“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion —
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor”
(Isaiah 61:1-3).
What this scripture is saying to us today is that God cares about where you are hurting. Jesus quoted this passage from the prophet Isaiah to describe his mission. He came to bind up the brokenhearted. He is here to release captives from emotional prisons. He is here to let people know that the favor of God rests on them. He came to comfort those who are mourning a loss and experiencing grief — whether you are mourning the loss of a person, your health, a marriage, lost finances or any number of things. He has come to restore you to a place of wholeness and place a crown of beauty on you. The places where our lives are in ashes, he has come to bring the healing oil of gladness. Where there is mourning, he has come to place on us a garment of praise. Where there is despair and hopelessness, he has come to make us as strong as an oak tree which he has planted. And his ultimate purpose is that we might be displayed as trophies of his grace and goodness. He has a plan in mind to bring about our restoration, healing and wholeness. This is the desire and heart of God for us.
What this means is that there is hope for those of us who have areas of brokenness in our lives — which is all of us, if we are honest. It means that God cares about those wounds and wants to heal us. It means that his Holy Spirit has the power to make us whole. And we all have inner wounds that were brought about by the battle of life that we have been in. All of us have been wounded in some place and to some extent. It is part of living in a fallen world where good and evil exist coterminously. It is not possible to grow up in a fallen world without accumulating some wounds, and we need to understand that God cares about our woundedness.
What are we to think about this and how are we to respond? Three factors come into play that bring us hope and offer us healing. The first is: God meets us in our brokenness. Ofttimes people distance themselves when someone is having serious problems, but God draws near. He wants to meet us at the place of our woundedness. Woundedness is not weakness. God sees our need and responds to it without condemnation. The Bible says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). God is concerned without condemning. And he offers to heal our brokenness if we allow him to go there; if we invite him into the place where we were wounded.
Most of the time we try to keep those wounded places within us private and hidden. They become a burdensome secret — a place that no one is allowed to see. Healing comes when we let Christ take us by the hand and walk with us back in time to revisit the frightening and hurtful event that has wounded us. Perhaps in your life there are several. The choice is to keep it all locked up like a giant tomb inside of us, or we allow Christ to unlock the door to the tomb, open it and stand by us as we see the ugliness of what is inside that tomb. Together we look at what we have been trying to hide and not look at for so long. He walks into the tomb and empties it.
It does not have to be something as horrible as sexual abuse, although there are some here who have experienced that in their lives. It can be the loss of a parent or abandonment and neglect. It can be a harsh word by someone you respected. It can be some way that you were physically harmed or psychologically shamed. God does not look at us and say, “Just get over it!” He deeply cares about us and wants to bring restoration to our heart and mind.
In the New Testament we frequently have stories of people whose lives were full of hurt and shame. I think of the woman caught in adultery. Her accusers were ready to throw stones and attempt to kill her as she sat terrified on the ground. They had already hurled insults that were hard as stone which brought shame and contempt. But Jesus delivered her from those who wanted to condemn her and said, “Where are your accusers?” Jesus then said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more” (John 8:10-11). Jesus not only forgave her sin, but he healed her of shame. He was with her in the very place where the wound was deepest, and he did not condemn her. Rather, he chose to heal her shame and restore her dignity.
That is what Jesus wants to do for you. When you have time that you can spend in quiet, private prayer, invite him to come with you to the place of your shame and disgrace. Invite him into the memory and the emotion of what wounded you. Feel him near you, as together you visit the place where you were hurt the most. Let him be your champion as he speaks words of forgiveness and restores your dignity. He will ultimately take care of those who have hurt and wronged you. Let him heal the wounds that life has brought. Don’t be afraid to show him all of it, for he is already aware of what took place.
He is even aware of your part in it. The woman caught in adultery was not totally innocent, but through Christ’s love and forgiveness her innocence and dignity were restored. He then challenged her to live a life worthy of what she was created to be. Expect something similar when he visits that place in your life. It is possible that the events that wounded you were completely out of your control. You were a child. You were overwhelmed. Or you may have been older and played a part in what happened to you. It does not really matter when you come to Christ for forgiveness and healing. You can expect what the woman found: understanding, forgiveness, emotional healing and a challenge to now live the life you were created to live.
The second encouraging factor is: God continues to heal our brokenness. This is not a one-time fix it job. Emotional healing, like physical healing, is a process. There is an initial healing, similar to what happens after an operation, the diseased part has been excised. A real sense of relief comes because it has been faced, forgiven, removed and healing has begun. But we continue to allow him into our brokenness on a daily basis. The good news is that there is no need to pretend to be something we are not. The good news is that the healing never stops, and we continue to be healed every day as we grow in him and are being transformed into his likeness. This is kingdom living.
We know that this kind of healing is God’s will for us, because Jesus said that he came to bind up the brokenhearted, to give us beauty for ashes and the oil of gladness in the place of mourning, and praise in the place of despair. But even in the Old Testament God declared his desire to heal us inwardly. The book of Psalms says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul” (Psalm 23:1-3). “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). Jeremiah the prophet prayed, “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” (Jeremiah 17:14). Malachi prophesied: “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall” (Malachi 4:2). The Gospel of Luke says that when the crowds followed Jesus, “He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing” (Luke 9:11). Why would he feel any differently toward this crowd than the crowd he spoke to on that day?
No, the resistance is not on God’s part, but ours. Do you remember the time Jesus came across a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years? He had been laying by a pool begging when Jesus said to him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:1-9). It was a legitimate question. His disability was terrible, but he had adjusted to it. He was familiar with life as a disabled person, and was perhaps not sure if he wanted the responsibilities of a person who was well and without excuses. God never does what we do not want him to do. We are familiar with the verse that says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). There is a huge IF in that sentence. He will never break the door down. He will knock, but he will never enter without an invitation. God wants to heal you, but as with the lame man, if you don’t want to be healed, he will not force the issue. If you don’t want to face the horror or the pain with him, he will allow the door to remain shut.
But what a wonderful thing it is to be free. You are no longer hiding anything. It is like walking on a wonderful Fall day with all the warmth and richness of the colors of the season. The Psalmist said, “O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people” (Psalm 116:16-18).
As we experience God’s continual healing we begin to peal back the layers that have covered over our core wound. Dr. Terry Wardle’s model is helpful here. He sees it like this:
Life Situation
➘
Dysfunctional behaviors
➘
Emotional Upheaval
➘
Lies and Distortions
➘
Wounds
Our current problematic life situation is caused by dysfunctional behaviors. Those behaviors are caused by emotional upheaval. These emotions are based on lies and distortions which we have believed, and are grounded in the core wound at the epicenter of our lives.
It works like this. Let’s say that the wound in a person’s life is rejection. They have received life messages that they are bad, stupid or ugly. The wound becomes worse as they believe the lies they have been told about being bad, stupid and ugly. When these distortions are unconsciously embraced, it causes emotional upheaval, and dysfunctional behaviors occur as a result of trying to cover the pain and cope with it. The result is a lifestyle that is fraught with problems. But the presenting problems are only the outer layer of a much deeper problem. People who experience rejection may feel worthless as a result of believing the things which have been said to them. They may even repeat the lies and distortions to themselves as though they are true. Emotional depression, bitterness or anger may result. They may try to compensate through dysfunctional behaviors such as withdrawal or the opposite: becoming overly aggressive, driven, obsessive, or an overachiever. These behaviors may result in a life situation where they find themselves alienating people around them, or putting their jobs or family in jeopardy.
Wardle’s model for healing is to invite Jesus into the core wound through deep prayer — usually with another person: a trusted Christian friend or counselor. This is where it begins, but it looks like this:
Life Situation
➚
Empowered Living
➚
Peace and Comfort
➚
Truth
➚
Healed Wounds
This is not a quick fix. It is the model of continual healing. After the healing begins at the core of our woundedness and brokenness, we must begin to believe the truth about life and ourselves as it comes from God. Instead of emotional upheaval, peace and comfort come. In place of dysfunction, we receive empowered living. With the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, having the core wound in us beginning to heal, we learn to understand and embrace the truth, and our life situation begins to change. This is only a quick pass over what Dr. Wardle speaks about in depth, and I recommend you get his book Healing Care, Healing Prayer: Helping the Broken Find Wholeness in Christ.
When we begin to find this healing, we say with the Psalmist: “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:5-11).
And that is the third point: God will deliver us from our brokenness. Even if we never find relief in this life, the day is coming when God will not only deliver us from the penalty and power of sin, but he will deliver us from the presence of sin. The salvation that was begun on earth will be completed in heaven. He will heal us from all our wounds, cast down every lie, deliver us from emotional pain and by his grace grant us abundant and eternal life. Here is the promise: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:3-7).
Rodney J. Buchanan
October 17, 2004
Mulberry St. UMC
Mount Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
Deep Restoration
(Questions for October 17, 2004)
1. If you are able, share an area of brokenness where you have been healed emotionally.
2. Read Isaiah 61:1-3. This was the passage that Jesus quoted in Luke 4:18-19. How did Jesus see his mission according to Isaiah’s prophecy?
3. What happens when we try to hide our wound, or seal it off, instead of inviting Jesus into that part of our lives?
4. According to Dr. Terry Wardle, there is a layer of pain over our emotional wounds, over which we then apply a layer of protection. How do people protect themselves?
5. What kind of problems/dysfunctions are caused by our self-protective measures?
6. Sometimes sincere Christians seem to have two people struggling inside. One loves God, is kind and generous; the other rages, lusts, and envies. According to the diagram of Dr. Wardle, what is going on?
7. Read John 8:1-11. How did Jesus restore the dignity of this woman and heal her wounds?
8. We often want instant solutions. We may get some immediate relief, but how do we continue to receive healing for our core wounds?
9. Read Revelation 21:3-7. In the face of what may seem an impossible situation, what is our ultimate hope?
