Our Wounds

Intro

Remember back when you were a kid. Playing on the playground at school or the local park. You would run around with your siblings or your friends. You did not care about any dangers, you were free. Jumping off of platforms, spinning as fast as you could on the merry-go-round, (spinning wheel of death!). You never thought about getting hurt. Until you did. At the time the pain may have been great. It may have caused you to run home with tears in your eyes looking for Mom or Dad to “fix it!” Maybe you were one that it did not bother you all that much. You let it go, didn’t even bother to wash it off. You just dusted yourself and kept on playing. Later, you would return home and see the panic on a parents face as they saw the blood on your jeans or on your shirt. Today as adults, we hardly think of these wounds. Now there may be a few doozies that we remember, but for the most part…nothing. The reason is that those wounds did not last, and did not have a lasting effect on us. There may be a scar you uses now to tell stories of the good ole’ days, but that’s all. A few scars, a few memories, but most are long forgotten.

The ones we do remember, and even a few that we don’t, leave a scar on our lives,

these scars impact us in ways we never thought possible

The one’s that are difficult to find often left a scar that has had a lasting effect on our lives, yet we have no idea why? Some are so deep that looking for them may cause pain, agony, regret, and sorrow. Yet they must be found

we begin to see a pattern of destructive behavior that caused more and more pain and sorry. All leading back to a single wound, we had long forgotten about.

Today, and this month, we will look at our wounds, how to find them, and how to heal them.

We cannot thrive in faith, when our wounds are holding us back.

What are our wounds?

defined, “A hurt from the past that caused a lasting effect on our mind and life.”

Physical vs emotional

How the body heals physical wounds

blood dries and it begins healing process. cells move, and seals the wound

the body tries to repair itself, but often needs intervention by a doctor, and/or leaves a scar.

a tiny little mark that tells your story

youth sharing road rash stories: the tiny marks on his arm told his story

Events that cause wounds

Our wounds tell our story, they make us who we are

Being in a toxic home as a child leaves them with scars that bring anger and violence in their own lives

Child exposed early to pornographic images is wounded and grows up believing that is reality.

child with self image issue being treated like a nobody at school can lead to anger and attempts to please everyone, leads to unhealthy ambition to be in control

some are great wounds, others may be small

I did not have large visible scars, mine were much smaller yet felt just as deep

be mindful that they may not be what you expect

internal you and external events

affects how you feel about you on the inside, and that affects your abilities

if you do not view yourself as lovable, you will not make yourself one

Psalm 139:23

Psalm 139:23 NASB95

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

We must ask God to search and try us. help us find these old wounds that are holding us back

Psalmist asking God to search his every being, nothing is off limits

try me!

what is holding me back. Test all things with fire. What in my life is good and what is bad.

know my heart

my passions, they are for you. Even when I fail, my heart searches for you. It looks for your hand of mercy and grace!

know my anxiety

my thoughts that torment me. worried of the unknown.

my past causes my anxiety and so i am fearful. Know my thoughts

Apostle Paul says to take our thoughts captive

I will say this a lot!

when our wounds cause doubt and fear and anger, take that captive and say this is not the cause, only a reaction of something else. captivate it and change it!

“God, search me so nothing hinders my relationship with you.”

The need to find the wounds

it will be difficult, not easy

major impact on your life,

bring pain, but also freedom, release, and joy

Fester vs healer

the internal you will effect the external you

infect

like a physical wound, emotional wounds get infected and can fester

that spreads to all parts of who you are

Fears and trauma in our lives have a massive impact on who we become. it effects our health, both mental and physical. This kind of damage not only effects our relationships but also our work and even our mission.

infect your relationships

anger, fear, control

all can and will damage your relationships

not only will in damage relationships, but also put wounds in those around you.

spouse, children, friends

Dr. Timothy Jennings, The God Shaped Brain, “The results demonstrated that the more childhood stress the higher incidence of depression, inflammation…and metabolic illnesses later in life.”

infect your work

cause you to loose your job, outbursts of anger can and will break any type of work environment

destroy any witness you have there…and that is almost impossible to gain back!

Infect your mission

we are all called to a mission, every Christian

when we are battling old wounds, that mission can be hindered

When I was in High School, our youth went on a mission trip to an Native American reservation to do Vacation Bible School. On the last day of VBS, our youth leader was going to share the gospel with all the kids there. He wanted to be sure that they youth he took were able to lead someone to Christ well. So he sat each one of us down and had us act as if we were leading him to Christ. As a young and introverted High School student, I had never done this before. I was nervous. As I finished his comment to me was, “I don’t want you to do this. I don’t think you are ready and able to share. When the time comes, you sit in the back of the room and don’t come to help.” This broke my heart. Understand, I grew up knowing that it was the call of every Christian to share Jesus. I struggled because of the wounds that I had, and I was just told you can’t. Your not good enough. You can’t do what God has called us all to do. When the time came I broke into tears. I was crying so hard I got up from my seat and ran out of the building and across the street to a bench. I sat there and cried my eyes out. I felt at that moment that I was not good enough even for God. I was already feeling rejected by the world, now I felt I was rejected by God. My Dad came and brought comfort to me as did a few other men who followed me out. That same youth leader then had me convinced I needed to rededicate my life to Christ because my faith was not strong enough. At the time I thought this man hung the moon. Looking back now, he did so much damage to my faith. It was years before I had the confidence to share Jesus with another person.

Healer

God heals completely

Ask God to reveal and to heal

Psalms 139:24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Lit, “way of pain”

any action, work, or deed in my that will cause harm or pain. anything that will hinder me from growing closer to God. Look and see, so that it can be removed.

guide me to you, to follow my my will, not my past, not my pain, but your way...

the everlasting way.

Guide me to your promises

Conclusion

God promises us great things, he has great plans for us all

every person, everywhere

He promises to heal our hearts, our souls, and even our minds

if only we will allow him to

Maybe you have suffered with anxiety, anger, or loss of hope.

Jesus died so you could have a relationship with the master healer, so you can be forgiven of your past, and given an amazing future.

Call on him today.