Let yourself be healed

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for today: “Selfcare”

Our Bible verse for today: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Let yourself be healed”

A person I was once counseling said to me, “I think I have probably spent most of my adult life trying to get over my childhood.” It wasn’t the first time I had heard that remark. I have heard other people say it as well. I have also read it in books and articles, and I have heard the truth of it talked about by college professors teaching courses in psychology and counseling. I know it by personal experience as well. Parts of my childhood were traumatic and therefore formative in a negative way.

But isn’t that true for all of us? We have all been emotionally wounded and scarred in some way and we all carry those old wounds with us. As we discussed in yesterday’s devotional, life is cumulative and the events of life are formative. All of it has played a role in making us into the person we are today. It’s important for us to know that and to understand how the events of our past have formed us into who we are today.

That kind of reflection and self-awareness is needed and helpful – if we use it in a positive way. We are to learn from our past, adjust to it as necessary, and use it as a bridge to the future. But we are not to live in the past. However, that is precisely what has happened to those who spend years and decades wrestling with events from the past and who, in many cases, have never healed from those wounds and who have never moved on from them.

I have known and do know many people who cling to old wounds and never really let them heal. In some cases, the old wounds have become old friends. The person has revisited it so much, ruminated on it, relived it, and clung to it to the point that they don’t allow themselves to heal from it. In some cases, they treat the old wound almost like a lap puppy that they hold close and cling to and stroke. It is such a familiar part of them that they won’t let go of it. Often they then use the old unhealed wound as an excuse for inappropriate, harmful, or unhelpful behavior.

Jesus wants to heal us from the wounds we continue to carry, but we must let Him heal us. We must be willing to let it go. We need to come to the point where we decide, “I have given this thing more than enough attention and emotional energy, and the wound is as healed as it is ever going to get. Now it’s time to get tough, put on my big girl panties (or big boy pants), suck it up, lock this memory up in a mental drawer, and get on with life. No more excuses!” You must be willing to let yourself be healed.

I encourage you to spend some time with the Lord and ask Him to show you if you are clinging to unhealed wounds that He is ready to heal for you but which you need to fully surrender to Him. Tomorrow we will think about one of the best ways to accomplish this.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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