Proclaim Liberty to the Captives

The Lord is a wound healer.  

I’ve been mentoring a young friend for a few months and the last time we met our conversation turned to wounds.  In many ways, I feel I have had a pretty easy life, one without too many struggles or problems.  Yet I am amazed by how many wounds can be found in this tender, little heart of mine.  As we spoke of how the Lord seeks to heal these areas, I couldn’t help but marvel at what the Lord has done in me over the years.

When Jesus heals, He brings freedom into a place I often didn’t even realize was enslaved.  This heart is far from wholeness, but the work the Lord has done in it is impressive.  My gifted spiritual director has spent hours listening to me sob and choke out stories of hurt and pain.  Some are understandable in their immensity, while others seem nearly laughable in their smallness.  Yet my spiritual director has treated each wound as important and in need of healing.  Often it is he who insists on the importance of the incident while I want to be dismissive of the emotions attached to the memory.

As a person who wants to be seen as logical and rational, it has taken years for me to be convinced of the validity of my feelings.  When I can accept that my feelings aren’t foolish, I am able to acknowledge that the hurt is real and needs to be addressed.  In this, the Lord has rewarded me ten-thousand fold.  Working through the intricacies of my heart has forced me to see that Christ wants to redeem and renew every part.

The ultimate solution for these wounds is the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Pierced through, it knows the pain of neglect, indifference, malice, and bitterness.  Fully human, He understands the fragility of this vital instrument.  Where we tend toward shields and armor, Christ conquers with a powerful vulnerability.  He lays bare His heart so that we might find a haven for our own heavy souls.  Despite the fact that the Lord can and will make beautiful use of painful chaos, He does not will our wounds to remain.

The Lord wants whole-hearted people who can point the way to freedom for those who do not know they are enslaved.  When I consider the large and small ways the Lord has transformed my heart, I am moved to thankfulness.  The graces He pours out are excessively generous and they incisively cut to the heart of the pain.  He makes all things new and He turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.

“…He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…”  

(Isaiah 61: 1b)

Consider: what wounds has the Lord healed in your life for which you can again express gratitude?  What remaining wounds does He bring to mind that you desire Him to heal?