Hey. Welcome back. Today's topic is one I believe we ALL have experienced at some time or another or perhaps it is something we are still dealing with the aftermath of. So, I think we all can agree that “wounds” are something we all can relate to.
Wounded is defined as being injured, being inflicted with injury, damaged or marred.
You can’t be part of a church for any length of time (or even alive! Not just part of a church) without having to deal with "emotional" wounds. People have the tendency to hurt each other. It’s part of our fallen nature. But if we aren’t careful, this can be one of the most powerful weapons used by the enemy of our souls….
I have been in church my entire life. My parents got saved when I was a baby, so I have firsthand experience over my life both having been wounded and having witnessed others’ wounds (and even a few times, though unintentionally, I probably have been the cause of a wound to someone else). It is a problem very prevalent among us. In fact, if I would take a vote, there isn’t probably a single one of you who could say they haven’t deal with wounds before. And by wounds, I’m not referring to actual physical wounds...I'm referring to those spiritual, emotional, and mental injuries we can sometimes end up with.
Whoever said, "STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES, BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME," was not being truthful. The fact is that words DO HURT! The Bible tells us in Psalm 52:2 that the tongue deviseth michiefs; like a razor, working deceitfully. Ever had something said to you that just felt like it cut deep into your very soul? Yep! That old weapon of mass destruction (aka the tongue) struck again!
Proverbs 18:21 --Death and life are in the power of the tongue!
Proverbs 21:23--Whoso keepth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
James 3:5--Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a fire it kindleth!
So, yes it's true that words are often the medium by which the majority of these types of wounds occur, but actions of people can also play a role. Ever felt the tension between you and someone else? Without a word having been spoken? Wounds can happen when an injustice takes place or we feel like we have been wronged, when we are slighted and others preferred, when we are simply ignored, or made to feel unwanted.
Zechariah 13:6
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
I realize this passage was referring to Jesus and I don’t want to take it completely out of context, but sometimes, it’s the wounds we received from our friends, those folks that we love and trust, or our family members, seem to be the ones that cut the deepest into our very being.
The majority of trouble found in our churches can be traced back to emotional, spiritual, and mental wounds! We have been conditioned to try to hide our emotional and spiritual wounds and try to deal with them alone and in silence!
But dear friends, I am here to proclaim to you that God wants to heal those emotional wounds! WE don't have to live as a shell of the person we once were because of some injury that has been inflicted upon us. God desires for us to be FREE!! WE don't have to live emotionally and spiritually crippled any longer.
HOW?
Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us:
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We have to be willing to let go of those hurts and reach forward to what's ahead. We can't continue to allow our past hurts to affect our present. We are commanded in our text here to "RUN" --ever seen a cripple try to run? it is either physically impossible or if they CAN limp along, it is beyond physically exhausting due to their limitations. Ever felt that way in your spiritual walk? Like you are just physically worn slap out from all the mental anguish?? All the emotional trauma can literally physically drain you!! The Word tells us to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us." Shuck off all the hinderances! Lay down all the limitations. RUN to your full potential!
In John chapter 5, we find Jesus by the pool of Bethseda, talking to a lame man. He asks the man this vital question, "Wilt thou be made whole?" or in our terms, "Do you want to be healed?" This is the same question He asks us..."Do you want to be healed?" WE must WANT that spiritual and emotional healing if we are ever going to receive it from the LORD. Too many times, we like to nurse our hurts and "baby" our wounds. We sometimes fall prey to that "victim" mentality and we feel like we are within our rights to feel this way, and maybe we have truly been hurt and done wrong by others. I'm not discounting the pain, but just like in the physical sense, we must seek treatment for wounds!
Wounds left unattended and undoctored become infected, sore, and sometimes cause other problems as result. Some physical wounds can be so critical that if left untreated and they become infected that bad, they can end up causing an infection that spreads through the body and can become fatal.
Likewise, in the spiritual realm, it is absolutely paramount that we allow the Holy Ghost to minister to us and treat our emotional wounds as well. Too many people have allowed deep emotional wounds to fester and become infected with the poison of bitterness, resentment, hatred, etc. They refused to get "treatment" for the problem.
The enemy has used those untreated wounds to his advantage and crept in for the kill. Many of our backsliders in our churches never intended to backslide. They truly loved the Lord at one point. But there came a time that they became wounded and they left those wounds untreated. They never allowed that balm of Gilead to be applied by the GREAT PHYSICAN! And as a result, they became a spiritual casualty. Don't allow this to happen to you! God wants to bind up your wounds and send healing to your soul.
Jeremiah 8:22 —Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
God is saying He has the cure! He is the Great Physician! So, why is it that we are still afflicted? Why haven’t we been recovered? We have to reach out for His Healing!
NEVER forget we serve Jehovah--Rapha The God that healeth!
He is able to restore those broken things in your life!
He can change impossible situations.
He can replace hatred with love.
He can turn sorrow into JOY again!!
He can give us hope for the future!
Don't run from God! Run to HIM! LET Him heal those wounds!!
He is the great WOUND specialist!!
Psalm 147:3 - He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
From my heart to yours,
-Tiphanie ♥️
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