Look at these words from Psalm 51:1-12
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
- Pretending we’re okay when we are really wounded, is a form of hypocrisy that can lead to a terrible infection. David came to a point where he realized he couldn’t live a lie. God wanted him to walk in truth. He had thought he could murder Uriah, take Bathsheba to be his wife quickly, and cover up adultery and a pregnancy thing. He was trying to live a lie.
The first step to getting your wound cared for is telling the truth. What good would it do to have a pain in your side and go to the doctor only to say it’s your head that hurts? You wouldn’t receive the right treatment. What good does it do to go to a house of healing and say you don’t have need of healing if you really do? Let’s officially declare the days of “I’m fine, how are you?” over. If it’s not true, tell the truth. It’s okay to say, “I’m struggling today, would you pray for me?” “I’m hurting right now. Can we have lunch? I need someone to talk to.”
David understood God wanted him to walk in truth. What truth do you need to tell today? Do you need to convince yourself that it’s okay to get wound care? Do you need to confess some sin and tell the truth to God? He already knows what the truth is anyway. Do you need to tell the truth about something to someone else? Pretending you’re not wounded won’t work. It will only create an infection and a bigger problem.
- Prolonging wound care will rob us of our joy and zap our strength.
David said, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” Do you remember how passionate David was when he killed Goliath? He was all about advancing God’s name. I Samuel talks about the way God was with David because David was with God. Whatever God wanted David to do, he was willing to do it. But I believe that at some point, woundedness got in the way of David’s passion. The joy of his salvation and the joy of serving the Lord were somehow in David’s rear view mirror. They became a part of his past.
Woundedness can literally take us out of the game and keep us from serving God which is a joyfully addictive experience. When woundedness sidelines us, we isolate ourselves. We miss out on relationships. We look for excuses to stay home from special occasions or church or whatever because we think if we don’t have to see anyone, no one will notice that we are wounded, and we won’t have to deal with it.
Woundedness will keep us stuck in a place of despair and depression and discouragement. God wants us in the game of abundant life. If we don’t seek wound care, we’ll become drained by the infection of the wound and be zapped of energy and joy.
Jesus came to save us from our sins and give us eternal life in Heaven, but that’s only part of the story. That’s only part of the Gospel. People who are walking around wounded don’t want to hear that if they just hang on until they die, they’ll one day have a wonderful experience in Heaven with God. People don’t need hope for someday or one day or eternity when they’re wounded as much as they need immediate relief. I’m telling you that Jesus came not only to save us for Heaven, but he came to give us abundant life right now.
Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” What good does it do to come to church where healing can take place only to leave at the end of the service just as wounded and lonely as we were when we came in? Prolonging wound care would be like putting off treatment that we need for our physical body. It wouldn’t make any sense to go to the doctor for your weekly appointment for some kind of treatment only to refuse the treatment. What’s even more insane would be to go back to the doctor every week where healing was available and refuse it week after week after week. Yet, when we won’t admit our woundedness, when we prolong wound care, we’re doing the same thing when we come to church. Why put off healing? Why not let Jesus do his job description?
- Sometimes the greatest worship we can offer comes from our greatest wounds. When David heard the news that his son had died, he washed his face, changed his clothes and went to worship God. Strange, but it is interesting for us as Christians to consider what David’s behavior might say to us.
Nearing the end of Psalm 51, it’s as if David has a light bulb moment. He has an “aha” moment. “It’s not the blood of bulls and goats that you want, O God,” David says. It’s not the animal sacrifices that God wants, Rather, Psalm 51:17 says, 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
David understood in that moment what God wanted. God wanted David’s wounds. God wanted David’s hurts. God wanted David’s broken heart so that He could remake it. So that He could cleanse it. So that He could do wound care for David’s heartache as well as for his sin. When you take your broken spirit and your broken heart to someone, to offer it to them, it’s because you believe they can mend it, fix it, restore it or remake it.
When children go to their parents with a wound it’s because they believe their parents know how to make it better. They show honor, respect and confidence in that moment, in submitting to the treatment of the wound from one who knows how to care for it.
To bring your wound to God, to trust Him with the deepest pain of your life, why that may be your greatest worship, your greatest sacrifice. In doing so, you are giving Him complete control to cleanse you and start a new work in your life. That’s true worship.
Everybody goes through wounding experiences in life. Whether the wounds are physical, spiritual, emotional, or relational, they’re either in your life now or they’re coming. So, what do we do when we’re wounded?
Be honest with God. Tell Him exactly how you feel. You need to unload all of your feelings. When you share your feelings with God, when you trust Him with your pain, you’re worshiping – even when those feelings are negative.
God did not make our bodies to handle negative emotions. God never designed them that way. When we swallow our emotions, our stomach keeps score. So, the first thing you do when you experience pain in life is confess it. Tell God you don’t like what happened. Don’t worry. God can handle it. Talk to a trusted Christian friend. Let them pray for you and help bear your burdens. Don’t put off getting the help you need by pretending you’re alright.
Our hurts will never just go away. Time does not heal all wounds, but God can. God cares about your broken heart. That’s half of the reason Jesus came, to bind up your broken heart. He healed David’s heart. He’ll heal yours. Jesus, the Suffering, Wounded Servant suffered all the hurts that anyone could suffer.
It didn’t start with the garden arrest. Jesus had already been betrayed by Judas and disappointed by His three friends who couldn’t stay awake during his greatest hour of agony as He prayed to His Father in the garden. Those closest to Him weren’t there for Him. He knows what that pain feels like.
Because Jesus suffered, healing has been provided for you. It’s God’s desire to heal your hurts, but He has to control your heart before He can heal it.
Come to Jesus. Surrender fully, and go from wounded to whole.
