Day 4: Scars and Scrapes

Theme: Healing Old Wounds

Key Verse: “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13 (NIV)

Reflection:
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
— C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis, best known for his Christian writings and the Chronicles of Narnia series, endured deep emotional pain after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman. Their marriage was brief, and losing her to cancer was a devastating blow. Lewis didn’t hide his grief. Instead, he wrestled with it openly in his book A Grief Observed, writing with raw honesty about the sorrow, confusion, and even doubt he experienced.

Yet through that pain, Lewis came to a deeper understanding of God’s presence and healing. His scars became reminders; not of defeat, but of a love lost and a God who remained. Lewis’s testimony shows us what happens when we let God walk with us through suffering rather than letting the pain take us out of the race. If we live in the past, the pain never goes away and we learn nothing to take with us into the future.

Where do you live?
I’m not talking about your physical home, but how you view life. A survey indicated that fifty percent of people live their life looking back at the past, while forty percent live life in the moment, and ten percent live life thinking about the future. In which era are you spending most of your time?

Surrender Your Scars & Scrapes
C.S. Lewis understood that emotional pain does not heal without intentional surrender. It’s the same with the wounds on our heart. God wants your heartaches. He longs for you to trust Him with those things that have brought you great pain. Let Him heal the fresh, open wounds until they are nothing more than faded scars, useful for reminding you only so that you can understand the pain of another.

Even if you believe the damage done is irreparable, Scripture says:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
— Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

One of God’s many names is The Great Physician. He is in the business of healing our wounds—both the physical and the emotional injuries we have suffered.

Forgiveness and Healing
Our greatest need is for forgiveness. We must ask God to forgive us for grieving him, we must forgive those who have wounded us, and we must forgive ourselves for doing things that hurt God or others.

Jesus told Peter:
“Then Peter came to him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!’”
— Matthew 18:21-22 (NLT)

If someone has hurt you deeply, please realize that holding on to bitterness toward them only hurts yourself. You need to forgive the person who wounded you—not for their sake but for your own. I know that may sound impossible—it did to me when I realized I needed to forgive my dad. But with God’s help, and only with God’s help, it is possible. Forgiveness is your part of surrendering the scars and scrapes.

Action Step:
Write down one painful memory or wound that you need to surrender to God. Spend a few minutes in prayer, asking Him for the strength to forgive and to heal.