THE INVISIBLE PAIN
I had a pain in my little toe. I could not see anything on it, but it felt like something was stabbing or cutting me. I couldn’t see anything in it, either. However, the pain told me something was there.
I could tell something needed to be worked out. I couldn’t put my face close enough to see it, and I couldn’t poke it in the right direction to gain relief from the pain, so I asked my husband for help. He used a magnifier and tweezers and worked to get the invisible thing out. It caused a lot of pain, but I knew after enduring the pain, I wouldn’t feel it any anymore.
He finally got out the tiny piece of glass that stuck in my toe. I no longer felt the stabbing. There was now room for healing. It didn’t take long for the remaining minor pain to disappear.
But if the glass splinter had stayed in my toe, I would’ve continued to feel the pain.
THE WOMAN AT THE WELL
I recently watched the episode of “The Chosen” where Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. After what appeared to be a challenging conversation, the woman picked up her jugs of water to leave. Before she got too far, Jesus started to speak to her hurtful experiences with previous husbands.
The woman’s face twisted as she sank to the ground and said to Jesus, “Stop it! Why are you doing this?”
Jesus continued speaking. His words spoke to the depths of her heart.
“I am rejected by others,” she informed Him.
“I know, but not by Messiah,” He said of Himself.
Finally, she realized that He was not trying to hurt her. She realized that He really knew her, and loved her.
This caused her to trust Him and rejoice that He came to her and revealed Himself to her as her Messiah.
“I am going to tell everyone!” she exclaimed with joy.
A splinter was removed from her heart. There was room for healing to happen.
HE SPEAKS TO OUR HURTS
Jesus does this with us, too. He knows our deepest hurts.
Have you ever believed a lie about yourself? Have you ever believed you are unloved? Unworthy? Not smart enough? Not good-looking enough? Rejected? Unaccepted? Disapproved?
Suppose you had been believing you are not smart and you could never come up with good ideas. Then suppose someone said, “You are so smart. You come up with the best ideas!” Would you feel something in your heart?
Sometimes it hurts when the lie is exposed. But then, something amazing can happen. If we reject that lie, pulling it out of our minds and hearts, the Truth can fill the space and the hurt can start to heal.
HE CALLS IT OUT
Recently I had been struggling to make decisions apart from certain peoples’ approval. My counselor asked me, “Why do you care so much about what these people think of you or your decisions?” I had never really questioned that before. She led me in prayer to ask the Holy Spirit. “Holy Spirit, why do I care so much about what these people think?” I prayed. I waited a few moments in silence. Then I felt Him speak to my heart, “Because you have been relying on them for your identity.” Gasp! He revealed to me that I had been relying on these people to tell me who I am. A change happened in my heart. The lie of “they tell you who you are” was pulled out. In its place, God revealed to me that He gets to tell me who I am. The splinter was removed. There was room for healing to happen.
If we converse with the Holy Spirit, He can call out the things that are hurting us. As soon as He speaks to us about it, we can also speak it out. After the cause of a hurt is brought to the Light, it can be dealt with. It is no longer hiding. It is no longer festering under the surface, like a splinter, continuing to cause pain. Once the root cause has been removed, it can heal and will eventually no longer cause pain.
Holy Spirit,
May you reveal to us the source of our pain so it can be worked out and healed by You.
Amen
“He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings utter darkness into the light.” Job 12:22 NIV
“He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:22 NIV
“…these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 NIV
“It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.” Luke 2:26 NIV
“I have seen their ways, but I will heal them…”
Isaiah 57:18-19 NIV
‘He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”’ Exodus 15:26 NIV
Lindsey, wow! What a wonderfully written piece. This has to be my favorite of your so far. Thank you so much for sharing and bringing the image of the splinter together in a variety of ways.