“For God wounds, but he binds up;
he strikes, but his hands heal.”
~Job 5:18 (NRSV)
Our very wounds awaken, and are
the cause of, our
spiritual capacity. If not for our wounding, our critical and embarrassing
weakness, and the exposure of same, we would not know God. And God wants us to further expose and even
expand upon our
wounds—to turn them from being our embarrassment to being the very cause for
celebration.
Where a wound lies unacknowledged
that wound is a liability to our entire person.
But where a wound is both known
and lauded for its role in bringing us to God, that wound is the great
testimony of our path. It is testimony of our fervency to, at last, adore the
truth. It is testimony of our courage. Some never get there. We have.
Accepting our woundedness is like saying
to the world, “Here I am—take me as I am presented this
day—here am I! Still, God’s not finished with me yet. That’s okay by me.”
It is fascinating in life that
when we are wounded we first know life; the
wound signifies a great day as we look back. What may once have been seen as
shameful now has the sense of glory about it—all because of what God did and
continues to do.
Taking Delight In Our Wound
The wound reminds us of the
battle—of our courage to withstand fear. Our wound reveals us as conquerable;
yet, only in defeat do we face horrible truths in courage. It takes a loser to
know how to be a true winner.
We don’t walk away from such bad
news’ stories. They are not the end for us.
Once we were fearful and
despondent; ashamed to go on. But, we look at our wounding differently now,
sensing it as the opportunity that sets us apart.
The world thinks it is a perverse
logic that sets our wound apart as victorious for us. But we know now that God
turns the world’s logic upside down. We shake our heads in wonder and laugh
within ourselves. How could God be so good as to convert our causes for guilt
and shame into the material potent for salvation?
Making the Very Most
of Our Wound
Having access into our vital
spirituality through the very hole of our woundedness, we make the most of it.
There are many who are still blind because they are either not aware of their wound
or haven’t reconciled it.
We, on the other hand, sense the
opportunity to live the most of our lives.
Spirituality is nothing without
the truth. Being that the opportunity lies open, as we apply the truth, it
changes us. Our hole through which our spirituality entered—our wound—receives
revelations from God for the moment and every moment. We ask for revelation and
receive. It is checked and validated by the truth.
We have the courage now to face
all of life. If our wounding couldn’t crush us, nothing can. God is with us and
nothing so devastating can be against.
***
Everyone has a wound. But it is
not a fatal weakness. On the contrary, it is actually the path to God. Our
woundedness was how God got through to us regarding our need of him. Our wound
brought us to life!
Wounding is the passage to
spirituality. What was once our shame—our wound—is now the very reason we are
victors. Our strength lies in happily exposing and expanding upon our wound. It
is where God proves continually faithful.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
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