is familiar. The new way requires trust.
If you have been sensing that comfort is blocking your growth, I think this article on when comfort blocks growth will meet you right where you are.
Practical Steps When You Hear the Nudge
So what do we actually do with discernment and surrender in healing? I love practical faith. You know that about me. I do not want us to hear a good podcast episode, nod along, and then go back to the same exhausted patterns with no next step.
Here are a few simple places to begin.
Bring the stuck place to God first
Before you make a plan, bring it to the Lord. Ask Him, “Where am I living in survival mode? What am I consuming physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually that is not helping me live whole? What are You inviting me to release?”
Then be still long enough to listen. He may answer through Scripture. He may bring a conversation to mind. He may use a friend, a mentor, a doctor, a counselor, or a repeated nudge you cannot shake.
Write down what you are taking in
I am a huge believer in pen to paper. Write down what you are eating, watching, listening to, thinking about, saying yes to, and worrying over. Not to shame yourself. To see clearly.
Sometimes we cannot discern well because everything is swirling in our heads. Journaling slows the swirl. It helps us notice patterns.
If your prayer life has started feeling like another checklist, you might appreciate prayer journaling for deeper faith. It is such a gentle way to make space for God’s voice.
Ask what belongs in this season
Desirée said something so wise. Sometimes we try to bring things from the last season into the new one, and they do not fit anymore. That can be activities, commitments, habits, relationships, expectations, or even old coping mechanisms.
Ask God, “Has the season changed? What do I need to leave behind? What do I need to carry forward?”
Choose one act of obedience
Please hear me. You do not have to overhaul your whole life by Friday. Choose one clear step. One surrendered yes.
- Make the appointment you have been avoiding.
- Turn off the show that keeps feeding fear.
- Replace the afternoon crash habit with something your body actually needs.
- Tell a trusted friend what you are wrestling with.
- Spend ten minutes in Scripture before reaching for your phone.
- Pray, “Lord, I want to be well. Help me obey You today.”
Small obedience matters. Has provided. Has protected. Has prepared. God uses small surrendered steps to build steadiness in us.
Why You Need Community in the Healing Process
Discernment and surrender in healing was never meant to happen in isolation. Yes, we need the Lord first. Always. But God also gives us people.
Desirée talked about trusted people who offered wisdom, prayer, and confirmation. That matters because when we are tired, we can talk ourselves out of obedience. We can minimize the nudge. We can say, “Maybe it is not that big of a deal.”
A trusted friend can gently say, “I think God is showing you something.” A mentor can remind you that obedience is worth it. A prayer partner can stand with you when cravings, stress, fear, or old patterns rise up.
And ladies, community helps us stop pretending. When we are honest with safe people, shame loses some of its grip. We remember we are not the only ones learning how to live well.
Key Takeaways for Walking Toward Wholeness
If I could sit across from you with coffee, or maybe herbal coffee like Desirée found, I would want you to remember these things about discernment and surrender in healing:
- Jesus asks honest questions because He loves us enough to invite our agreement.
- Being well may require releasing what once felt normal, comforting, or harmless.
- Obedience can feel hard and peaceful at the same time.
- Your flesh may resist while your spirit knows God is leading.
- God gives you what you need for life and godliness today.
- Healing is not just physical or spiritual. Often, God tends to the whole person.
- You do not have to walk this out alone.
Can I tell you something, friend? If God is asking, “Do you want to be well?” it is not condemnation. It is invitation. He is not standing over you with disappointment. He is reaching toward you with mercy.
Maybe your next step is not giving up caffeine or sugar. Maybe it is surrendering anxiety. Maybe it is releasing people pleasing. Maybe it is telling the truth about your exhaustion. Maybe it is finally asking for help. Maybe it is paying attention to what your body has been trying to tell you while your soul whispers, “Something needs to change.”
Whatever it is, I want you to know this. God is not asking you to obey Him so He can take something good from you. He is leading you somewhere fruitful. Somewhere whole. Somewhere freer than survival mode.
So today, ask Him honestly: “Lord, do I want to be well? Show me what You are inviting me into. Give me courage to surrender what is not helping me live whole.”
And when He shows you the next step, take it with Him.
To hear the full conversation with Desirée, listen to Do You Want to Be Well? A Biblical Conversation on Obedience, Surrender, and Whole Health on Perspectives Into Practice. I really believe this episode will encourage you to listen for God’s voice, trust His leading, and put one surrendered perspective into practice today.
