Cuts, scrapes, gashes…. even just a bump…
All wounds I’ve ever had have 1 very simple attribute in common: they hurt.
Another trait they have is that they heal.
The characteristic that changes from wound to wound is the time and process needed to get from the hurt to the healing.
So far, any lesson I’ve learned about the physical world also relates to my spiritual life.
People do not need physical weapons to wound our spirit.
Words hurt. Actions injure.
Jesus told us it would happen:
These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. John 15
As a rather nasty scrape on my thumb caused constant pain for multiple days, my mind wrapped around a few truths:
~wounds happen, with varying degrees of trauma
~wounds need cleaning, often another painful experience, in order for full healing to occur
~many need covering, a time of protection from further irritation
~most need air, a time of drying and allowing new skin to grow and become as tough as the skin previously removed
~all wounds have different time-tables in which they begin showing signs of healing
~terrible wounds leave scars, an evidence of the trauma and a witness to the body’s capacity to heal
My thumb is much better now, with new skin evidently growing, but sometimes my spirit is wounded and no one can even see it! Perhaps you’ve had such a blow?
Let us ponder these thoughts:
~wounds happen, with varying degrees of trauma
>>therefore the world hateth you… Sometimes even those you think should not. Even Christians still have a sin-nature to deal with.
~wounds need cleaning in order for full healing to occur
>>Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51 … we must make sure our own life is right before God and we have not brought difficulty on our own heads through foolishness. Only when our spirit is right with our God, removing any root of bitterness, can healing begin.
>>Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4
>>Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled… Hebrews 12
~many need covering, a time of protection from further irritation
>> he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Matthew 14 … so many examples of Jesus getting away, taking his disciples to a place apart, to refresh with prayer and fasting. Sometimes, our healing cannot come without a time of intense aloneness with God, even periods of fasting.
~most need air, a time of drying and allowing new skin to grow and become as tough as the skin previously removed
>>…but the people that do know their God shall be strong... Daniel 11 … we can regain a strength, only in the Lord. When He IS our strength, nothing can shake us
>>Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity. 1 Corinthians 16 … being brave in the face of pain is difficult, but our faith can sustain… and we can be brave with kindness.
>>Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6
~all wounds have different time-tables in which they begin showing signs of healing
>>I’ve written about people growing differently. We also heal differently. From the outside, a circumstance may not seem hurtful; but we cannot judge a person’s whole life from a single circumstance. A solitary word can wound a heart deeply, more deeply than we might imagine.
~terrible wounds leave scars, an evidence of the trauma and a witness to the body’s capacity to heal
The human body’s ability to heal is truly miraculous! Through experience I know that my spirit and emotions have the same ability.
But just as we need the aid of cleansing water, bandages, stitches, surgery or casts to aid with physical wounds, we need God’s Word, prayer, fasting, even times of solitude to aid in healing our spiritual wounds.
Have you ever been wounded invisibly? Did you find these thoughts helpful? God is so good to give us principles in His Word that can apply to ALL areas of our life… from a scraped thumb to a pierced spirit.
May we each seek God in our journey towards spiritual and emotional healing.
All wounds I’ve ever had have 1 very simple attribute in common: they hurt.
Another trait they have is that they heal.
The characteristic that changes from wound to wound is the time and process needed to get from the hurt to the healing.
So far, any lesson I’ve learned about the physical world also relates to my spiritual life.
People do not need physical weapons to would our spirit.
Words hurt. Actions injure.
Jesus told us it would happen:
These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. John 15
As a rather nasty scrape on my thumb caused constant pain for multiple days, my mind wrapped around a few truths:
~wounds happen, with varying degrees of trauma
~wounds need cleaning, often another painful experience, in order for full healing to occur
~many need covering, a time of protection from further irritation
~most need air, a time of drying and allowing new skin to grow and become as tough as the skin previously removed
~all wounds have different time-tables in which they begin showing signs of healing
~terrible wounds leave scars, an evidence of the trauma and a witness to the body’s capacity to heal
My thumb is much better now, with new skin evidently growing, but sometimes my spirit is wounded and no one can even see it! Perhaps you’ve had such a blow?
Remember these thoughts:
~wounds happen, with varying degrees of trauma
>>therefore the world hateth you… Sometimes even those you think should not. Even Christians still have a sin-nature to deal with.
~wounds need cleaning in order for full healing to occur
>>Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51 … we must make sure our own life is right before God and we have not brought difficulty on our own heads through foolishness. Only when our spirit is right with our God, removing any root of bitterness, can healing begin.
>>Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4
>>Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled… Hebrews 12
~many need covering, a time of protection from further irritation
>> he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Matthew 14 … so many examples of Jesus getting away, taking his disciples to a place apart, to refresh with prayer and fasting. Sometimes, our healing cannot come without a time of intense aloneness with God, even periods of fasting.
~most need air, a time of drying and allowing new skin to grow and become as tough as the skin previously removed
>>…but the people that do know their God shall be strong… Daniel 11 … we can regain a strength, only in the Lord. When He IS our strength, nothing can shake us
>>Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity. 1 Corinthians 16 … being brave in the face of pain is difficult, but our faith can sustain… and we can be brave with kindness.
>>Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6
~all wounds have different time-tables in which they begin showing signs of healing
>>I’ve written about people growing differently. We also heal differently. From the outside, a circumstance may not seem hurtful; but we cannot judge a person’s whole life from a single circumstance. A solitary word can wound a heart deeply, more deeply than we might imagine.
~terrible wounds leave scars, an evidence of the trauma and a witness to the body’s capacity to heal
The human body’s ability to heal is truly miraculous! Through experience I know that my spirit and emotions have the same ability.
But just as we need the aid of cleansing water, bandages, stitches, surgery or casts to aid with physical wounds, we need God’s Word, prayer, fasting, even times of solitude to aid in healing our spiritual wounds.
Have you ever been wounded invisibly? Did you find these thoughts helpful? God is so good to give us principles in His Word that can apply to ALL areas of our life… from a scraped thumb to a pierced spirit.
May we each seek God in our journey towards spiritual and emotional healing.
