BEAUTY FROM ASHES

We all have wounds—emotional or physical. But then they begin to scar. Every scar we have tells of a hidden story. Some scars are small and unnoticeable while others constantly remind us of what happened. But have there been wounds that have taken a while to heal due to their depth or size? Recently God has been speaking to me a lot about my personal wounds and scars. About a few weeks ago, I (along with the youth in my church) went to a camp retreat. We had an amazing guest speaker come and share about the power of the Holy Spirit. The whole week we were there, we could feel the Holy Spirit’s presence surround us. We learned many wonderful lessons; yet, the one that stuck the most with me was about healing. The following weeks after camp, God began to stir something in my heart. I began to see things in a new light. He taught me the following points:

-Learning to forgive

-Acknowledging God is in control

-Being grateful for the reminder of healing

I learned that if I was not capable of forgiving others for the pain they had inflicted upon me, then I couldn’t be forgiven by God. If there was any way I could show my love for God, it was by showing others the agape love—the highest form of love. It’s that love with which God loves us. Unconditional love “that covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8). Because I was holding on to those grudges, my wounds were festering and spreading infection all over my body. My attitude was changing; bitterness was building a home within me; hate and anger were enjoying their new victim. God told me that there was no way I would feel His presence again unless I learned to forgive. How are we more important than others that we think we deserve forgiveness yet others don’t? I had to learn to forgive wholeheartedly, let bygones be bygones, and move forward.

God taught me that in spite of the pain, He is still in control over all. If we want to be purified, we must accept the trials God sends us. God will use friends, people we’re acquainted with, even family, to hurt us so that His character can be made perfect within us. I had to learn, that God uses our wounds as testimony of His enduring faithfulness and love for us. They are proof that God is working in our lives. It’s rare to see a baker with clean hands. Most of them have burns or cuts here and there. It shows us that the baker is really committed to his career; he’s not dilly-dallying. We can’t expect to walk a perfectly straight and smooth Christian walk. There will be thorns along the way, rocky mountains to climb, lonely valleys…it’s all a part of drawing closer to God and deepening our relationship with Him.

Lastly, I learned that those scars serve as a reminder of what was and of God’s healing love. “So I’m thankful for the scars, ‘cause without them I wouldn’t know Your heart. And I know they’ll always tell of who You are…” (Scars by I Am They) Those healed wounds will always be a reminder of what God carried me through. Every scar has an amazing story of its own. They tell of different seasons in our lives. “For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.”—Job 5:18

How many of our wounds have still not healed? Will we continue to let the hatred and bitterness fester our wounds and destroy our lives? Or will we allow God’s love start to work in us? It’s time to forgive and let go. We can’t show brotherly love when all we have inside is hate. Let’s forgive; let’s allow God to take control of that situation; and let’s be grateful for that season of hurt and pain–because without it, we wouldn’t know who God is. Wounds will always push us closer to God’s presence.

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.” –Hosea 6:1

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