Jesus for the Wounded

Pastor Steve Behlke

April 10, 2011

We've all been hurt by those who mistreat us; we've been taken advantage of and deeply wounded by them. Some more than others. Becoming a Christian doesn't necessarily take the pain away, not in and of itself.

Of our own, even as Christians, we haven't the ability to absorb the damages of sin inflicted by others, we have no natural ability to deal with the soul (psyche) woundings inflicted by others.

Yet we know the One that does.

Since these wounds are so lethal to our souls, Jesus wants us to come to Him with them.

"Come to me with these," He offers, "for you are hurting, angry and afraid; come to me. I will heal you. I will comfort you through this and heal you. If you hold my hand through this and don't let go--which too many do--yet if you let me, I will even grant you forgiveness toward them. 'Cause this other stuff--anger, fear, bitterness, cold-heartedness, resentment--is not love; it's not! So it never works out my righteousness. When you act in fear or anger--hurt--you justify doing all sorts of wicked things in my name. It further escalates sin, heartache, brokenness. I want to liberate you. I want you to be a person who, through trust in me, through submission to my love, is free, whole, at peace, and who treats even those you now fear and seethe over, with compassion, mercy and goodness."

Wounded brothers and sisters, in Christ there is hope, from Christ there is grace to love you through this, grace to affirm your identity in Christ and your value to God in this, grace to lift you and even enable you, through trust, to actually forgive, nea, to actually love those whom you now hate and fear most.

Taking these wounds to Christ, receiving from Him, from deep to deep, clinging to Him in submission to His love, you can begin to be a manor woman who loves even those who have wounded you ever so deeply. There is hope in Christ--and not apart from Him. How exactly we bring our wounds to Him will be discussed in the next post.

It's a long journey. Yet this is what God's love for us in Christ trusted, received and delighted in, can do.