How Wounds Heal

A few days ago I cut myself shaving.  I haven’t done that in a long time, but it was a brand new razor and I got careless.  My ankle paid for that carelessness!   

A couple of days later, I told Mom about it and one of my sons was with us.  Alex  spoke up.  “You know wounds heal from the inside out so the deeper the wound, the longer it takes to heal.”   

This is also true of other types of wounds.  I’m talking about when our hearts hurt.  Heart aches cut into us so deeply they may actually cause physical pain.  The heart must be healed from the inside.  We have to let God in to heal our hearts and sometimes that is so hard to do! 

 God knows we hurt.  The Father longs to help us and He is never far away.  Consider Psalm 34:17-18 – “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.  The Lord is near to the brokenhearted  and saves the crushed in spirit.”  

 We need God when our hearts are broken, but sometimes we don’t want to acknowledge His greatness – His power – His compassion.  I will admit there were times in my life when I blocked Him out.  I’m not necessarily talking about losing Dad, but other situations at other times.

 Sisters, the longer it takes us to share our pain with God – the longer it takes to turn to Him for help – the longer it will take to heal our aching hearts.  One verse which a a got to verse for me is 1 Peter 5:7 - "casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you."

 Did you realize this is only the last part of a sentence?  I never thought about it until I studied for this devotional.  To read the whole sentence we have to go back to verse 6.  

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” 

Ah, now that’s something isn’t it?  We have to humble ourselves under God’s  mighty hand.  It takes humility to admit we need help when our heart is aching.  That only comes with the realization that we can’t do it on our own. 

It isn’t like turning a light switch on.   There are many things we can do to get through our depression or grief or  betrayal.  Helping others is a great way to start. 

BUT  it all starts on the inside – and works its way out to that point.  Faith gives us the strength we need.  Turning to God in prayer strengthens our faith.  Telling Him we need Him strengthens us. 

Thinking about our Savior ‘s heartache and betrayal  helps us realize God does understand our pain.  This is when we remember how much He cares for us. 

This is when our hearts start to heal – from the inside.

Christ above all things - Robin