When we are undergoing a difficult time, it can be hard to trust in God or understand the purpose of the pain. Due to experiencing difficult times and hurtful situations, we all suffer from wounds. These wounds can be physical wounds, or they may be emotional wounds.
Whether you can see these wounds or not, they are unbearably painful. Since we all have wounds, is it true that God can heal all wounds?
Wounds Run Deep
I’ve been going to therapy for several years now, and I have been talking with my therapist about past wounds. These wounds are from emotional abuse, and they can be extremely difficult to eradicate.
Even if you may think the wounds have gone away, sometimes they show up unexpectedly to cause more pain.
The goal of therapy is to heal these wounds, but after going to therapy for so long, I started wondering if some wounds will never heal. Maybe you have felt the same with your own personal wounds.
Certain painful memories, such as deaths, are hard to heal from. While some will encourage us that our loved one is in a better place, these words do little to nothing to help us in our pain. We can know our loved one is with Christ while at the same time missing them.
In addition to deaths, some wounds, such as hurtful remarks, broken promises, or lies, can cause us wounds that won’t heal. God is more than capable of healing these wounds, yet we have to remember that God doesn’t spare us from every pain.
Nowhere in the Bible does God promise us a happy life, nor does He promise us everything we could ever want.
Oftentimes our wounds are what help us draw closer to God and lean on Him. Wounds are never pleasant, yet we can learn more from the pain than we can learn from happiness. Throughout our life, the Father is constantly conforming us to the image of Jesus.
Just as Jesus had to undergo much suffering, we also will undergo suffering and pain. We will never have to experience the pain that Jesus felt on the cross; however, we will all have our own difficult times.
When we encounter these tragedies, pains, and wounds, we have two options: are we going to use this as an opportunity to grow in Christ, or are we going to allow this pain to hinder our growth in Christ?
Wounds are capable of sending us into dark periods of depression and isolation. If a family member, a loved one, or a close friend hurts us, it has the power to completely destroy us.
Individuals often think that only those with mental illnesses carry around wounds, but even if you don’t have a mental illness, you can still experience these wounds.
When anyone we love hurts us, it can be hard to forgive them, and their insult, broken promise, or insensitive comment could carve a lasting wound in the deep recesses of our hearts.
As nice as it would be if everyone was always sensitive, nice, and kind, it is unrealistic. We can do our best to try to embody the characteristics of Jesus, but it doesn’t mean anyone else will do the same.
As mentioned, many wounds will heal, but some wounds won’t. It’s not that God can’t heal these wounds because He can; however, sometimes, God chooses not to heal the wound because it will help us in our Christian walk.
God isn’t trying to cause us pain because He never causes any pain to us. Instead, God uses the bad things to ultimately work out for our good.
Maybe the wound showed us that we should distance ourselves from the person who hurt us, and sometimes it might show us it’s time to make a major change in our own lives.
Bad times were never part of God’s plan for us, yet they are a reality now, and He can work all of these things out for our good (Romans 8:28).
Moving Past the Pain
Even if the wound never goes away, it’s important that we forgive the person or people who hurt us. Forgiveness doesn’t mean what the person did is okay because that’s not what forgiveness means.
Forgiveness means giving the situation over to God and trusting Him with the pain. Paul tells us to forgive others as the Father forgave us in Christ (Ephesians 4:32). It doesn’t mean the person deserves your forgiveness.
We are often taught erroneous beliefs surrounding forgiveness as we are children, but as we get older, we know what forgiveness truly means and what it entails. The first step to healing is forgiving the person or people for what they have done.
While this can be difficult, it is important that we take this first step to healing. Even if the wound never goes away, we know we are obeying God by forgiving the other person.
The person or people may never ask for our forgiveness, yet we are still to forgive them as God has forgiven us. Forgiveness is difficult, and God can help you if you’re having a hard time forgiving the people who have hurt you.
There again, it doesn’t mean what they did is okay, but it does mean you are deciding to give the situation over to God. This also doesn’t mean you will never experience pain again from this wound because you most likely will.
Whether the wound was formed a long time ago or is still present, it can still continue to give you pain. Especially if the wound is not in the stages of healing, you are bound to experience more and more pain from the wound.
Since you chose to read this article, more than likely, you are going through your own wounds and pain. No matter what wound you are trying to heal, know that your pain and hurt are valid even if others have tried to invalidate your wounds.
All of us get wounds throughout our life; therefore, nobody can truly understand all of your wounds except for God Himself.
God understands all of the pain you are experiencing. Every hurt, pain, and tear, He understands. He never designed us to experience pain or wounds, yet ever since the Fall of Man, we are now all at risk of getting hurt and hurting others.
None of us are immune to hurt and pain. The person or people who caused your pain may never understand the severity of what they said or did to you.
Many individuals may even try to twist the situation to invalidate your pain and make you look like the bad guy. Sadly, this does happen even if with family members and loved ones.
What Does This Mean?
God knows your pain, and He knows who hurt you. Run to Him and tell Him about your pain. Don’t be afraid to be honest and be raw in your prayers. There have been countless times when just talking with God about past wounds and present wounds that I’ve ended up crying.
If the same happens to you, there is no reason to be ashamed of crying. Emotions are not evil, and they are not sinful. While I cannot promise you that all of your wounds will heal, I can promise you that God will always be with you, and He will walk with you through the pain.
A great number of people leave us. Those who claim to “love” us or those who claim to “care” about us may leave us. With so many people leaving us with our wounds, it causes us to think we don’t matter.
Friend, no matter how many people have left you and no matter how deep your wounds are, you matter, and you are deeply loved. God will carry you in the pain, and He will never leave your side.
For further reading:
Is the Phrase ‘Time Heals All Wounds’ in the Bible?
How to Remember That Words Do Hurt
What Does the Bible Say about Healing?
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/dev asangbam
Vivian Bricker loves Jesus, studying the Word of God, and helping others in their walk with Christ. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degree in Christian Ministry with a deep academic emphasis in theology. Her favorite things to do are spending time with her family and friends, reading, and spending time outside. When she is not writing, she is embarking on other adventures.