Ruminate or Restore
You have wounds. I have wounds. Everyone we encounter has wounds. These are hardly trifling affairs, either. In many cases, they are deep, gaping injuries with the capacity to derail and destroy our destiny. To refuse to acknowledge or take them seriously is to acquiesce to them. Because you and I are designed as vessels capable of transmitting the transcendent power of Jesus to the world around us, acquiescence to woundedness impacts not only your own soul, but also those around you. As Richard Rohr puts it, “If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.”
The stakes are high. If you wallow in your very real wound, it will fester—both in you and in those you love.
But there is good news! In fact, there is Good News! Your wound—yes, the very real and very powerful one—was taken on by One much greater and much more powerful! When Jesus went to the cross for you, He did it that you might know the Father (Jn. 14:6), but He also did it that you might be transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18)!
He knew your woundedness, and He accepted it upon Himself. He was willingly wounded for your sin (Is. 53:5-8). Why? He did it to make a way for you to escape the power of your wounds, and to find healing, identity, and salvation in Him!
A dear friend of mine reminded me this week, “When we ruminate in the ways we have been wronged, we remain trapped in their power. It prevents us from lifting our eyes to the One thing with the power to free us!”
He was paraphrasing Psalm 121:1-2: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
So often, my default setting—and I dare say, yours—is to ruminate. You were wronged. You were hurt. Damage and harm were inflicted upon you. It was real. It IS real! And so you ruminate in the wound because the pain cries out for your attention. It is a natural reaction.
But my friend, by ruminating, your eyes are distracted from the source of your help and your deliverance from that wound and its very real pain! As your eyes remain lowered on all the carnage around you, you remain in the midst of it!
Lift your eyes! Your help and your deliverance are near, and it is designed specifically for you! The Heavenly Father loved you so much that He sent His only son to a cross for you (Jn. 3:16). He sent His son that you would have access to Him, yes! But He also sent Him that you would have the ability to lift your eyes off your wound, and to set them upon the object of your help and your rescue!
So, my friend, this week, don’t ruminate in your wound. Choose restoration. Lift your eyes to the mountains, because your help comes from the one true and living God!
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.