Scars

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. —Psalm 147:3 (NKJV)

As Ralph and I approach the sharp curve on our walk down our country road, we pass a hundred-year-old, weather-beaten maple tree that bears a noticeable scar, telling the story of a vehicle that did not make the curve. Thankfully, the driver fared far better than his car. With all its scars, that tree still stands strong and displays an awe-inspiring burst of color each fall.

When our bodies sustain a wound, they go through the essential process of producing collagen, a substance that stretches over the wound to bind and mend it. Scars aren’t necessarily bad; they are the outward sign of the body’s inward work, doing what it’s supposed to do. Yet, an improperly-cared-for injury can result in scars becoming adhesions that cause further pain, immobility, and disfigurement, needing to be broken up and removed. Preventing these is one of the primary reasons for getting up and moving around as soon as possible after surgery.

Scars come from trauma to the body, planned and unplanned. Some are easily seen, while others are faded. Some are external, while others are internal. The deeper, more invasive, invisible scars are ones that cover wounds of the spirit.

These spiritual wounds can be minor and few, like those from which we easily pick up and move on, stronger than ever. Others are deeper, creating dangerous adhesions on the soul that reach into our daily lives through our thoughts, our patterns of behavior, or how we see, respond, and react to circumstances. They influence our decisions and affect how we deal with relationships—even how we view and respond to God. They can make it very easy to shut down, shut out, and disengage from people and from life, to be spiritually limited, crippled, and disfigured in the mind and heart. These adhesions in our spiritual life need to be broken up and cleaned away in order for the spiritual damage to heal properly. This is the work of our Savior.

The Hebrew word for “broken” in our verse above means: “to burst, to crush, and to destroy.”

It means that we are in a place where there is absolutely nothing we can do to fix it. We are completely shattered. There’s another interesting meaning to “broken,” and that is “to bring to birth.” All these woundings in our lives will be brought to life in order that God may bring us to new life.

It’s this new life that leads to the most important aspect of the “brokenhearted.” That’s the brokenness of sin. Only when we become broken over our sin, seeing it for what it truly is, can God begin to heal and bring life to our dead and damaged spirits.

His “healing” is: “to make whole, thoroughly repair, to cure.” When God takes away our sin and forgives us, He heals us from our “sin state.” It’s instantaneous and complete. Healing the wounds from sin in our spirits is not always so fast.

Just as with the beginning process of post-op rehab, the heart’s healing process is painful, slow-going, and limited. Yet, with discipline and persistence, our strength, endurance, and mobility slowly return to our spirits. It takes time and patience. It takes being in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. It takes being consistently in the Word, prayer, fellowship, worship, obedience, and trust in our Great Physician. It takes a constant surrendering to Him and letting Him do spiritual surgery on our hearts to remove those adhesions. King David said it perfectly:

Create in me a clean heart, O God;
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
—Psalm.51:10 (NKJV)

“Binds” means “to wrap firmly, to saddle, to stop the wound.” It’s like the way the doctor wraps broken ribs to prevent further damage and allow for healing. It’s like pressure gauze to stop the bleeding and keep the site clean and free from contaminants. God’s healing is the collagen of the Holy Spirit, who wraps Himself tightly around us and holds us close, protecting us, continually healing us—eternally sealing us. Through that sealing, our salvation is sure.

This doesn’t mean that, as believers, we will never again experience pain. We live in sinful bodies in a fallen world. We’re going to be hurt, and we are going to hurt others. It does mean that when we are suffering, we have a perfect Physician we can run to.

It also doesn’t mean we won’t have scars—we will! We will go through life like the tree down my road. We will sustain many wounds and bear many scars. But instead of being crippled by spiritual adhesions, the scars we bear in life can make us stronger, better, more beautiful, and more vibrant for Him. Those scars can be the open door to tell God’s Story.

Thank You, Father, for Your healing power in our lives. I love You, Lord!

“Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart, take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar”
(From “Heal the Wound,” lyrics by Clint Lagerberg,
Nicole Nordeman; sung by Point of Grace)

In Him,
Donna Perkins

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

 Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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