“Yeah, your wounds are where the light shine through….”
An excerpt from Christian band Switchfoot’s latest song, “Where the Light Shines Through”, these words reveal a truth the enemy often tries to cover.
Instead of seeing the hope and possibility of the future after any wound– whether it’s when your seemingly best friend abandons you for the popular crowd, when you’re belittled by the adult you dearly love and respect, when your parents divorce after 20 years together, or when you feel trapped in the ostensibly endless cycle of addiction–we often see (and feel!) only the excruciating pain that wounds bring.
And Satan uses our vulnerability as a perfect time to throw out lies, a trail of bananas for us to slip on and fall flat on our face. Then, we are hurt not only by the wound, but also by entangling snares and consequences that come from listening to the enemy’s voice and straying from the road of truth.
Pain. Confusion. Hopelessness. Perhaps even bitterness. All of these are potential result. So, how do we then live?
My Story
Let me introduce you to one young lady, a Christian, pastor’s kid, soccer captain, short-term missionary, artist, and Honors student. She had dreams of one day becoming a certified counselor, and was already accepted into her future college.
Oh, and she was an addict. Did I forget to mention that?
While most people saw the teenager she wanted them to see–an outgoing, overachieving, high school student –she felt herself disintegrating on the inside.
Struggling with self-harm for the past year and a half had rendered her emotionally drained, scarred, and doubting if freedom would ever make it’s true revelation in her life. Victory felt so foreign that she estimated herself to be the picture perfect candidate for failure.
For every accolade given for straight-A’s, soccer talent, and church participation, she only further drew into herself, affixing her identity to the wounded girl in corner, squeezing her pillow as she averted her eyes, shaking in shame.
And how do I know this? What gives me the right to speak of another’s heart? Well, because I was that girl.
However, fast-forward two years later (after much counseling, grace, grace, and more grace!):
Wounds Which Bring HEaling
Sharing a pillow with a sobbing girl across from me and then looking up Psalms of encouragement to read to her, I’m realizing these are the same Scripture passages my counselors provided me with during the darkness. The wounds are where his light shine through.
I’m recounting hurts with my mom, hurts I didn’t think I could ever voice, as we snuggle on the couch late in the night; and through this our relationship reaches a level of intimacy I didn’t think possible. The wounds are where his light shine through.
The temptation arises, to hurt myself, but instead I turn the worship music up loud, singing with all my heart the goodness of my God. And suddenly I find myself in the beauty of his majesty. The wounds are where his light shine through.
Your Hurt Doesn’t Determine Your Future–The Healing From the Cross Does
Please understand, this is not a testimony of what I have done to attain my freedom, but of Christ unveiling his grace to me. The wounds are deep, but his power to heal runs deeper, which is why I can testify that my past does not determine my future.The wounds are deep, but his power to heal runs deeper, which is why I can testify that my past does not determine my future. Click To Tweet
Those failures are the building blocks of learning for tomorrow. While Satan’s lies have succeeded to trip me up before, and will forever be trying to continue to do so, affixing myself to Christ’s truth ousts out the voice of the enemy, thus aiding me in walking forward with God.
Healing. Peace. Hope. Forgiveness. All of these (and much more!) are just waiting to be had when we choose to embrace our Heavenly Father’s truths.
Don’t run from your wounds, but embrace them in such a way to see what Christ will transform them into. Embrace the light they can shine when Jesus is allowed to heal.
