The Holy Spirit nudged me; a hundred thoughts flooded my mind. I knew I would “take the hit” for my children; hasn’t every mom told her sick or injured child, “If I could take the pain for you, I would”? And I knew I wanted to say yes to Wendy’s question ... but I also knew I couldn’t.
In fact, I had been going through some painful feelings about then ... those “I’m-inept-and-a-failure” kind of feelings the enemy trips me up with from time to time. I realized that not only had I been flailing against the pain of rejection, I had not even considered what the Lord might be doing in the lives of the people I felt wounded by, much less whether my wounds were to be a part of their healing.
I’m glad the Lord caught my attention that day! He gave me a new perspective on my pain — a perspective that is more Christ-focused and less me-focused.
Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus was wounded so that we could be healed. So if I long to be like Him —
Am I willing to absorb the hurt when my friend takes her heartache out on me?
Am I willing to answer with tenderness when my husband comes home in a bad mood after a hard day?
Can I remain silent and pray rather than defend myself when I’m being blasted by someone in pain?
The question is, am I willing to be like Christ by allowing myself to be wounded for someone else’s sake? I want to say, “Yes!” Now, Lord, help me to stretch my arms out wide the next time the opportunity comes.
Anne Cody
That's wonderful! And encouraging because we know that, as sons and daughters of Christ we can take those cares and wounds and we can cast them back on the Lord! Others may not have that relationship with the Lord, but we can, and that's how we can stand up under it all.
ReplyDeletePsalm 55:22 says "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."