Day 97: How Do We Deal With Our Wounds and Brokenness?
We are wounded by our struggles in the World. We are broken by the sin that still lives within us. But In Christ, we are being healed and made whole.
If you think back to all that you should know by now, we know that Christ has defeated and shamed the Evil rulers and authorities that stand opposed to us (see Colossians 2:15). Christ has also brought about our forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration. As we live in both the death and resurrection of Jesus, the power of sin that yet dwells with us is also incapacitated:
Romans 6:6–8
We know that our old self was crucified with Him (Christ) in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
In the following sessions, we are going to focus on 1) putting on the “full armor of God” so that we can stand firm against the Devil’s schemes, 2) putting on the “new person” (the “new you”) created in Christ Jesus to be alive and free. As we close out this weeks reading, we want to focus on the larger picture of how this Great Spiritual War has affected us and set the stage for how we effectively move forward.
You Have Been Wounded in the World, but You Are Being Healed.
Romans 12:14
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
The strategy of our Enemy that is at Work in the world is simple: steal, kill and destroy. Because we live in a Fallen World with people who are all broken by sin, we have been terribly wounded from external attack. The old saying, “sticks and stones my break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is foolish and untrue. Some of our greatest wounds come by words.
The first step in understanding the Spiritual War and engaging it effectively is getting in touch with how it has affected you directly. Part of Satan’s strategy to keep you from turning fully to God is to keep you battered by the harsh reality of the World and then incite you to blame God. The Enemy does not want you to know how loved you are and how powerful you have become in Christ.
Our fear, pride, and desire for control through managing and arranging have been taught to us by the World. The World teaches us that if we don’t take control of our lives, no one will. If we don’t grasp all the pleasure and enjoyment that we can in this life, we will be cheated. It teaches us to lust and to be proud.
As wounded people, we wound others in return. We need to understand this reality. As we accept the healing offered to us in Christ, we become effective in bringing that healing to others. We have been wounded, but in Christ we are healed in some areas and are being healed in others.
You are Broken by the Effects of Sin, but You Are Being Redeemed.
Psalms 69:5
God, you are aware of my foolish sins;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
It is common to use the term “broken” to refer to a person who has become humble and teachable after pain and suffering. We will use it in different sense. When we speak about our brokenness, we will be referring to those aspects of our life that are produced by the sin that still dwells within us—in our flesh. In other words, there are parts of us that are still literally “broken” by sin.
As the writer of the Psalm above realizes, he still sins foolishly. We, although we are accepted and reconciled to God “in Christ,” also continue to be enticed to sin by the power of sin that dwells within us. Before we were cleansed and redeemed through Christ’s work revealed in the Gospel, this “brokenness” is what Dallas Willard calls “radical evil in the ruined soul” (see Renovation of the Heart). Now, in Christ, our souls have been enlightened by the Gospel, cleansed by the blood of Christ and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Evil no longer characterizes your life. We are alive in Christ.
However, we are not yet fully perfected, glorified. There are still aspects of our life that are being healed and transformed by God’s grace. Although we have powerful “external” enemy, the Devi,l who is at work in the World, our greatest and most constant enemy is the “sin that dwells within” us. Just as God gives us tactics to deal with the Devil and the World, so also He gives us tactics for dealing with the power of sin still in us.
Warfare > [ Counsel > Healing ] > Warfare…
This is the cycle that characterizes our lives. We are all born in the middle of this great Spiritual War. In the midst of the battle, God comes to us and offers healing for our wounds and transformation out of our brokenness in our growing relationship with Him by means of the Gospel.
We continue to receive His counsel through the Written Word—the Bible—and the Living Word—Our Lord Jesus—who is alive in us. Because all of us who are in Christ are connected by this presence of the Holy Spirit, we need one another. We cannot make it on our own. As we receive counsel (Truth), we continue to heal. We can then give counsel to others, guiding them to the Way, the Truth, the Life that is Jesus. With our trusted brothers and sisters, we engage the battle day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. We are wounded. We sin. We fail. We are beaten up. But Jesus has the words of life. He is our life. As we receive His life, we can let go of our life and pour it in to others. We can “die” (to ourselves) so that others may live. This is what we are called to as followers of Christ Jesus.
1 John 4:4
You are from God, little children, and have conquered them (the false powers of this world), because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Seeing the Big Picture of the Great Spiritual War
The diagram illustrates how all of this fits together. Take a few minutes to look over it. The most important thing to realize and understand is the reality that Father God is sovereign in Christ —He is graciously and providentially in control—over this whole framework.
Remember Jesus said that “all power/authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). There is nothing, absolutely nothing that exists that is not under Jesus authority and care. As we move through this study, we will seek to cultivate a worldview where Father God is present in every aspect of our battles, working for us in Christ what we cannot accomplish on our own.
Think about the cycle of Warfare > [Counsel > Healing] > Warfare… Can you see how this has worked in your own experience? Explain.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
