by Allan Miller, Executive Director

“You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north.”
— Deuteronomy 2:3

Sometimes life can feel exactly like that, doesn’t it?

The same struggles. The same reactions. The same questions that never seem to go away.

Maybe you’ve prayed about something for years… yet still feel like you’re walking the same road again and again.

If you’re weary of circling, you’re not alone.

One Healing Hearts study participant named Carol described her life this way:

“I was like the Israelites going around the same mountain, never reaching the promised land.”

Even though Carol was a Christian, she often found herself reacting with anger and falling into patterns she didn’t understand. She wanted to change, but didn’t know how to move forward.

Carol carried deep wounds from her past, including sexual abuse she suffered growing up. For years she wrestled with painful questions about suffering and why God would allow such things.

“I couldn’t understand why God allowed evil and suffering, and for the sexual abuse I suffered growing up.”

Like many people, she searched for relief in different places.

“I tried escaping through shopping, travel, casinos… Those were only temporary pleasures.”

She had gone through counseling before, but something still felt unresolved. Deep down, she knew she needed more than temporary relief—she needed truth that could reach the deeper places of her heart.

Then Carol discovered Healing Hearts Ministries.

Through the Binding Up the Brokenhearted study, she was paired with a Healing Hearts Certified Biblical Counselor who patiently walked with her through God’s Word.

Carol describes the process honestly:

“It went slow and at times seemed repetitive. It was difficult during the busyness of life—but so worth it.”

As Carol continued through the study, God began revealing truths that reshaped her understanding of both suffering and sin.

One realization was especially significant.

“I realized I had been angry with God for allowing me to go through the abuse, but He was right there with me through it all.”

Through Scripture, repentance, and prayer, the Lord began renewing her heart and mind.

“He began the transformation of my heart and the renewing of my mind through this Bible study and my oh so patient Christian counselor.”

Carol also came face-to-face with her own past decisions and found hope in the gospel of God’s grace.

“I thank God for His saving grace… He loves us while we are still sinners.”

Today, Carol describes a completely different place in her walk with the Lord.

“I finally have the peace of God. I’m not striving anymore, but just beginning a relationship with my Savior.”

Instead of feeling trapped in cycles of frustration and shame, she now rests in the joy of God’s presence.

“He is faithful and so, so good! In His presence is fullness of joy, and that’s where I want to stay.”

Carol is deeply grateful for how God used this ministry—and the patient guidance of her counselor—to help her take that step forward.

Her story is not unique.

Every year, hundreds of people just like Carol begin Healing Hearts studies because they feel stuck in patterns they cannot break.

Cycles of anger. Cycles of shame. Cycles of confusion about God and suffering.

Through counselor-guided discipleship studies, participants meet regularly with a Healing Hearts Certified Biblical Counselor who walks with them through Scripture, prayer, and personal application.

As God’s Word is applied patiently and personally, lives begin to change.

How You Can Pray With Us

As people like Carol begin discovering freedom through God’s Word, we invite you to join us in prayer:

🙏 Pray for those who feel trapped in painful cycles, that God would lead them to seek help and that His Word would renew their minds as they walk through studies like Binding Up the Brokenhearted with a Healing Hearts Certified Biblical Counselor.

🧭 Pray that God would guide our counselors with wisdom and discernment as they help participants “turn north”—leaving behind patterns that keep them stuck and moving forward in faith and obedience to Christ.

🌿 Pray for lasting transformation, that those who experience healing would grow stronger in their relationship with Jesus and become instruments of hope for others.

Stories like Carol’s remind us that many people today feel stuck—circling the same mountain again and again, unsure how to move forward.

When the hurting and brokenhearted look for help, they are able to find Healing Hearts because faithful supporters have sent us, encouraged us, prayed for us, and helped cover the operational costs that make this ministry possible.

If you would like to help more people discover the freedom of turning north—leaving behind the cycles that keep them stuck and moving forward in Christ—we invite you to prayerfully consider visiting healinghearts.org/donate to support this gospel-centered discipleship work.

With gratitude,

Allan Miller
Executive Director