Over the years as a surgical nurse I helped create wounds in my patients in order to remove disease or fix a problem with the body’s mechanics and then we close the wound carefully to allow for healing. An open and or unattended wound cannot heal but instead will become infected and as the infection grows the surrounding healthy tissue will also be affected. The Surgeon in this situation has to make an existing wound even larger to remove the diseased part and cleanse it thoroughly to allow the body to heal properly. All wounds come from an injury but aren’t limited to a cut in the skin. A wound can be superficial or deep, emotional, physical or spiritual.
Lisa Terkeurst said, “Right now in the middle of the pain you didn’t cause- the change you didn’t want, or the reality you didn’t know was coming…your life can still be beautiful.”
There are wounds that have been inflicted upon us and God knows about those. The abuse you have endured, the betrayal of a friend, the losses you have incurred and every bump and bruise you have had along life’s journey are known to Him. He also knows about the wounds you have caused: that careless word, the lies and juicy gossip heard, the selfishness that hurt another. He knows it all. The diagnosis is the same – SIN. Sin causes injury, separation, pain, decay and death.
Another fact about wounds is they leave scars. I have a large scar that runs half way around my body from chest surgery that I had – twice. There weren’t any “scopes” available then to help make the scar smaller. Our scars remind us that we once were wounded but have been healed and mine is a part of a much larger story of God’s guidance, protection, provision and healing.
Kintsugi is a centuries-old Japanese art of repairing broken pottery and transforming it into a new work of art with gold, the traditional metal used in Kintsugi. The name of the technique is derived from the words “Kin” (golden) and “tsugi” (joinery), which translate to mean “golden repair.”. The scars and cracks of the broken ceramic become the focus and turn the object into something unique and exquisite.
In Hebrew the word el Rapha , means to make healthful. Jehovah el Rapha means The Lord Who Heals. Like the Kintsugi pottery – God wants all of the pieces of our lives- our wounds and brokenness – our joys and good times too. He will cleanse us and make us whole and beautiful both inside and out with new purpose.
He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. Isaiah 53:3-6 (NLT)
At this Lenten season especially we look toward the cross and all He accomplished for us. Our healing begins on the inside when we ask for forgiveness and offer Him all of our heart, soul and mind. Come as you are – He offers freedom from sin and guilt, peace in uncertain times and a calm assurance that we are never alone. Let Him make something beautiful of your life.
know got thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish. Vomited by the fish – Jonah was given a second chance. He did go and give God’s message of repentance to the city and they responded. What preacher gets angry when people do what he tells them to do? Jonah did! Sadly, the story ends with God questioning Jonah because he had received great mercy and compassion but his heart for others that were different had not changed.
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