Wounds That Heal
I’ve met a number of people in the medical industry over the years, including doctors, nurses, physical therapists, counselors, and trainers, and I’m often amazed at how they got there. For some it may have been walking an elderly parent through illness. For others, it came from their own injuries or struggles through trauma. One even became a dentist because they hated having such bad teeth as a child. Somewhere along their journey, their pain became a turning point.
Many step into healing or ministry roles because they know what it’s like to need healing themselves. Their wounds didn’t stop them. They shaped them.
Unfortunately, none of us can escape being wounded. We are all wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. But as we work through our own healing, something might begin to shift. Our healing allows us to look not only inward, but outward, toward others who might need help too.
Theologian Henri Nouwen wrote about this idea of the “wounded healer”. He explained that God uses our brokenness as a way to minister to others. He said, “Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, powerless with the powerless.”
This is the way Jesus asks us to see the world. He always was moving toward the most vulnerable, the hurting, the wounded, the misunderstood, and the outsiders. Jesus asks us to see those around us differently, but doing that through our own pain can be daunting.
After Jesus’ resurrection (the ultimate healing!), His own physical scars remained. He showed them to his scared and scarred followers as if to say, “I understand. Let me walk through your pain with you now”. Like them, we can find comfort in our troubles knowing Jesus understands. Then we can comfort others.
“He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.”
~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 MSG
We don’t bring healing by keeping pain at arms length, but by stepping into it with others. Often, that means just showing up. It may mean we will need to be vulnerable (that’s a tough one), but vulnerability can foster environments where healing begins.
As Pastor Jay shared, like Jesus, our wounds can be sources of healing for others. The Church is called to be the family of Jesus where we offer healing to people for the harm or suffering they may have experienced.
None of us escapes being wounded, but our wounds can become the place from which we serve others. Like Jesus, the ultimate wounded healer, our scars can tell a different story, one of hope, connection, and restoration.
Reflection Questions::
• What is a wound in your life that God may be inviting you to stop hiding and begin healing?
• How has God met you in your own pain, and how might that help you show up for someone else right now?
• What would it look like for you to step toward someone else’s hurt this week instead of keeping your distance?
