The Walking Wounded

 Family is supposed to be a safe place. A place where love flows and where support is found. These things are true in many families. It is a wonderful thing for a child to grow up in a family where they know they are loved in words and actions. It a confidence builder to be a part of a family where you are supported when you succeed and even when you fail. 

Tragically there are some families that are dysfunctional. Children get wounded in these families. They are not only unloved, and in some cases unwanted, they are also wounded. The wounds are sometimes physical. At other times the wounds are psychological. Messages of worthlessness are imprinted on the mind. Wounds they carry through life into adulthood believing they are not good enough, they are failures, losers, garbage, and have no purpose. Sometimes the wounds are sexual damaging young girls and boys for life. 

We have a society filled with walking wounded. Because of poor self esteem and poor choices, these wounded fall into cycles of making the same mistakes over and over again. Their lives become a series of additional wounds and in some cases they repeat the patterns of wounding they experienced. The cycle of wounding is passes from generation to the next. 

On my paternal side of the family, wounding was generational. A cousin told me once every single female she knew in our family had been sexually abused by a family member. Multiple boys and girls were physically beaten. The Edwards name is not held in honor in that community. It is disgraced several generations over. 

There is hope for the walking wounded. Jesus extends the invitation for all who are weary and heavy laden to com to Him to find rest. Matt 11:28 Jesus is a safe place to turn to for help and healing from the wounds. Nobody can love us like Jesus. Nobody can restore and renew a person like Jesus. People search in vain with many things trying to find healing. Alcohol does not do it. Neither does drugs or multiple sexual exploits. Each only deepen the wounds and leave a person feeling more hopeless. Read about the prostitute who poured perfume on Jesus feet and wiped them with her hair. She found healing. Luke 7:36-47 Read about the woman caught in the act of Adultery. John 8:1-11 Read about the leper Jesus healed. Matt 8:1-3 You can check out the story of the demoniac who had a legion of demons but Jesus delivered him Mark 5:1-20

Jesus said in John 10:10 that the thief, otherwise known as the devil, only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan does a good job of those three things. Jesus offered a contrast. He said He came to give life more abundantly. Life to the fullest. The best life. He did not say He came to make people rich and famous. He did not say He came to give people all they ever dreamed of getting. He said He came to give abundant life. 

Abundant life for the walking wounded includes deep healing. It includes forgiving those who did the wounding so a person is not trapped in bitterness. It means connecting people to their purpose. It also means guiding their paths. According to Rom 1:2, just like Paul, each of us was set apart by God for the gospel. Your testimony matters. People can benefit from journey to spiritual, emotional and mental health. 

Earlier this evening, I received a text from a lady thanking me for a recent message. She confessed to being wounded earlier in life. She does not talk about it because she wonders who would ever listen to her. I told her to tell her story. She never knows what God may do when she does.

 I tell my story. I was physically and sexually abused as a child. I AM NOT A VICTIM. I was one of the walking wounded. Jesus has been healing me for the past four decades. Through Him I AM A VICTOR. I want other walking wounded to experience the same healing and wholeness that He gave me and many others. 

More Faith Steps

 We tend to get comfortable. We like security. Most people go out of their way to avoid risks. When I read scripture I see God leading people to do just the opposite. God called Abram to leave his home to go to an unknow destination God would reveal at a later time. [Gen 12:1] God called Moses to leave the life of shepherding sheep to become a deliverer for God's people leading them out of slavery. [Ex 3:1-12] God called the disciples to leave their fishing profession and families behind to follow Him. [Mark 1:16-18] 

Nothing about those calls was comfortable or safe. Each assignment required steps of faith. Each required God's help to complete the assignment for the tasks were bigger than their abilities. In each case, God intervened in powerful and dramatic ways. 

It appears to me that a great many Christ followers prefer to play it safe. They prefer the route of least resistance and with the most predictable outcome. Let's be honest. The church is filled with people who have small faith and a risk adverse mentality. Go ahead. Read [II Cor 5:7] and [Heb 11:6]. What do those verses call us to do? 

I just took three faith steps in the past ten minutes. I am not at liberty to tell you the nature of those steps at this time. Suffice it to say it required getting uncomfortable and taking some risk. Only God knows how it will turn out. Sometimes faith steps feel scary. That is only when our focus is not on God, His call, and His promises. I recently wrote about living to prove God hears and answers prayers. He is giving me the opportunity to prove that again. 

I'm not an advocate for foolish risk for risk sake. You will not find me strapped onto a bungy cord jumping off a high platform. I have no interest in sky diving. Nor am I interested in diving into shark infested waters. I look like a supersized extra value meal. 

I know God calls people to take faith steps that don't make any logical sense to onlookers. He has called me to take those steps many times and the naysayers criticized them every time. I've been forced to lean on God over and over again. I had no one else. Either God would come through or we would fail. There were some times we failed. Maybe I did not discern the call of God those times correctly. There have been more times when God came through. When He put the puzzle together. When He connected the dots. When He sent the right provision at the right time. Those happened after the faith steps. We want God to do the miracles first and then we will step out. God did not cut off the waters of the Jordan at flood stage until the priest set their foot in the water first. [Joshua 3:1-17] Miracles happen after faith steps. 

Do we really trust God? Do we really believe He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do? Sooner or later we'll all be tested. God will call us to something that stretches us and makes us uncomfortable. It might even look a little risky. By faith we will obey or disobey because of doubt. The choice is ours and there are consequences for either decision. It just might be time to take some more faith steps.