Bandages For Bruised And Broken Lives ©1998 Melinda Lancaster Bandages for bruised and broken lives, a strange topic? Not if you have been in my shoes or visited my home lately. I just recently was bruised, broken and bandaged physically. During the course of treatment and recovery, as always God has taught me some things. Many of you know that I have been receiving treatment for a ruthless disease called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome or RSDS. Part of the treatment of this disease involves breaking the cycle or repatterning the sympathetic nervous system so it will stop overreacting to some minor injury, like the blisters I got on my toes almost a year ago. To break the cycle the nerves are blocked one of several ways. In my case it was with an epidural catheter and spinal cord stimulators which were both temporarily implanted in the epidural space. Once these "appliances" for lack of a better word are implanted then they must be cleaned and bandaged properly to avoid infection. Every day that they were intact a home nurse came and did a one and a half to two hour bandage change. To make this possible a pharmaceutical company supplied me with medication and bandages. And I mean to tell you, I was well supplied. Several weeks into this treatment I developed an infection which required that the "appliances" be removed. It was a bittersweet experience. I was sick and in pain, but I no longer needed to be bandaged. I had two huge boxes full of every kind of bandage you could ever think of and some you may have never even heard of. I had various brands of Band-Aids. Various size gauze pads. A variety of antibacterial agents. And tape…every kind of tape for every kind of skin. I had silk tape, paper tape, polyester tape, "Me-Fix" tape, plastic tape. Plenty of tape. And Tegaderms which are worth their weight in gold to cover up anything and everything. Also, Opsites that allow wounds to be visible to the eye but protected from bacteria. My entire living room was full of bandages and other items. It looked like a hospital or at least like a very large medicine closet. I began one afternoon sorting things and placing them in two piles. One for future use and one for someone else to use. As I sorted through what had at one time looked useless to me, more things began to appear useful. The "home" box grew larger. The "away" box a little smaller as I recalled previous incidents and accidents and then glanced over at the picture of my seven year old son who is 100% boy. "Well, maybe I should keep a few of these…just in case." Or, "this might come in handy if" and other thoughts came to mind. Suddenly these things which had been taking up space in my home and making my living room look messy began gaining value. They became useful for future purposes. Every day this week I have hobbled by the box of bandages I decided to keep but have not had the time to put away. The box has "stuck out" so to speak. As I have been seeking God about direction for this message I was taken back again and again to that box. Finally, God impressed me to share this with you. He is the Great Physician, His Word a "medicine chest" and there is no bruised or broken place in your life or mine that He does not have a bandage for. None. He is all and has all that we have ever or will ever need for our lives. You see, I had a very competent, very thorough doctor. He wrote out a 13 or 14 step procedure for bandaging my wounds. His orders allowed the pharmaceutical company to supply all that was needed for the process. We did not have to beg, borrow, or steal because we knew what we needed, who to ask for it, and when to expect it. Everything we needed was at our disposal because my physician had ordered just what I needed. My doctor is great, but he is a man, a human being. He knew just what I needed and provided it for me so I could get well. How much more does our Heavenly Father, The All Knowing Great Physician recognize and provide all that we need to "get well" physically yes, but also emotionally and spiritually. Our God has a storehouse of bandages for our bruised and broken lives. Notice I said "our" lives. You can be a blood bought born-again believer and still have bruises and brokeness in your life. It’s true! Just ask Moses, Joseph or David. Try Hannah, Naomi, Esther and many other men and women of the Bible. Some spent brief moments bruised or broken. Others suffered for years yet bravely endured and became "inductees" into the "Hall Of Faith" to forever be seen as an example for generations to come. How did they make it? How did they survive? How did they recover? They were all treated by the same doctor, The Great Physician. According to Psalm 147:3 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Wounds are injuries, hurts, and sorrows. Sometimes they just happen. Other times they are inflicted by others. Whatever the cause, they are painful. They hurt even as they heal. The question I bring to you today is: "Have you incurred a wound of some kind lately? Maybe someone lied to you, rejected you, or betrayed your trust. If so, God wants to heal you. He wants to "bind up" your wounds. He wants to bandage them to prevent infection from setting in. He wants to provide an environment that will promote healing and He does that in our lives so beautifully. The healing environment is His Presence. Psalm 34:18 says "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit." God is where? He is near. Not far, but near to those who have a broken heart. Why, because He loves us and wants to heal us. Maybe you are broken today, not by something someone else did, but instead because of something you did. Somewhere down the road you sinned, you screwed up, you missed the mark. Well, then that puts you in the same category as David after his affair with Bethsheba. He had a contrite (repentant, remorseful, apologetic, penitent) spirit. In Psalm 51 he prayed a prayer of repentance saying "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hid Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Sin can cause brokenness in our hearts. So can sickness or sorrow. Yet according to the Word of God, God is not swayed by who did what, when, where and why. Instead according to Psalms 51:17 "A broken and contrite heart. These, O God, You will not despise." Hebrews 4:15 says "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses (physical, spiritual, and emotional) but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need." We can go to "Doctor Jesus" when we feel sick in our emotions or in our spirit. We go with no fear, knowing not only that He understands and is able to make an accurate diagnosis, but we go realizing that He will always prescribe the proper treatment, specify the procedures and make sure that we are bandaged properly so we can have a full recovery. His treatment for our bruises, wounds, and brokenness never really varies. It is grace, grace, and more grace. Not just unmerited favor as we have come to define grace; but unmerited divine assistance. Mercy, charity, clemency, respite (which is a "breather" or short rest). Grace is all encompassing. That is why Paul The Apostle could echo the Words of God who said "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Many times we see our weaknesses as being grievous both to us and to God. That very thing in your life that has brought you pain, that "thorn in your flesh"; that broken area is a place where God’s strength, and God’s power, and God’s healing can be manifested in your life. For when we are weak, He can then be strong on our behalf. Psalm 145:14 says "The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who bowed down." Also Psalm 34:19 says "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." II Chronicles 16:9 says "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." We don’t even have to make an appointment or be placed on a waiting list to see Him. He is looking for us. After Jesus returned from His wilderness experience He began His earthly ministry. He traveled to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" and came to His hometown, Nazareth. He went to the synagogue as was customary for Him to do and stood to read. When handed the book he flipped to Isaiah 61:1-3 which read "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." When He finished He closed the book, all eyes riveted upon Him. He added these words: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." And the people were blown away! How could this be true? A Nazarene. A carpenter’s son! Yet His ministry spoke for itself:
To the paralytic He said "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you. Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." To a couple of blind men sitting by the road crying out for mercy He asked "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord that our eyes may be opened." So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight. Multitudes thronged Him to hear and be healed of their diseases, and Luke 6:8 adds to the list "those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude tried to touch Him for POWER went out from Him and healed them all." Why? Go back to Isaiah chapter 61. The Spirit of God was upon Him and He was anointed for this work.
The woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 8:20 had used all her means and done everything she could do to get well. She’d seen the doctors. She’d seen scores of them, yet instead of getting better she seemed only to grow worse. An outcast of society, because of her illness, she was brokenhearted, afflicted and unfortunate. Yet using every bit of strength she could muster, going against the "norms’ of society she reached out only to touch the hem of His garment. He was all that was left. Surely He could provide a remedy. And as you know, she reached the hem of His garment and healing virtue flowed through her body. Jesus wanted to know who had touched him. A silly question for someone being thronged by a crowd? No, He knew healing virtue had gone forth in response to someone’s faith. But there was more healing to be done. A broken heart to be mended by the simple words "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you whole." "Did I hear Him right" she could have thought. "Did He say daughter?" Yes, He did say daughter, wound cleaned, bandage applied. And the father who’s daughter had died? Jesus followed him home walking right past the musicians, mourners, and "professional wailers" announcing that the girl was not dead, just sleeping. He took her by the hand, she arose, and He presented her to two brokenhearted parents. Mourning turned to dance!
Now, you might be thinking, that was then this is now, so what does this have to do with me. Well, Our God never changes. Yesterday, today, forever He is the same God as then and if He did it before…He can do it again! Maybe you are bruised today and you minimize your wound because there is no blood, so to speak. That hurt is just as real as any other. The pain may be just as great if not greater than someone who has been emotionally or spiritually cut. Below the surface lies pain. Pain that God longs to heal. The question is will you let the Great Physician treat you today? You can hide your bruises from everyone else but He sees them. He knows they are there. And He is able to bring recovery to your life. Others of you are bleeding. Cut and wounded you need God to supply the things necessary for your full recovery. Let Him clean the wounds with His Word and wrap them in His Spirit so the healing can begin. The longer you wait, the greater the risk that one little cut; one gash, one tiny tear will be a breeding ground for an infectious process that will eventually affect every part of your life. ARE YOU UNDERSTANDING WHAT I AM SAYING TO YOU? It only takes one little cut, one jab, one criticism, one remark left untreated and open to start an infection that will eventually bring you to the point of becoming "septic" or full of infection. Stinky thoughts, painful memories, heated emotions, spiritual sickness; Let Jesus have it today. Don’t hold on to it or cover it up. Expose it and let Him "doctor" you. That’s what He longs to do. That’s what He came for and that’s what He died for. Isaiah 53:5 says "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him; And by His stripes we are healed." He longs to heal your broken heart today. You who are afflicted in any way. You who feel abandoned, forsaken and alone. Your life seems to be a series of misfortunes and your heart which was once so strong is broken. There's no strength, just weakness. Your heart which was once so strong is on the brink of despair. God can take you from that place and mend your broken heart. How will He do it you ask? Is it possible? Has anyone ever hurt this bad before? Yes. Jesus Christ Himself was despised and rejected by men. He is acquainted with sorrow. He felt so abandoned and alone that He cried out from His Roman cross "Father, why have you forsaken me?" If anyone can do what needs to be done in your life, He can. He’ll give you a garment of praise to replace the heaviness. Beauty for ashes. Joy for mourning. Just try Him. Just trust His promises. Believe His Word, and above all else, submit to His treatment. You may not understand everything He says or everything He does but if you will trust Him completely He will be the Greatest Physician you will ever have.
|
To
the bruised people who had an
injury involving small vessels and
discoloration without a break in the skin He
was coolness in the heat of the moment. These
people might not appear seriously wounded
since the hurt was "below the
surface." Nevertheless, they needed His
healing touch. Think about the woman at the
well, or Zaccaheus. No blood, no cuts, but
bruised and hurting underneath it all. Jesus
was able to bind up their wounds.
