Jeremiah 30:17 "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD, 'because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares."
I was at the doctor's not long ago for a physical. I've been having some problems with my knee and she was examining it. It seems that the wear and tear of age means that the pain I feel is arthritis. But as she was looking at my knee she noticed a scar. "Oh, I said. That's a very old bicycle injury". Suddenly I remembered a day that was about 47 years ago and I was racing my bike up the street. Stevie B, a neighbor and one of the smart alecs in our class thought it would be funny to cut me off so he could win the race. I never knew of such dirty tricks and I was shocked as I lost control of my bike and fell to the pavement. It was a nasty bruise that lasted for a long time. I'm a grown woman today and the scar is still visible.
I got to thinking about how we can have scars in our souls. Many of us have been wounded by people who were careless or unthinking or just plain mean. We may have found ourselves totally taken by surprise when we were hurt by someone we loved or laid off by an employer to whom we gave all or shocked to find out someone we trusted didn't have our best interests in mind. Some of us were hurt by religion, some by famly, some by friends. We all have hurts. But unlike the scar on my knee we don't have to bear the signs of our wounds. God has a plan, a balm for those wounds. He can remove the scars so that we no longer dwell on the past hurts.
Psalm 103:1-3 says "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all thine iniquities, who heals all thy diseases. "
Psalm 34:18-19 promises "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all. "
When we are hurt let us turn to The Lord to heal the scars and take away the pain and any lasting reminders. 1 Peter 3 warns us not to repay the evil. "Don't pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you, or ridicule those who ridicule you. Instead, bless them, because you were called to inherit a blessing."