Our newest, furry addition underwent surgery for several issues last week. We brought Kai home from the vet sporting his cone of shame and with a lot of pain medication. When the pain meds ran out, he was a wreck, finding ways to scrape his wounds and lick them, even while still sporting his cone. By that time, he had rammed his cone into doors, walls, and people at full speed, so it was, quite literally, hanging by a thread and some duct tape. Thankfully, we were able to take him back to the vet, get a few more days of pain medication, a shiny, new cone, and a stuffed donut to make it a little harder to bother his wounds while they heal.
He, of course, does not understand the pain he is in, the process of healing, or the need to follow the doctor’s orders. Unfortunately, there is no easy way through it. He must allow the pain to get the healing. His ways of relieving pain will only prolong the process, and it could make things much worse. His struggle made me realize the parallels in my relationship with the Great Physician.
Like my furry friend, sin in my life causes deep pain. Other people’s sins can also cause deep wounds in my life. People closest to me sin against me, and I sin against them daily. Like growing cancer, bitterness, anger, grief, and fear can form deep wounds that do not go away with time or simple remedies. These wounds, if left to fester, cause me to look for ways of relief. Also, like Kai, my attempts to self-medicate only prolong the process, while also causing me to lash out in my pain to hurt others. Left unhealed, eventually these wounds will destroy me, my relationships, and possibly those I love. There is only one thing that can be done to avoid more pain, and that is to run to the only One who can heal those wounds and relieve my pain. Though healing will not be an easy or quick process, it will be better than avoiding and ignoring the pain until it kills me.
I would like to humbly apologize if I have ever given the impression that prayer is a tidy, five-step process that is easily accomplished in a short daily session. My last post relaying the story Jesus told of the Pharisee and the publican illustrated the point well. While the Pharisee may have prayed through his five-step prayer process and felt like it was seamless, it ultimately did him no good. The publican, however, could only weep before God, begging for His mercy. He threw the five steps out the window and found healing, hope, and help from the only One who could. But his prayer was messy. It was raw. It was truthful. It opened up the deep wounds sin had caused and held nothing back. I see the same in David’s prayer of lament in Psalm 51.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions:
and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:
and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness;
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips;
and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
The truth is that we do not just need the Gospel at the moment of salvation. We have to recognize that the Gospel is our only hope for every moment of life on this sinful planet. The blood of Jesus is the only healing agent for the deep wounds sin leaves in our lives. This includes the sins we have done, and the sins done against us. We forgive by the blood of Jesus, as we are forgiven by His blood.
This also means that we will feel the pain of sin as long as we walk this earth. There is no way to avoid it, ignore it, or pretend it does not exist. We must deal with it.
The good news is that we do not have to self-medicate. We have the antidote for sin always available at the foot of the cross of Jesus. We, like David, are safe to lay it all out before the only One who can heal it. Don’t hold back. Just run to the Great Physician.
I hope that this is a help and a blessing to you today. Reach out with any thoughts, comments, or prayer requests.
His Song in the Night 