Scars
by Carol Hall
Psalm 147:3—“He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.”
Have you ever struggled with issues, people, jobs, children, husbands, wives, parents, life, self? Are you struggling now? Do you have scars from something or someone that would be better left forgotten? Are the scars too ugly to reveal and yet to painful to forget? Do you feel like your heart is so broken that it can never be pieced back together? I’ve been there, too. But God can find the missing pieces, and He knows how to put them back together even with a scarred and broken vessel like mine. A few of my scars are on the outside and visible to the eye, but many remain hidden inside. Some are reminders of my inadequacies, and others are scars of joy. Scars of joy? Yes. Let me show you one of mine … I received this one when I gave birth by Caesarian Section. But the gift of my beautiful son, Olan, far outweighed the pain and time it took to recover from surgery. But look at this one … A failed marriage gave me these ugly scars upon my heart that can only be seen through tears and financial struggles. Oh! But the growth I found through looking to God during this time far outweighs the pain I experienced from my divorce. God is the only one who truly understood how abandoned, alone and unloved I felt. God promised me that He would never leave me or abandon me, so I trusted Him, and He stood by me.
God left me with my scars because He knew He could trust me with them. God left you with your scars because He knew He could trust you with them, too. Because of His scars, I am made clean and whole. What will you do with yours? Will you lick your wounds in silence behind closed doors? Will you whine and complain? Or will you choose to help another by showing them that they can overcome, too?
Many times throughout my life, I have felt physically wounded from battles I fought mentally, spiritually and emotionally. The struggle to keep going was a battle all its own. However, as I grew more knowledgeable in God’s Word, I also became wiser and stronger. But the scars remained. I also learned that when I had done all I can do, the Word says to STAND. Through the struggles it would have been so easy to hang my head or slouch my shoulders in despair, but God’s Word said to STAND, so I did. What I didn’t know was that I was building spiritual muscles like a weight lifter by pressing against the resistance. I was building a strong backbone for Godly posture to form. In my battles I learned to press against the resistance and look UP to God for my strength, because I found none by looking down. I chose to thank God for the outcome even before it happened. We often speak things into existence through our words. I chose to be positive and call those things that are not as though they were. Who can look up to you if you are always looking down? Stand tall during adversity. Just like a broken bone grows stronger once it heals, we grow stronger, too, in whatever area we have to press the hardest against the resistance. Do you want mental strength? Praise God IN all things, not FOR all things.
A warrior often comes home from battle with scars, missing limbs and terrible memories. A hero is decorated with metals for his/her outstanding acts of courage, but they are also decorated with scars. Whenever we fight for something we believe in, we will experience scars. And then, there are those scars that we didn’t fight for. Does it hurt to remember? Press on! Press against the resistance. When we march into the enemy’s camp, we may have to fight, and fighting doesn’t come without some casualties. But God will not leave us to be a casualty of war. God knows He can trust you with those scars, friend. Do something with them! Jesus carried His scars with Him all the way to Heaven as a reminder of the price He paid for us. What will you do with yours?
To read more of Carol Hall’s writings, make a donation for one or more of Darlene Ballard’s book, Treasures in the Darkness, go to www.godsrose.org, or they are also available at The Sanctuary Christian Bookstore at the Landings in Columbus, Georgia.
OTHER ARTICLES:
Judas By Another Name
Can You See The Big Blue Elephant
Bill's Song of Victory
Battered, Scarred and Shamed
HOLIDAY MEMORIES—A MISSION
ARE YOU HURTING?
Cindersisters
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