Wednesday’s Declaration
Topic: Hurt people Hurt peopleJudges 11:1-11, 11:29-39
When we walk around with unhealed open wounds we inadvertently cause others to suffer as a result of our pain. We haven’t allowed God to heal our open sores; instead we wear them as badges of honor. We begin to name our wounds as if we were in a gang or in the war.
Spiritual wound healing is probably similar to normal wound healing.
Normal wound healing occurs in 4 stages, hemostasis, inflammation,
proliferation and remodeling. If any of those stages are interrupted it would
cause delayed healing and could result into a chronic ulcer.
Homeostasis is the
blood clotting to stop the bleeding of the wound.
Inflammation is a
self-protector; it swells and gets hot around the wound removing damaged cells.
Proliferation is the rapid
formation of new cells (rebuilding)
Remodeling is when
the skin is intact and becomes strong again.
You know you have an open wound if you suffered something too painful
to talk about. You know have an open wound if the pain surrounding it, is what
drives you or holds you back.
When we are completely healed from an old wound we may have a scar but we
no longer feel the pain. When our wound(s) aren’t fully healed its tender to
the touch.
Often God is preparing us for an opportunity to redeem us from our
tragedy or trauma. We however, do not see God’s plan as we are preoccupied with
our wound. We often focus on the pain and we forget that God is in control. We
often focus on the wound and intentionally peal back the scab so we can
continue to feel the pain. If we allow Jesus in our hearts to heal our pain, we
can move from pain to gain.
Jephthah’s Unhealed Wound
Jephthah was considered an illegitimate child because his mother was a prostitute.
When his brothers by his father’s wife grew up, they threw him out of their
father’s house. His brothers did not want him to receive any inheritance, as he
was from a strange woman.
Jephthah was a mighty warrior but he was put out as last week’s trash. He left town and began running around with
thugs, forgetting he was a mighty warrior. He allowed his circumstance to
define him. He allowed his wound to guide him. Some of us can go back to that
moment where our lives changed. That moment that is the source of our pain;
when the anger set in.
Jephthah’s Redemption
His hometown needed a warrior to help them fight against their enemy
and they sought his help. Judges 11:5-6. God was seeking to redeem him. To heal
his wound and complete the final stages of healing. God was seeking to return
him to his land and give him an inheritance. Jephthah was blinded by his pain
and immediately addressed his pain when they sought his help. He had been
feeling like an outcast and instead of responding as a mighty warrior he responded
as a wounded soldier. Judges 11:7.
The leaders decided to make him commander of the army and upon victory
crown him ruler over all of them.
How many times has God sought to redeem us and we ignore his blessing
because we are too focused on our pain. We are often trapped in the
inflammation phase of healing and have not allowed God to move us through the
final stages of healing. When we are inflamed we are protecting ourselves, we
are hot, we are angry, and we attempt to remove anyone and anything that
reminds us of our wound.
Jephthah agrees to lead their army. The Spirit of the Lord was with
Jephthah as he went to fight against their enemy. Just as he approached his
enemy, fear and revenge crept in. Jephthah took his eyes off of God. He forgot
the battle was not his but The Lord’s. He wanted be sure he wouldn’t be
rejected again and he made a rash vow. A vow that demonstrated his hurt was greater
than his faith in God. He wanted to ensure his victory so he would be able to
rule over those that tossed him away. He asked the Lord to deliver the enemies
into his hand and he would sacrifice the first person that greeted him as a
burnt offering to the Lord.
How often has someone hurt us and God says vengeance is mine and we
cannot resist we must take matters into our own hands. The enemy is always
waiting for an opportunity to kill, steal or destroy. When we take matters into
our hands we play into the enemy’s hands.
Jephthah lost his daughter, his only child, because he didn’t allow God
to heal his wounds (Judges 11:34-36). He walked around in a constant state of inflammation. He
didn’t let go of his trauma and it cost him his only daughter. We are often saturated
in our pain; we don’t see who we are hurting around us. We don’t see the pain
we are causing others. If we take a moment to look to the hills, we can see
that Jesus is trying to bring us out. He is trying to redeem us. He is trying
to make us whole. He is trying to complete the healing process.
Jephthah was a mighty warrior but he saw himself as an outcast. Through
Jephthah’s pain he contested his promotion, through his fear he lost something
precious. Through God's grace he redeem him.
Allow Jesus to heal all of your wounds. Some of us are barely holding
on, we are still in homeostasis, the blood is barely clotting. Some of us are
inflamed, we are hot, we are snippy, we angry, and we are trying to protect
ourselves from future pain. Some of us have moved to rebuilding, we are
allowing the proliferation stage to begin and new memories to set in. Some of
us are growing tensile strength skin, we are glowing and in our final stage of
healing. Some of us have allowed God to come in and completely heal us and
remodel us.
God is a healer if you let him he is the ultimate pain specialist. We
must be careful of prolonged inflammation. Prolonged inflammation causes other
diseases. We often stay in the inflamed stage for years and we are no longer
feeling the pain of the original trauma, we are feeling the pain of our flame.
Our protective barrier has been our security blanket and when there is no more
pain, we don’t know how to no longer be inflamed.
Let go and give it to God. Life hurts but Jesus heals.
Life hurts but Jesus heals.
Life hurts but Jesus heals.
Life hurts but Jesus heals.
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