The remarkable thing about bruising is the assurance that healing will take place afterwards… Bruised- Healed Authenticity.
Hey friends, welcome to Maranatha Blogs where we explore the heart of God for us. This blog is for us as Christians to shoulder each other in our daily lives as we await the coming of Jesus. If you don’t know Jesus and this happens to be the first time you are hearing of him, you are welcomed here!
How’s everyone? I’ve be fine. As you read this blog today I hope you can imagine talking to a close friend over a cup of coffee in your living space or over a long drive. I hope these words awaken you to the realities that God is calling you towards.
As the curtains close on this year I would like to remind you that there is always healing after brokenness. There is always a calm after the storm. There is always peace after a war. After a great shifting comes divine appointment and purpose. Even for those unable to see the calm after the storm, the healing after the brokenness, the peace after the war. There is beauty and purpose in the bruised areas that you experience. Just like our body assures us healing/reparation after experiencing a physical wound or bruise, in the same way Jesus our healer assures us peace during and after emotional disturbances. (Psalm 147:3; “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”)
Recounting and meditating on the lessons I have learned this year, the one imprinted on my heart is experiencing the ability of God to sit in pain with us. It’s nothing like the choruses I’ve sang so heartily on a Sunday morning. I will be still when the oceans rise, I’ll shout to the earth, I’ll cry out so that the rocks wouldn’t worship God for me, where he leads I will follow. I saw God sit with me when I didn’t have the strength to pray or sing a chorus or read a scripture or dance before him. I saw the grandeur of God woo me in my mess. Sometimes God’s presence in our vulnerability does not look the way we expect it to look. Many times I’ve experienced God’s instantaneous healing. I’d feel fear, impatience or anger then I’d call on him and instantly feel his peace rest on me. I’d dance before him and drift into transcendent peace. This time I felt as though he needed me to be present with the losses I’ve experienced this year. It was this thing of you need to sit here for a while to truly experience the beauty of the purpose in these losses you’ve experienced.
Sometimes it is easy to miss the purpose of a loss, or pain when you become shifted from one season to another because of the insistent need to escape the turmoil of being stuck. I began to feel a peace this time being present with God through the losses for this year not because I woke up and saw a bright light then immediately felt peace. It happened for me this time because I decided to sit with God long enough to actually see him present when I ran out of worship songs to sing. I feel peace not because the weight of those losses disappeared into an abyss but because I’ve stayed awake with him. We were never meant to carry the burdens of this world on our own. ( Matthew 11:28-30 ” Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”) Stay awake with God long enough to yield to his providence over your life. He will heal you.
Guys, the horror stories that have unfolded in this year is enough to take anyone out. But, guess what? We were never meant to do this alone. I know many of us have cancelled this year as a collective. Though we have seen many tragedies on all levels as a collective and even in our individual lives, God has never left us. He may not always show up how we expect him to but he is always there. We must stay awake, alert and present long enough to see the trail of his glory in our mess. As we prepare to enter 2021, we must enter with the assurance that after the bruising, after the wounds the healing will always follow. Even when the wounds take longer to heal than we expect them to, just as our body is always working towards reparation and healing of our wounds or bruises, in the same way God is working on us. Bruised-Healed Authenticity.
Romans 8:28 ” And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Maranatha 