Yesterday my daughter was having some stomach pain and she asked me "Which side is your appendix on?" You know, I couldn't remember. I even had my appendix removed at age 5, but I couldn't remember the pain, or even the location of my own scar. I am sure that the surgery had to have been quite an ordeal at the time - surgery on a five year old in the 60's. But now, I can hardly see my scar at all.
The voice again ~ All scars fade over time.
How true! No mater the context - physical, emotional or even spiritual. If we allow the Father's hands to touch our wounds, they do heal and even the scar left behind will fade and affect us less as time goes on. This is God's way. Often however, we want to pick our wounds, keep them fresh, complain and re-live the pain over and over again. That is not God's preferred path. If a wound is clean and cared for it will heal. If the scar is left alone, before long, we hardly even think about the hurt from whence it came.
When we deny this healing, we are denying the work of Christ in our lives. We have been told to "forgive so that we may be forgiven" and our relationship will be right with our God. Christ died"once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous." Only our own pride keeps us from the total healing that He provides.
There is only one set of wounds that will never heal .
These precious scars remain so that our deepest hurts and fears can, if we allow, heal and fade away.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Hidden Treasures
Have you ever hidden something for safe keeping? From time to time I have been know to put things away in a safe place and say to myself, "I will remember where this is. It is too important to forget." But it never fails that when I need the item again, I can't remember where it is! I may spend days or weeks to searching before find the cherished item again.
And in the whisper I heard ~ Be careful about what you hide. You may just be hiding it from yourself.
The theme continued in my reading this morning:
"The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
The sun rises and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening."
Psalm 104 19-23
Isn't it amazing how our Lord ever so naturally protects us from things of the darkness. They prowl around in the dark of night for their prey - while we are sleeping - safe at home in our beds. And when we wake, they hide away again. It occurred to me - Is there anything good that needs to be hidden? Adam and Eve only hid when they became aware of their sin. In God's own creation, snakes, spiders and creepy things are not running around in the bright of day. They hide in the crevices and dark places. So it is with our lives. If there is something that we are hiding, it probably is not good.
Sometimes we hide the things that hurt. Sometimes we hide ways that we have hurt others. Sometimes it's not anything really bad - feelings of contempt, resentment, anger. We tuck it away in a secret place hidden from everyone - even ourselves.
In truth, what good does that do us? What good for the kingdom? It might gather dust or spiderwebs until it is hard to recognize, or like mice and insects, it could even multiply, infecting more and more of our lives. Out of sight; out of mind we like to say. Not true at all I'm afraid.
On the other hand, if we take time to pull it out and allow our Lord to clean it up - it can be used! Most of the time, it can be a real treasure when used for the good of someone else. That horrible, hidden, hurtful thing is usually more of an 'ugly duckling'. It can even have amazing healing powers once it is placed in the hands of the Father. However, it will be changed. You might not even recognize it once He has perfected it - probably because it is no longer yours - it's His and has become beautiful, precious and good!
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
And in the whisper I heard ~ Be careful about what you hide. You may just be hiding it from yourself.
The theme continued in my reading this morning:
"The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
The sun rises and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.
Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening."
Psalm 104 19-23
Isn't it amazing how our Lord ever so naturally protects us from things of the darkness. They prowl around in the dark of night for their prey - while we are sleeping - safe at home in our beds. And when we wake, they hide away again. It occurred to me - Is there anything good that needs to be hidden? Adam and Eve only hid when they became aware of their sin. In God's own creation, snakes, spiders and creepy things are not running around in the bright of day. They hide in the crevices and dark places. So it is with our lives. If there is something that we are hiding, it probably is not good.
Sometimes we hide the things that hurt. Sometimes we hide ways that we have hurt others. Sometimes it's not anything really bad - feelings of contempt, resentment, anger. We tuck it away in a secret place hidden from everyone - even ourselves.
In truth, what good does that do us? What good for the kingdom? It might gather dust or spiderwebs until it is hard to recognize, or like mice and insects, it could even multiply, infecting more and more of our lives. Out of sight; out of mind we like to say. Not true at all I'm afraid.
On the other hand, if we take time to pull it out and allow our Lord to clean it up - it can be used! Most of the time, it can be a real treasure when used for the good of someone else. That horrible, hidden, hurtful thing is usually more of an 'ugly duckling'. It can even have amazing healing powers once it is placed in the hands of the Father. However, it will be changed. You might not even recognize it once He has perfected it - probably because it is no longer yours - it's His and has become beautiful, precious and good!
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
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