Some of our wounds can be seen from the outside, and others not. Both can affect our lives very deeply. Both kinds of wounds can create a perfect storm for chronic illness. How do we heal the wounds so our bodies can be restored to health?
Jesus can heal our wounds. He has healed so much for so many. He gets to the core of the issues, way deep inside to create lasting transformation.
The most fascinating thing to me is that God has a different “healing” plan for each of His children. He took the time, the energy, the intense love to create individual healing plans. Okay, so He is God and it really does not take Him “time and energy” but you know what I mean!!!
When I was 10 years old I received a blow to my face that was so wild that it got me in 4 different places, leaving 4 scars. Yes, I am saying I received four wounds to my face, leaving four scars, to this day.
I had neurological Lyme disease and that was the first time I passed out. I remember the details as clear as can be. Well, until I was completely unconsious.
I remember feeling overly odd and very dizzy. I remember my hearing was muffled. I remember the blackness that very slowly encapsulated my vision, starting at my peripheral vision and working in. It was when all my vision turned completely black that I lost consciousness.
I did not wake up until after I had hit face first into the sharp corner of an old-fashioned Formica countertop and stayed unconscious for many minutes, 20ish. When I woke up I immediately went into a seizure, my first one, of many to come.
Drama and trauma, oh my.
But that is not the point I am trying to make.
The Lord started the healing process BEFORE I hit face first receiving the blow. He knew it was going to happen ahead of time. He knew what I could take and what I couldn’t. He loved me and wanted His plan for my life. He was in control of it all.
It was like the Lord held my fragile 10-year-old head in His loving hands and made sure I hit exactly where He wanted me to hit, for my own good. He made sure that although I would have 4 lifelong scars on my face, He strategically placed them so that they are not even noticeable unless I point them out to others.
Yes, it was a blow to the brain, and there was a trip to the emergency room and concussion, and lots of drama. But it set a stage for further events instead of wiping me out. The Lord was not only in control of the situation but He had the big picture at all times.
The older I get the more I cherish
I have weathered far more storms than a human “should” have to endure in one lifetime. The stress from all the trauma in my life surely took me down the road of chronic illness.
Yet, as I look back with decades under my belt and almost 30 years of being a Christian, I try to refrain from saying that any human endures more than they “should.” God knows what He is doing and He loves us more than we can begin to understand or imagine. All of the drama and trauma in my life has led me right where God wants me, solidly on HIS path. That is exactly where I “should” be.
He started healing my wounds before I ever hit the Formica corner with my face!! He knew what I would have to suffer and endure in my lifetime, one event after the other that appeared to never end. He knew when and how He would heal me (I am still a work-in-progress). He has always known what His plan is for my life and what I would choose out of a free will. He knew that I would struggle with the decades of trauma in my life. He knew that although I would take some wrong turns, I would keep coming back to Him.
For Christians, we all get “healed” by our loving Father in different ways, yet the end result is the same. When we choose to believe in Jesus, the Son of God, our eternal destination is sealed.
Please do not get lost in the words “health” and “healing.” They can look different to different people.
Health might mean all chronic illness goes away for some, yet for others, health means a peaceful spirit in the presence of illness.
Healing might mean a spiritual experience but not a physical one.
Chronic illness takes us places we could never get to without the experience. It can make us bitter and angry or it can bring us to our knees.
The experience of illness is going to look different for everyone. God made us unique. Let the sweet Lord do the necessary healing that only He can do during this treasured experience.
Lean on Jesus while you are weak and wobbly from illness. Lean on Him when you recover. Lean on Him when you tell others what He has done for you during your chronic illness journey that led you to your unique healing.
May you be blessed with the specific healing that was intended for YOU!!