Walking through our Wounds

“God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.”

 C.S. Lewis

One of the most beautiful things about Jesus is the way he walks with us through our wounds. I just sat with a young man for a while. We talked about coming to Jesus with our wounds. The wounds that we have caused and the ones that others have done to us. Last night during a worship meeting he remembered Jesus' words from the cross, "It is finished".  Saying "it is finished" to the terrifying lordship of our wounds is not easy or instant. I'm really thankful to get to talk with this young man about the way that Jesus joins us in our pain, leading us through these wounds so they don't rule over us, determining our future, trapping us in either denial (empty positivism) or bitterness (ungrieved grief turned mean).


We are not robots, but real people. God doesn't flip a switch or erase our brains. He joins us, in our most vulnerable, sad places. Jesus sticks close through all the ups and downs of grieving, the valleys and crests of our struggle to keep faith. Our wounds don't have to tyrannize forever. Amazingly and paradoxically, Jesus can breath new life into those scars until they become special equipment in us for loving others well. 


That's not easy, our hurts can go much deeper than we understand. I hope my young friend will persevere and find his footing in Jesus' faithfulness amongst God's Family. I hope I can listen to my own words.