Series: “How to Make it Through Tough Times”
Part 2
"How God Heals Your Hidden Wounds"
Pastor Jerry
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How many of you have ever had a broken bone? How many of you have ever had stitches? How many of you have ever had a knife wound or gunshot wound?
Today, I want to talk with you about How God Heals Your Wounds. Not the physical, but
the hidden wounds. Hidden wounds are the memories of abandonment, of abuse, of ridicule, or hatred – physical abuse, spiritual, sexual abuse, emotional abuse.
Where do you get the hidden wounds of life? From everywhere! You can certainly get them from family members. Those are the ones that hurt the most. You can get them in the work place, from school! They’re everywhere.
I’ve been a pastor for a long time and I’ve talked to people and I’ve learned two truths about life.
One is everybody has a hidden wound. You may be masking it but everybody has a hidden wound.
The other thing I’ve learned is that emotional scars take longer to heal than physical wounds. Bodies heal but sometimes it takes years to get over the emotional scars.
The good news is this: Jesus Christ wants to heal your hidden wounds.
In the Bible, God’s different Hebrew names describe who He is. One of those names is in Exodus 15, He says,
“I am Jehovah Rapha,” which means
“I am the God who heals.” The Bible says this in Psalm 147
“God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” Today we’re going to look at the steps in God’s healing process.
When you look at the life of Jesus, there are certain patterns and principles that come up in the way He dealt with people. You can find these four principles in God’s process of healing of memories.
- The first step begins when I REVEAL MY HURT.
You’re never going to get well until you face your feelings straight on. The Bible talks about the problem of stuffing it down inside and not talking about it. Psalm 39 “
I kept very quiet but I became even more upset. I became very angry inside, and as I thought about it, my anger burned.” Pushing a hurt aside doesn’t get rid of it. It just makes it worse.
The Bible says this
“When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me and I moaned all day long.” He’s saying it’s emotionally draining. Because we feel guilty and don’t want anybody to know about it, we push it down. Step one is to be honest about your pain, your resentment and bitterness over what people did to you. You’ve got to start by revealing your hurts. You’re never going to get well until you reveal your hurts.
- Step two is to RELEASE THOSE WHO HAVE HURT ME.
You can’t get well as long as you harbor resentment. For your own sake, you’ve got to let go of the right to get even. One of the most difficult decisions you’ve got to decide in life is “Do I want to get well or do I want to get even?” You can’t do both. You’re going to have to decide that.
(Secret:) Getting even will not take away your pain. There is only one way to get rid of hurt in your heart, when somebody’s hurt you.
Forgiveness. You say,
“But they don’t deserve to be forgiven!” You’re right. I’m not saying forgive them because they deserve it. I’m saying forgive them for your own sake. You can’t get on with your life as long as you’re stuck in the past.
Romans 12:17-19
“Never pay back evil for evil. Never avenge yourself. Leave that to God. For He has said that He will repay those that deserve it.” It’s not your duty to settle the score. God will settle the score. Trust God to balance the books.
Jesus certainly understands abuse. He was abused. I suggest you do what Jesus did.
“When Jesus suffered, He did not threaten to get even. He left His case in the hands of God.” Jesus had many wounds right before He died. But the deepest wounds in Jesus’ life were the hidden wounds. Because He was betrayed, rejected, hated. Jesus could have blown them all away in an instant. Instead, He stretched out His hands and said,
“Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.” You’ve got to stop the misery by Revealing your hurt and then by Releasing those who have hurt you.
- If you want to get well you have to REPLACE OLD TAPES WITH GOD’S TRUTHS.
Your brain is like a tape recorder. It has recorded every single experience your five senses have experienced. Everything people have said. Your brain has recorded it all down – good and bad, right and wrong, true and false.
Here’s the problem: Your brain doesn’t distinguish between things that are true and things that are false. And if you believe them, you act on them. When you were kids, adults may have said things like
“You’re stupid… You’re ugly… You’re never going to amount to anything … on and on.” Those went into that recorder– and you’re still acting on old tapes. You’ve got to replace those tapes with God’s truths. Romans 12:2
“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” How do you do that?
First, you pray,
“God, would You heal my memories?” Second, you need to
fill your mind with God’s word, the Bible. The third thing you do is you believe the truth about you. What is the truth about you anyway?
“Through what Christ would do for us God decided to make us holy in His eyes, without a single fault we stand before Him covered with His love.”
That’s how God sees you once you step across the line and give your life to Christ.
Without a single fault. He takes everything you’ve ever done wrong – the guilt, the regrets, the shame, the hurts – and He erases it and says,
“We’re going to start over.” God sees you without a single fault.
That’s the good news.
So, are you going to believe what somebody lied to you about, or what God says about you? It’s your choice. You have to replace old tapes with God’s truth. That takes a process but you need to start on it. Step four is…
- If you want to be healed from your hidden wounds you have to REFOCUS ON THE FUTURE.
Get your attention off your past and onto God’s plan for your future. There are three steps to refocusing on the future. They’re all in Job 11 (from the Good News translation).
“Put your heart right, reach out to God and face the world again, firm and courageous. Then all your troubles will fade from your memory like floods that are past and remembered no more.”
First this says,
“Put your heart right.” That means give up your right to get even, release those who’ve hurt you. Forgive them whether they deserve it or not.
Two it says,
“reach out to God.” You need to ask Jesus Christ to come into your life and you need to ask Him to begin healing your hidden wounds. Stop focusing on your hurt and you start focusing on your Healer.
Then the third thing it says
“Face the world again.” Don’t withdraw. Start looking ahead. If you do these steps, notice what happens
“Then all your troubles will fade from your memory. Like floods that are past and remembered no more.”
Wouldn’t you like that? Then take these steps. The principle is: Forgetting is caused by refocusing. My past is not my future. Proverbs 4:25 says,
“Look straight ahead with honest confidence. Don’t hang your head in shame.” You’re never going to get well by yourself. Give your life to Jesus Christ.
“He is the God who heals.”
