Week 3: The Wounded
I remember picking up the phone, tears filling my eyes as I dialed the number of a local counseling office. Everything within me argued with the reality that to heal meant I would have to let someone into the secrets my heart had kept hidden.
This dark season of my story was characterized by a complex combination of shame and struggle. It was here, I felt lost for the first time and my soul suffered in response to my foolish choice to go after what I wanted over what I knew to be true.
That’s the thing about sin, it wounds us.
It slowly infects our hearts with feelings of shame and self-criticism.
It darkens our thinking and distorts God’s desire for us to live abundant lives. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This battle against brokenness has been present since the fall of man in Genesis 3. From this biblical account, Christian theology asserts that it is this inherited brokenness that separates us from God and His innate holiness. Simply put, we all fall short of perfection. '
Our sins, our failures, and our struggles are all tied to the fracture within our relationship with holiness. Apart from accepting God's divine power to overcome sin and Satan’s strongholds, we are inevitably subject to our flesh. Even in accepting God’s gift of salvation, we can neglect His Lordship and fall prey to Satan’s lies.
Have you been here? In the space between your sin and God’s healing power?
You are not alone.
It is here, in our waywardness, we learn about the life-giving love that God offers all who call out to Him.
I now see it more clearly,
it is my perspective that is slowly killing me.
Infected by negative thoughts and worldly subplots…
It is here in this space between, all my perceptions
and worldly obsessions will be forever
resurrected by God’s steadfast affection.
We All Have Wounds
The wounded soul's story is found in Psalm 107 verses 17-22 and recounts the mighty deliverance of the rebellious heart and the hope of healing found in God’s steadfast love.
Beginning in verse 17, the psalmist writes,
“Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!”
In these beginning verses, the author paints a quite familiar picture of the wounded soul. What I find most thought-provoking in verse 17 is the self-inflicted reference to suffering due to sin. Remember last week's discussion of willfulness? Well, it is this same willfulness that leads us to sinfulness.
Sinfulness is the outward manifestation of a willful spirit and affliction is the natural consequence of this self-sufficient mindset.
Have you ever looked back on a time in your life and thought, “what was I thinking?”
I know I have! I shake my head at the foolishness of my frame of mind and question what led me down such a clear path of pain.One commentator on this passage poses a hard-hitting question saying, “How many of our earthly afflictions are a direct result of our willful persistence in wrongdoing?”
What a humbling question. Looking back on the wounded years of my story, I can see plainly how my neglect of godly guidance and lack of spiritual insight led to painful places spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
Much like the foolish soul, I too have chased after satisfaction and security outside of God’s will. The results, as you may already know, were like deep wounds, which tour apart my integrity and identity.
It is the self-awareness of our sinfulness that opens our eyes to our need for repentance and deliverance.
The Direction of Deliverance
Acknowledging my woundedness led me to pick up the phone that day and seek healing by sharing my struggles and sin in a safe space. It was through honesty before the Lord, I came to understand the capacity of His grace for me and it was in daily claiming God’s victory over my willfulness that delivered me from my distress.
Friend, hear me out! The direction of deliverance begin with the awareness of our brokenness but healing for our hearts is an active process.
Step One: Recognize Our Need
We see this movement in the following verses of the text. Those who were suffering due to their transgressions were desperate for deliverance and in verse 19 it says,
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.”
It is when we come to the end of ourselves, we recognize our need for Jesus. Not just once but daily, hourly, minute by minute. Our recognition of our dependency produces spiritual maturity.
But we have to get here.
We have to come to a place of complete and utter honesty with ourselves and the Lord.
The question we must wrestle within the reality of our woundedness is this:
Do we want to be healed?
Jesus asked this same question to the man at the pool of Bethesda in John chapter 5. As I ponder the implications of this interaction between Jesus and the paralyzed man, I am reminded of how easy it is to remain in a state of suffering, making excuses as this man did. Jesus' commission of healing to this man was simply, “Get up, take your bed, and walk"(John 5:8).
This story prompts our spiritual awakening. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
For if we truly want to be healed we must choose to move towards it.
As we read throughout all of scripture, God is near to the broken-hearted and He welcomes us into a relationship of grace that frees us from what once held our hope captive. He keeps no record of our wrongs and like a compassionate father, welcomes us home when we return to Him.
This recognition leads us to the next step...
Step Two: Receive God Word
The process of healing does not stop at the recognition of our need for repentance but includes receiving God’s gracious deliverance through accepting His word. God’s word does not simply triage our wounds caused by various forms of sin, but completely heals our aching hearts with the same power that raised Christ from the dead.
The text says,
“He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.”
This word is found in Christ Himself (John 1:1), who was sent to heal our souls from sin through salvation. For in receiving this new life through Christ, we are dead to sin and raised to life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Receiving the Gospel is what heals us.
Nothing can help us more than what Jesus has already done for us.
I cannot tell you how often I have to intentionally receive the Gospel-soaked words of God's truth to believe them.
In receiving God’s love, I am given a new name.
In receiving God’s grace, I no longer walk in shame.
In receiving God’s Lordship, I am led away from sinfulness.
In receiving God’s power, I can speak victory over my enemy.
We can never get enough of the gospel… or as my pastor recently put it, “we never move on from the gospel we just move deeper into it!”
So let's keep pressing in, receiving God’s word, and pursue healing.
Step Three: Remember God’s Goodness
Finally, healing's process continues with daily reminding our souls of God's goodness. Oh, how quickly we can forget the benefits of being God’s beloved when we neglect to remember the great things He has done for us.
This is why the psalmist repeats the phrase through his song saying,
“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!”
We remember not only with worship but by sharing our God stories.
"And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!”
In this posture of praise, we are not consumed by the culture's critiques or society’s stigmas; rather, our praise claims the victory that has been won in the name of Jesus and His power to save.
Psalm 103 verse 3-5 has become my anthem prayer:
David writes,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good...”
Friends, let us not forget the good things God graciously gives us to cleanse our wounded souls. May we stand firm in His forgiveness, hold onto His healing power, claim our redemption at Christ’s child, walk in the purpose of His loving presence, and be filled full by His goodness.
It's time to heal.
It’s time to claim victory.
It’s time to live in light of God’s steadfast love.
For our wounds are deep but God’s love is the deepest!
**If you are struggling in this season or have more questions regarding salvation, please feel free to email me at cm@carleymarcouillier.com. I also encourage you to seek healing by contacting a counselor or a safe person to share your story.**