Wounds and Scars

“For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth and his hands make whole.” (Job 5:18)

I suspect that often what we treat as wounds are really scars that we have allowed to dredge up painful memories, opening old wounds, as it were. God never meant for our wounds to be perpetual. That’s why He promised to “make us whole” again. Whether our hurt comes from others or is self-inflicted, we can be sure that God could have deflected the blow. And we can also be sure that His loving heart will work all things concerning those of us who love Him for our good and His glory.

This may be especially hard to accept when the wounding comes in childhood. No child deserves to be hurt; yet many of them (us?) have been. But we’re not talking about getting something we deserve. We’re talking about fulfilling God’s eternal plan. God displays a special kind of anger for those who harm children, and drowning them in the deepest part of the sea would be kindness compared to what He must have in store for them (Matt.18:6). I read that younger skin has a tendency to “over heal” when it has been wounded, leaving a larger, thicker scar, and I’m sure that’s true of emotional scars, as well. Yet, you and I have met men and women who suffered unjust treatment as a child, but who now live victorious, productive lives; while some others who were reared in happy, godly homes now live in dysfunctional, ungodly misery. In the case of the former, they allowed God to bind up their wounds and now, though they live with scars, the pain is gone.

That’s what I’m talking about here: pain. Scars are not painful, unless you open them up and reproduce the wound. They’re a natural part in the healing process, and the fact that we have a scar is testimony to the healing that has taken place. My daughter, Leah, shared a song with me that the group, Point of Grace, sings, called, “Heal the Wound, but Leave the Scar.” And that’s exactly what God does. He never leaves open wounds. He binds us up and makes us whole again. He leaves the scars to remind us of the work of grace He has wrought in our lives…and to remove the pain.

Oh, hurting soul, if you think your pain comes from an “old wound,” you should know this: There are no old wounds for the child of God. There are fresh ones that God is able to bind up and heal, taking away the pain; and there are scars that can only hurt if you open them up and handle them again.

Don't mistake a scar for a wound.