Do you know why we try so hard to hide our wounds? It almost feels like being vulnerable and real would be the end of the world. Like the real life would be only reserved for beautiful, perfect and unbroken. But that’s so, so wrong.

First of all, there’s beauty in brokenness. Second of all, blessings come through wounds. Not by avoiding or hiding them. But by embracing them. Really.

He was pierced because of our rebellions
    and crushed because of our crimes.
    He bore the punishment that made us whole;
    by his wounds we are healed.
(Isaiah 53:5, CEB,*)

Because of the wounds of Jesus, we can be made whole.
Because of the wounds of Jesus, our wounds can be healed.
Because of the wounds of Jesus, we can have life and more life.

Hence we don’t need to hide our imperfections anymore. We are not accepted because of our merits but through faith in Jesus who was wounded for our sake.

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Phil.3:9-11, NLT,*)

We all have wounds, visible or invisible. We really do get wounded in this life one way or another. But we don’t have to walk wounded throughout life. We can’t heal ourselves for sure. We can’t be mighty on our own, no matter how hard we try. But we have a mighty healer in Jesus. By his wounds we are healed. We just need to bring our wounds to him and not lick our wounds on our own.

Only through knowing the wounds of Jesus we can accept our own wounds. And when we are able to accept our own wounds, we dare to be authentic and vulnerable as we meet others. That’s when blessings of wholeness flood into our lives. That’s when we realize blessings come through wounds indeed.

 

Gracious God,
You cover us with your grace
in so many incredible ways.
Thank you for bringing healing for us
through the wounds of Christ.
Thank you for showing us the way to wholeness.
Thank you for loving us beyond measure.
Empower us with inner strength through your Spirit.
Move mightily in us and through us.
May your will be done.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Have you been blessed through wounds?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you let the wounds of Christ heal you!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.]

Image courtesy of Scot Johns. Linking up today with Faith-filled Fridays, Five Minute Friday and Faith Jam.