Healing Inside
Isa 53:5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Wounds are the result of violence against a living being. An injury, a hurt, an abrasion, a gash … they’re all wounds. Sometimes, the body is hurt, and sometimes, the heart. The pain, the agony, the discomfort; it’s a constant reminder that, yes, it’s still there. We may cover it up in layers of bandage, but when something hits the spot, we know it was still there. There are some of us out here with deep wounds of many kinds that we carry around every day; wounds in our hearts, souls, and spirits; wounds that we have learned to live with.
A few months back, there was a time that I became lazy about clipping my toe nails. I’d painted them so, to me, they looked nice. However, when I wore sports shoes, they hurt me. I was going to the gym (almost) regularly then, so I was wearing those almost every day. Day after day, I kept my, by now long-ish, toe nails; so much so that even when I was not wearing the shoes, the nails bit into the flesh of adjacent toes. Yet, I kept them.
Then, one night as I sat down to pray, I heard His very patient voice tell me – “Cut your nails!”
I obeyed.
As I sat cutting them, I felt better in the toes that were being constantly being cut into for several days.
The LORD spoke again, “When you know there is a problem, why do you continue to live with it?”
I had no answer, so I just nodded my head in agreement.
It’s a lesson that I heard once, but have had to really discipline myself to learn and implement, and am still getting disciplined.
Often, we make comfort zones around wounds. These comfort zones are areas of acceptance and compromise. We tell ourselves, ‘this is how it’s going to be’, ‘that’s how the world runs’, ‘I know I have to live with it’, ‘I am willing to live with it’, and so on. Once the comfort zone of such lies is created, we dwell in that nest. The situation becomes so normal for us, that we do not consider it a problem anymore. It has been accepted as part of our existence.
A small wound that may have been dealt with soon, begins to fester, spreading its poison to our feelings, thinking, and thereon choices and decisions. We never realize how feelings and thoughts became words and actions. We become so blind to its impact on us that we sometimes, do not even stop to consider their impact on others around us. And if that’s not enough, there’s self-pity to deal with. Many of us do not realize that self-pity leads to feelings of worthlessness, of being useless, of being used by other people, and further down the spiral the person goes. Generally, stewing something softens it; However, stewing oneself in self-pity or (even the cause of the wound) hardens us within.
It is difficult to break this pattern when it has been set. We would not consider the wound a problem, because it is now covered in so many layers that knowing the actual wound seems impossible. Many people do not know why they react or behave in a certain manner in certain situations. I don’t know why I am tongue-tied when facing some people who intimidate me for no apparent reason.
The healing of this wound would take time, and a lot of loving kindness. But how does a wound that is barely recognizable, even though it is so real, get healed?
A few nights back, as I sat down in prayer, the Lord spoke of wounds.
I saw an open wound. He said, “The healing of a wound requires regeneration.”
I saw the cells inside the would regenerate to join up together, and so the wound closed. He said, “Have you ever seen skin closing up over an open wound?”
I still saw the cells regenerating, and I said, “No.”
“That’s because the wound must heal up inside, then outside.” He explained to me.
Then He gave me to understand – Regeneration means growth. In physical wounds, we see the healing process. In wounds that are of the heart, soul, or the spirit, we cannot see the wounds, but know their presence. Yes, a regeneration is required there as well, before we see the wound healed.
Another word for growth is maturity. A wound hidden in the heart, soul, or spirit, calls for growth and maturity before the healing process can begin. In other words, when the healing process has begun, the heart or the soul or the spirit will have matured. The heart will have learned to forgive and bless. The soul will have given up its thirst for knowing and given in to the faith in knowing that God knows. The spirit would have broken free of its binding to be one with the Holy Spirit of God Almighty. Then, yes, the healing has begun.
Just as in a physical wound, help is provided through prayers and medicines and much care, the hidden wounds also require such. Prayers helps and strengthens. The word of God is food and medicine. His Holy Spirit ministers His love and care constantly. And so, Jesus Christ, the great and very patient Physician heals all wounds.
Thank God for Jesus, who bore wounds that heal my wounds. When I know that He has borne all for me, I know that I am healed.
[written: 10/27/2010]
Wounds are the result of violence against a living being. An injury, a hurt, an abrasion, a gash … they’re all wounds. Sometimes, the body is hurt, and sometimes, the heart. The pain, the agony, the discomfort; it’s a constant reminder that, yes, it’s still there. We may cover it up in layers of bandage, but when something hits the spot, we know it was still there. There are some of us out here with deep wounds of many kinds that we carry around every day; wounds in our hearts, souls, and spirits; wounds that we have learned to live with.
A few months back, there was a time that I became lazy about clipping my toe nails. I’d painted them so, to me, they looked nice. However, when I wore sports shoes, they hurt me. I was going to the gym (almost) regularly then, so I was wearing those almost every day. Day after day, I kept my, by now long-ish, toe nails; so much so that even when I was not wearing the shoes, the nails bit into the flesh of adjacent toes. Yet, I kept them.
Then, one night as I sat down to pray, I heard His very patient voice tell me – “Cut your nails!”
I obeyed.
As I sat cutting them, I felt better in the toes that were being constantly being cut into for several days.
The LORD spoke again, “When you know there is a problem, why do you continue to live with it?”
I had no answer, so I just nodded my head in agreement.
It’s a lesson that I heard once, but have had to really discipline myself to learn and implement, and am still getting disciplined.
Often, we make comfort zones around wounds. These comfort zones are areas of acceptance and compromise. We tell ourselves, ‘this is how it’s going to be’, ‘that’s how the world runs’, ‘I know I have to live with it’, ‘I am willing to live with it’, and so on. Once the comfort zone of such lies is created, we dwell in that nest. The situation becomes so normal for us, that we do not consider it a problem anymore. It has been accepted as part of our existence.
A small wound that may have been dealt with soon, begins to fester, spreading its poison to our feelings, thinking, and thereon choices and decisions. We never realize how feelings and thoughts became words and actions. We become so blind to its impact on us that we sometimes, do not even stop to consider their impact on others around us. And if that’s not enough, there’s self-pity to deal with. Many of us do not realize that self-pity leads to feelings of worthlessness, of being useless, of being used by other people, and further down the spiral the person goes. Generally, stewing something softens it; However, stewing oneself in self-pity or (even the cause of the wound) hardens us within.
It is difficult to break this pattern when it has been set. We would not consider the wound a problem, because it is now covered in so many layers that knowing the actual wound seems impossible. Many people do not know why they react or behave in a certain manner in certain situations. I don’t know why I am tongue-tied when facing some people who intimidate me for no apparent reason.
The healing of this wound would take time, and a lot of loving kindness. But how does a wound that is barely recognizable, even though it is so real, get healed?
A few nights back, as I sat down in prayer, the Lord spoke of wounds.
I saw an open wound. He said, “The healing of a wound requires regeneration.”
I saw the cells inside the would regenerate to join up together, and so the wound closed. He said, “Have you ever seen skin closing up over an open wound?”
I still saw the cells regenerating, and I said, “No.”
“That’s because the wound must heal up inside, then outside.” He explained to me.
Then He gave me to understand – Regeneration means growth. In physical wounds, we see the healing process. In wounds that are of the heart, soul, or the spirit, we cannot see the wounds, but know their presence. Yes, a regeneration is required there as well, before we see the wound healed.
Another word for growth is maturity. A wound hidden in the heart, soul, or spirit, calls for growth and maturity before the healing process can begin. In other words, when the healing process has begun, the heart or the soul or the spirit will have matured. The heart will have learned to forgive and bless. The soul will have given up its thirst for knowing and given in to the faith in knowing that God knows. The spirit would have broken free of its binding to be one with the Holy Spirit of God Almighty. Then, yes, the healing has begun.
Just as in a physical wound, help is provided through prayers and medicines and much care, the hidden wounds also require such. Prayers helps and strengthens. The word of God is food and medicine. His Holy Spirit ministers His love and care constantly. And so, Jesus Christ, the great and very patient Physician heals all wounds.
Thank God for Jesus, who bore wounds that heal my wounds. When I know that He has borne all for me, I know that I am healed.
[written: 10/27/2010]
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