The Lifesaving Wounds Of My Past

See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.  Deuteronomy 32:39

What exactly is a life-saving wound? 

It is a wound that comes with a loving purpose.  A wound that is given by a friend – not an enemy.  A wound inflicted that, when redeemed, will bring ten-fold joy in comparison to the agony once suffered.  

The tragedy is that so few children of God recognize the wounds of their past as life-saving wounds.  They define them as tragedies.  Victim becomes a permanent label.  Deprivation creates a defeated mindset. God, who was, and is, sovereign over their past, is viewed as an adversary rather than a friend. They reason that only an enemy would inflict a wound.  Enemies relish the chance to inflict a wound, but they do it to kill or maim.  God wounds to save and bless.  Never do I suffer anything that is not an installment to something glorious. 

If a child of God lacks a theology of suffering, they might never come out of the corner to believe Him for their redemption and restoration. 

• A child who is never the object of someone’s affection grows up to bear the spirit of rejection.  But the wound can be lifesaving when he discovers that God is a pursuer.  He woos him to the cross to adopt him and bestow great favor upon him.  
• A teenager who has been bullied because he is different grows up unsure of himself.  He doesn’t realize that his uniqueness is really the mark of leadership.  But the wound can be lifesaving when he discovers that God set him apart to think differently and to lead a cause for the kingdom.
• A woman who has, unexpectedly, been served divorce papers, feels torn apart on the inside.  She does not feel she will ever recover from the betrayal.  But the wound is lifesaving when, driven to God, she experiences Him as her Bridegroom.  Daily, He loves, whispers comforts, and provides. 

What is the nature of your unhealed wound?  And what is the need that rages as a result?  Are you willing to consider that the need you’ve just isolated is life-saving if it takes you into the arms of a sovereign God who waits eagerly to redeem what was stolen from you?  Look up. Believe. Live in the promises.

When I don’t believe, it is Your Word and Your Spirit that revives me.  Amen