Yesterday, I had a conversation with my friend, JD, about the physical pain that he experiences now. He didn’t always have this pain, but it stems from what DID and DIDN’T happen a long time ago…
When he went into the military at age 18, he was six feet tall and weighed only 115 pounds. (Is that even possible???) Yeah, he was scrawny. He was in training with men literally twice his size and was battered and bruised, receiving many broken bones in the process.
That brokenness was never correctly address. The bones were never properly reset. And though things looked pretty normal from the outside and gave the appearance of healing, the true story is on the inside of his body where the consequential pain resides.
As he was telling his story, he was rubbing his throbbing hands and grimacing from the pain. The more he and I talked, the more obvious it was that what he had experienced physically served as such an analogy emotionally.
How many hurts have we experienced in life that were never fully addressed at the time? The bones of the situation were never reset. The damage that was caused isn’t necessarily seen from the outside. We learn to function with the pain. But our broken hearts never fully heal and we are left with the pain that comes from covering it with a bandaid instead of going in for “heart surgery” to correct the problem.
Our pain shows in different ways. Shutting down. Tuning out. Lashing out. Pushing away. Putting up walls. And every one of those symptoms affects our relationships, with God and people.
Thankfully, Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. All of us. If we are willing, He can take what’s broken inside no matter how old the injury, and “reset” it. He can give us healing and new life. A life that’s light is brighter than the shadow of residual pain. It may take some surgery, some digging in and removing the broken piece at it’s core, but the result will be health. And every relationship will benefit because of it.
Today as I head to work, Jesus, help me to recognize that all of us have been hurt. Some of us are still walking around broken. Help me to be gentle with those who still haven’t discovered healing yet. Help me to be patient with those who don’t even know they need healing yet. And help me to always be available to introduce them to the Great Physician who can give them new life…
Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Isaiah 61:1-3 – The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
Psalm 34:18 – The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
