Today we will finish our discussion of the wounded spirit.  I have asked the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and minister healing to any “wounded residue” He finds as we complete our study. 

I think we all know what happens with a wound that is never allowed to heal. Over time it goes deeper and deeper into our heart of hearts until it can actually affect the health of our physical heart or other organs. We have all heard of people who experience sickness, disease, and other life torments as a result of the poison spread through the wounding process. Jesus said that He came to bring life and life more abundantly. He came to heal our wounds and help us overcome pain in our life’s journey.

Jesus said in Luke 4: 18 that He came to heal the brokenhearted. Psalm 34: 18 says that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and He saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 147: 3 tells us that God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Maybe you have developed a wounded spirit. Y...

Several years ago I heard a man share about the loss of his teenage son due to a drunken driver. As he spoke I could sense that his wound was still there in his spirit. Counseling classes had encouraged him, advocates had assisted him, and organizations helped him cope to some degree. But the wound to his spirit was still evident and will remain until he allows Jesus to completely heal it. Jesus is the healing balm that covers and heals the deep, deep pain of a wounded spirit. 

So many things can create wounds to our spirit. Unforgiveness, false accusations, divorce, wrong words spoken at a time of crisis, abuse, loss of vocation, guilt, sorrow, and false prophecies are just a few. Divorce alone wounds the couple, the family, the friends, the children, the church, and only God knows how many others. I believe that is one of the reasons that the Word says that God hates divorce. Divorce wounds everyone it touches. It does not matter how we do it, word it, cover it or try to fix it, div...

As we continue our study of the wounded spirit, let’s acknowledge the effect of sexual promiscuity on our hearts and lives.  In truth, sexual promiscuity will wound our spirits. Using our bodies in ungodly ways, rape, incest, molestation, and personal violations can wound as well as deeply damage us. There are so many people today that are victims of sexual abuse. It is truly an epidemic of evil inflicted on the innocent.

This sexual misconduct creates a barrier to emotional growth in an individual’s life. A person can literally get “stuck” emotionally at the age the offense occurs. This results in forty-year-old women with eleven-year-old emotional growth. The little girl is still inside that adult body waiting for healing from those traumatic moments in her earlier life.

Rejection is another major contributor to wounded spirits.  Rejection from family, friends, parents, leaders, ministers, or anyone causes wounds. Can you imagine growing up in a home where you heard words spoken to...

As we continue with this study of the wounded spirit, let me share two relatable examples from my own life.

My younger brother got polio when he was just a small toddler. Because of this he had to wear a leg brace and use crutches during his grade school years. The children in school would call him “Captain Peg Leg.”  That cruel name not only wounded him emotionally, but it also really bothered me as his older sister and brought hurt to my heart as well.

I still vividly remember when he joined the basketball team at a later age. They would let him play in the games once in a while. There he was running with a crippled leg, trying to bounce the ball and shoot a basket. It was extremely hard work for him as he tried to participate. It was also extremely painful for me to watch, yet I admired his courage and his willingness to try to overcome his physical disabilities.

After I married and had children, we went through a time when my daughter was a victim of gossip during her high schoo...

As I began to learn more about how the Lord could heal wounded hearts, I was brought back in my memories to an incident that occurred at a relative’s home when I was around seven or eight years old. Somehow during a ten-day visit with family, I had come down with pneumonia and my parents had to take me to the doctor. I vividly remember that the medicine prescribed for me cost eight dollars which was rather expensive at that time so many years ago.

When we returned to the relative’s house my mother started to express her concern about the price of the doctor’s visit and the medicine. As she entered the kitchen she turned around and yelled at me, “You should have worn a sweatshirt like I told you. Then this would never have happened. You would not have gotten sick if you had dressed warmly.”

Being sick, scared, tired, and now embarrassed and shamed, I looked at her in shock. Something internally happened to me that day. I began to think that when someone was scolded, it had to be MY fa...

Proverbs 18: 14 (NKJV) says, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit (a wounded spirit)?”  Our natural spirit can withstand much pressure and stress, but when our heart/spirit gets wounded, crushed, shattered or bruised, we have a difficult time recovering and moving forward. 

Our spirit is hurt when it is wounded. It is like trying to walk when our leg is broken. We are trying to live and overcome challenges, but part of our being is injured or festering with hurt.

Psalm 38: 1-22 (NKJV) really exemplifies this whole situation well.

• O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
• For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down.
• There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.
• For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
• My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.
• I am troub
...

Many years ago I found myself sitting in a women’s Bible study listening to ladies share their hearts regarding hurtful situations. Just as the time of sharing was closing, one of the women said to me, “Sharon, why don’t you lead worship at our next meeting?”  I was absolutely stunned and then proceeded to tell her all the reasons why I could never do that – because I could not sing! After I finished my tirade of excuses she simply responded to me, “You CAN sing. I’ve heard you.”

I tried to reinforce my statements about my singing inabilities but she just kept countering every argument with, “Yes, yes you can!”  Finally she said, “Who told you that you couldn’t sing?” 

I then explained to her about a time long ago when I was asked to prepare a singing lesson for an elementary education class I was taking in college. The requirements for the course included getting up in front of our class and leading all the students in a song. When my turn came, I mustered up all the strength and co...

Today we conclude by looking at the final two pages of our Faith Album. I pray that this series of blogs on the topic of faith has been a blessing to all our Mothers of Nations! 

WORLD-OVERCOMING FAITH

Maybe you as a Mother of Nations have the type of faith on our next album page. “World-overcoming faith” is for everyone born of God.

I John 5: 1-5 (NKJV) tells us, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 

World-overcoming faith sounds so powerful and so large, doesn’t it? But in truth, it is the ...

Mothers of Nations, we have two more weeks of blog entries regarding our Faith Album topic.  Today let's look at two more examples of faith as shown in the Word of God.

RICH IN FAITH

This next page shows us examples of being “rich in faith.”  Being rich in faith means that you have an abundance of faith. Your faith is significant and noticeable to others, even though you may be poor in material goods.

So many of our missionaries are rich in faith, yet poor in material possessions. In India I have met countless numbers of Christians who own nothing, live with little, and yet they have and are extremely rich in faith. 

Some people are rich in faith in particular areas of the gospel. I myself have grown rich in faith to believe God for certain things because of experiences I have encountered while speaking the Word. For example, as a minister of the Gospel, I can exercise faith for salvation whenever I am doing an overseas crusade. Something just empowers me to believe for souls and g...

Mothers of Nations, I pray you are enjoying this journey through the pages of our Faith Album! This is our fourth entry regarding several types of faith. If you have not yet done so, I encourage you to read the past three weeks of blog entries to be reminded about all the types of faith that are discussed in God’s Word.

SHIPWRECKED FAITH

This next page in our album is all about “shipwrecked faith.”  If you have ever been on a boat during a turbulent storm, you have some idea of what it would be like to have your ship battered against the sea. The sea is a powerful force that no man can stand against on his own.

Once we went on a cruise in the Caribbean and ended up in a storm. My head was so dizzy I could not walk, sleep, eat, or do anything. The ship rolled and swayed even after they put the levelers out. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for Paul on a boat that had to be abandoned to get to shore!

Sometimes the pressures of living can feel like we are at sea, tossing a...