[Verse 1]
We stutter and we stammer til You say us
A symphony of chaos til You play us
Phrases on the pages of unknown
Til You read us into poetry and prose
[Verse 2]
We are kept and we are captive til You free us
Vaguely unimagined til You dream us
Aimlessly unguided til You lead us home
[Pre-Chorus]
By Your voice, we speak
By Your strength, no longer weak
We are no longer weak
[Chorus]
By Your wounds we are healed
By Your wounds we are healed
[Verse 3]
Passed over and passed by until You claim us
Orphaned and abandoned til You name us
Hidden and disclosed til You expose our hearts
[Pre-Chorus]
By Your death we live
It is by Your gift that we might give
That we might give
[Chorus]
By Your wounds we are healed
(Tell me what kind of love is this...)
By Your wounds we are healed
[Bridge]
What kind of love would take Your shame
And spill His blood for You
And save us by His wounds?
[Chorus]
By Your wounds we are healed
(Tell me what kind of love is this...)
By Your wounds we are healed
Healed
Song Meaning
Nichole Nordeman opens "Healed" describing helplessness before naming what changes it — "we stutter and we stammer til You say us, a symphony of chaos til You play us" — treating the singer's own words and identity as unfinished raw material until acted on from outside.
"We are kept and we are captive til You free us, vaguely unimagined til You dream us, aimlessly unguided til You lead us home" repeats the same pattern three times, each line pairing a stuck condition with the specific act that resolves it. "By Your voice, we speak, by Your strength, no longer weak" narrows that pattern down to a simple cause and effect just before the chorus states its plainest claim: "by Your wounds we are healed."
"Passed over and passed by until You claim us, orphaned and abandoned til You name us" extends the same structure toward belonging rather than ability, and "by Your death we live" restates the wound directly as death rather than injury. The bridge's repeated question, "what kind of love would take Your shame and spill His blood for You," never fully answers itself, letting the returning chorus stand in as the only response the song offers.