The Bald Goat

I stabbed my hand recently in a freak home construction accident. I was holding a sawzall in my left hand while pulling down a board with my right hand and when the board came loose my right hand came down on the tip of the blade.  It was a pretty good cut! I had to go to the ER and get some stitches.

I realized something about wounds that day: different kinds of wounds require different kinds of treatment and different ways to heal and recover. This deep puncture wound required stitches and I could not put medicine on it. now in recovery I have to stretch and work the mobility of the joint. If it had just been a cut I could have just used a bandage and neosporin. Some wounds will leave scar tissue that will never go away. And on and on the possibilities go.

This realization got me to thinking about emotional and spiritual wounds. They also don’t all heal the same or require the same treatment. Child abuse, unemployment, depression, addiction (even this has different categories), rape, marital unfaithfulness, catastrophe, death, moving, the list goes on and on. The maladies we suffer from spiritually and emotionally span a wide range and can compound with each other. It just makes sense that we should expect the treatment and healing process to be different.

But I don’t know that we act that way.

We wouldn’t expect a person who has a broken leg to put a band aid on it and go running. We would expect bone setting, a cast, restriction of movement, and physical therapy. This is a long process! It takes time and a process of healing because it is a serious injury. We shouldn’t expect someone who loses their spouse to have the same recovery time as someone who loses their job. 

I believe God can and will heal all wounds.

As I encounter others with wounds deeper than my understanding I pray for God to open my eyes and heart to the process he is using for their unique struggles. Let me be patient and faithful as Christ to others as their process may be long and filled with ups and downs. I also pray that, if God chooses to use me as an instrument in the healing process for others, that I be a willing instrument. 

I pray that as I experience wounds in my life I will trust God’s timing and methods to heal my wounds. Patience and trust with the Great Physician who loves me and cares for me. Faith as I seek the healing that I hope for in the methods I cannot see.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. ~ John 16:33