Recently a friend sent me a link to a sermon on “The Wound” and it reaffirmed some realities I see in my own life and experience daily as I sit with people in my counseling office. Wounds are those things that happen as we live in a fallen and broken world. They are often caused by others in our lives that actually love us and really do want what’s best for us – they are also caused by people who are hurt and wounded themselves – like the old adage says’ “hurt people, hurt people.” But regardless of who caused the wounds in our lives and even their motives, good or bad, we all have wounds. I believe these wounds in our lives then grow into fears. Fears like, insecurity, inferiority, fear of failure and rejection. These fears then impact how we live and love and function – mostly these fears limit us and create barriers and dysfunction.
Ultimately, our relationship with God restores us and helps us cope with these wounds and overcome our fears. There are a few Biblical truth’s that help remind me that Jesus does come and bring comfort to those who are wounded and broken. First, by knowing and growing in Jesus we are free! In John 8:32 Jesus said, “You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” He goes on to say in John 14:6 that the truth is not a concept but it is Him and a relationship with Him, when He states that He is this Truth, “I am the way the Truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” He is the big “T” truth not just a concept or construct or way of living. Secondly, the freedom and comfort Jesus offers us in our wounds is something that we are to live out of and share with others. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 the Apostle Paul says it this way, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” Here is the link to the sermon that my friend shared with me. It is called “The Wound” by Adam Young. I hope it encourages you as it did me to continue to run to Christ and other safe people to find comfort and freedom in my wounds. Joe Bucha, LPC jbucha@stonegatecounsel.com Recently a friend sent me a link to a sermon on “The Wound” and it reaffirmed some realities I see in my own life and experience daily as I sit with people in my counseling office. Wounds are those things that happen as we live in a fallen and broken world. They are often caused by others in our lives that actually love us and really do want what’s best for us – they are also caused by people who are hurt and wounded themselves – like the old adage says’ “hurt people, hurt people.” But regardless of who caused the wounds in our lives and even their motives, good or bad, we all have wounds. I believe these wounds in our lives then grow into fears. Fears like, insecurity, inferiority, fear of failure and rejection. These fears then impact how we live and love and function – mostly these fears limit us and create barriers and dysfunction.
Ultimately, our relationship with God restores us and helps us cope with these wounds and overcome our fears. There are a few Biblical truth’s that help remind me that Jesus does come and bring comfort to those who are wounded and broken. First, by knowing and growing in Him we are free! In John 8:32 Jesus said, “You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” He goes on to say in John 14:6 that the truth is not a concept but it is Him and a relationship with Him, when He states that He is this Truth, “I am the way the Truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” He is the big “T” truth not just a concept or construct or way of living. Secondly, the freedom and comfort He offers us in our wounds is something that we are to live out of and share with others. In 2 Corinthians 3-5 the Apostle Paul says it this way, “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” Here is the link to the sermon that my friend shared with me. I hope it encourages you as it did me to continue to run to Christ and other safe people to find comfort and freedom in my wounds. http://www.villagechurchofeastatlanta.org/sermons/ - It is the one called “The Wound” by Adam Young. Joe Bucha, LPC – jbucha@stonegatecounsel.com My wife and I, along with our daughter, son-in-law and grandson recently spent some time in Italy for 2 weeks. One of our main reasons for going, other than Italy is a beautiful place with wonderful people, was to come along side a group of 10 American students from Ole Miss who were spending the summer ministering to college students in Rome. The focus of my times with these students was to share my story and my journey of surrender to God.
This is some of what I shared with them - I have been on a journey of surrender for over 38 years since I became a Christian in college. I quickly discovered that to try to live the Christian life on my own strength was futile and miserable. It was as I began to discover this paradox of the Christian life that to really live my life in a way that reflected God and was satisfying, I had to surrender. One of the first passages I learned this in was John 15:5, where Jesus said, "I am the Vine and you are the branches, if anyone remains in me and I in Him, you will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." This was a life changing realization for me - if I would surrender and be dependent on Christ and the Holy Spirit, He would work in and through me. Well, I wish I could say I figured that out 38 years ago and had seen God work nonstop through me over these years but reality is that I have often tried to take the control of my life back and the result has been worry, anxiety and regret. I also learned about confession and fortunately, God continues to work in and thorough me as I yield to Him and His greater purposes. I like this translation of Romans 12:1 from the New Living Translation, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him." David Benner in his book, "Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality" says, "Christian surrender is saying yes to God's yes! to me. It begins as I experience His wildly enthusiastic, reckless loving affirmation of me. It grows out of soaking myself in this love so thoroughly that love for God springs up in response. Surrender to His love is the work of the Spirit, making His love ours and His nature ours. This is the core of Christian spiritual transformation." Joe Bucha, LPC jbucha@stonegatecounsel.com |