Wounds that Cannot Heal (Lent Devotion) - Ash Wednesday, March 6
Wounds that Cannot Heal
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. (Hebrews 12:15)
What is a root of bitterness? It is a wound that is hidden, that we refuse to acknowledge. Perhaps you put a Band-Aid of forgiveness over it. But the wound is deep and can’t be buried by simply feeling good about your own forgiveness. The wound has not been cleaned properly and instead of healing has wrapped around your very spirit!
So many of the Native people we serve suffer from these bitter wounds that have become a part of their soul. We work to help them find healing. But it isn’t just Native Americans who suffer from bitterness; you and I need healing as well. We have all experienced pain in some form or another.
Whatever your pain may be, it cutes deep into your heart and takes root! It is always there, no matter how many times you forgive those who wounded you or try to forget the past. Broken heart, wounded pride, bruised feelings - you are wounded and bleeding! A wound that goes unspoken and not grieved over is a wound that cannot heal.
Are you still clinging to your pain?
GOD is fiercely fighting for you! He wants to release the pain in your heart and restore it back to what HE designed it for, intimacy with HIM!
Most of us are in denial about our wound. We deny it happened, deny it hurt, and certainly deny it has shaped the way we live today.
Jesus asked the man at the well, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6) Then, he talks about the wound, and it is healed! Jesus is asking you the same thing. Are you ready to clean your wound and sever the root of bitterness that grows in your heart?
Do you want to get well?
Dear Heavenly Father, help me to see the wounds in my heart that need to be cleaned, those caused by my own sin and the sin of others. Guide me to seek your healing as I move toward a closer relationship with you. Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection made this relationship possible. In His name, we pray. Amen.