By Chris WittsSunday 2 Jul 2023Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
George Gallup, who founded the Gallup poll organisation, made an interesting observation about life. He said, “The focus of the twentieth century has been on outer space but the focus of the twenty first century may well be on inner space”. I think he meant that in this 21st century we will take more time to look inside ourselves and consider some of the important issues of life. In Part 1, I spoke about the need for inner healing, and in this Part 2 I want to take it a step further.
One of the things I’ve discovered is that everyone has hurts. Nobody sails through life untouched. Nobody really leads a charmed life. All of us have experienced tremendous hurt, and many of us still suffer from the scars. It may not be apparent on the surface and we probably prefer not to talk about or think too much about it. The worst hurts are those that don’t heal by themselves. Some hurts heal with the passing of time. Some hurts leave lasting pain. Left to themselves, they never heal. And I’m talking about hurts like rejection, betrayal, and injustice. These hurts, if left over time, will fester. They need healing. They don’t heal by themselves.
God’s healing grace
But have you heard of something called healing grace? There is some good news about grace to those who have wounds from the past or deep hurts that they’re experiencing right now. I especially like the words from the Bible in Psalm 147:3 (NIV): “He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.” You see, God is on a mission to bring comfort to the brokenhearted. That’s what God is like. For he heals the hidden wounds of our lives. What about all the different areas of our lives that need healing: guilt, discouragement, anxiety, and weariness. Do you suffer from any of these? God brings healing at the point of our greatest need.
1. God can handle my guilt with forgiveness
Proverbs 28:1 (NLT) says, “The wicked run away when no one is chasing them.” That’s what you feel like when you’re guilty. You feel like you’re being chased. You are your own accuser. Let’s admit it. At some point we have to raise our hands and say, I did something wrong—we all have sinned. James 2:10 (NLT) says, “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God’s laws.” There’s no difference. Once you’ve committed one sin, you’re guilty of breaking God’s law.
We’ve all sinned. We’ve sinned through our acts—things like lying and stealing. We’ve sinned through our attitudes—things like anger, lust, and envy. But we’ve also sinned against God through our nature—the fact that we’re sinners by nature. We aren’t sinners because we sin. We sin because we’re sinners. As Paul says in Ephesians 2:3, “We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger just like everyone else.” Because we’re sinners, we’ve experienced guilt. Psalm 38:4 (NLT) says, “My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear.”
Guilt is like a warning light bringing our attention to something that needs to get fixed. Many of us see the warning light on the car’s dashboard, but we put off getting the car fixed until we have to. The smart thing to do, however, is to deal with the problem. We need to be healed of our guilt. Psalm 103:3 (NLT) says, “He forgives all my sins.” There are no exclusions. There is nothing that’s not covered. There’s no small print. God promises to heal the guilt of all your sins, no matter when they were committed or how severe they may be.
2. God can handle my discouragement with help
Job 5:7 (NLT) says, “People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.” Troubles are part of life. There’s no end to the troubles you will probably face. We all have problems.
It’s hard to imagine anyone having more problems than David, the man who wrote Psalm 103. You name it, he experienced it. He was the least in his family—the runt of the litter. King Saul tried to kill him. He had to run for his life for years. One of his sons raped his half-sister and was later murdered. His other son plotted against him to take away his throne, and slept with his own wives in public view. David’s life was one of turmoil.
David was brutally honest with God about how he felt. He let God know whenever he was experiencing a time of trouble. And time after time, David found that God was able to rescue him from discouragement. In Psalm 103:3-4, he writes: “He…heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death. It’s possible that David was talking about literal diseases and literal death. But it’s more likely that David is talking about flat out problems and adversities—things that we all experience.
Can God handle your problems? You better believe it!
You might have come extremely discouraged today. God can handle your discouragement. God can provide healing from whatever it is that is dragging you down. He promises to meet your needs. He wants to surround your life with love and mercy; to fill your life with good things. God can handle your anxiety with his provision.
PRAYER
Lord, we’re all struggling in different areas. Thank you that no matter what our struggle is, you can meet our need. Thank you that you provide rest for the weary. We come now to find our rest in you. Thank you for your healing grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Source:
Copyright 2000 by Rev. Dr John K. Luoma
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