God put me on this journey of rest and healing about a year ago. Little by little, He's been showing me the places of lack and disrepair. Like peeling back the layers of an onion, He's slowly revealed the broken, wounded and ugly places in me.
Healing is painful. God knows that we're not able to do it all at once, and so He chooses to shed His light of truth on one layer at a time until finally He reaches our core - our foundation and the root of the issues that we've been facing. Suddenly, we see why we've been struggling. Suddenly, we see why we've not been able to move forward. Suddenly, we see why we've been stuck in same place, going around the same mountain - sometimes for decades.
This world is not an easy place to navigate. We become tired. We become weary. We get pushed around, banged up and bruised. We become wounded. It's an inevitable part of life. Some things could be avoided if we would listen to God and allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, but some things happen regardless of what we do.
Whether or not the wound is self-inflicted, however, doesn't matter much to the person who's in pain, and honestly, it doesn't matter much to God. He just wants to see you healed. The bible says that God will heal the brokenhearted. He will bind up your wounds and cure all your pains and sorrows. As a matter of fact, it says that Jesus came to do that very thing. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that He took on our punishment so that we could be healed and made whole.
If you desire true healing, it will not be easy. Healing is a process. Sometimes it will bring things to the surface that are painful or difficult to face. Sometimes it will take longer than you desire or will require you to do things that are uncomfortable. There may be times when God will even ask you to confront someone who has hurt you or make amends for something you have done to hurt others. Sometimes He will ask you to let go of something or someone so He can move you into a new season of life. Whatever your journey to healing looks like, you must remember to be led by the Holy Spirit and wholly surrender to what it is that the Lord wants to do in you.
The Surgeon's cuts are sharp and deep, but they are precise. He already knows the places in you that are broken and what caused them to be that way. Most importantly, He knows exactly how to heal them. God will work in you as little or as much as you allow. He will never force you into the process. If you decide to let God begin the healing process in your life, I can assure you that whatever pain or discomfort you may have to face in order to be healed will be well worth the effort when you're finally free from the issues that have prevented you from experiencing the peace and joy that God has to offer. And be assured, God does not do anything half way! The bible says you can be confident that God will continue the work He begins in you, developing it, perfecting it and bringing it to full completion, right up until the day of His return.
What areas of your life need to be healed today? What wounds do you have that need bandaged? How many mountains have you been circling time and time again? Isn't it time to move forward? Isn't it time to be healed? I encourage you today to put yourself in the hands of the Great Physician. Only when you fully surrender yourself to Him will He be able to begin His work in you.
The Next Step:
- Read Psalm 147:3, The Amplified Bible
- Read Isaiah 61:1, The Amplified Bible
- Read Luke 4:16-21, New King James Version
- Read Isaiah 53:5, New Living Translation
- Read Philippians 1:6, The Amplified Bible
Going Deeper:
- Beauty for Ashes by Joyce Meyer
- When Life Hurts: Finding Hope and Healing from the Pain You Carry, Jimmy Evans
- When the Hurt Runs Deep, Kay Arthur
- Prayers for Emotional Wholeness by Stormie Omartian
- Boundaries, Henry Cloud and John Townsend
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