“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:30-31.

What kinds of physical scars do you have? If you have any scars, chances are you have cool story to go with them.

I have a scar on a finger on my right hand. It’s been there since I was 14. A friend and I were shooting baskets and he stopped to cut an apple with a pocket knife. My hand somehow got in the way. Surprisingly, the cut didn’t hurt that bad at all, but I still remember how it happened every time I look at that scar.

Have you ever had a cut that you picked at? A scab that you just wouldn’t allow to heal? Your mom would tell you to “let it be” so that the skin could repair itself. But you found it too fascinating to leave alone, so you prolonged the healing process by continuing to poke at it.

I think there is an analogy here to emotional scars.

As we go through life, it’s inevitable that we get some emotional scars along the way. In fact, I’d be so bold as to say that if you don’t have any scars, you haven’t really lived.

Just as there’s a right and wrong way to handle the physical scars in our lives, there’s a right and wrong way to handle the emotional ones as well.

I was reading a devotional recently called “Devotions for the God Girl.” The author was talking about waiting on the Lord.

She was saying how we often have the mentality in life of “getting things done.” We think “Okay, if I can just handle this situation in this way, I will solve it,” or “If I can just get these people to like me, I will feel better,” or “If I can just get to this place in life (job, relationship, house, whatever), then I’ll be happy.”

I think that mentality applies to healing from emotional wounds as well.

When someone hurts you, you want to solve it. You want to make the hurting stop. Your natural tendency could be to get back at them and be angry, or to turn in on yourself and beat yourself up for what happened.

So we strive and work hard to solve the hurt, either by avenging ourselves or beating ourselves up sufficiently for what we think we might have done to cause the situation to happen.

So we pick, pick, pick at the scab, refusing to let it heal properly, because we think that somehow we’re helping things – by hyper-analyzing the situation, questioning ourselves and our worth. By talking about it with our friends. By holding a grudge and dwelling on what happened.

When we take the healing process into our own hands, what we’re striving for – wholeness and peace – will evade us. Our human methods just make things worse. The healing process will only be prolonged.

So what is the answer?

  1. Allow God to heal the cut

This is hard, because we want things done on our timetable. But as hard as it is, stop looking at the cut. Stop analyzing it and examining it. Give space. Poking at it just inhibits the healing process. Get your mind on something else and someone else other than yourself. Go out and serve, hang with good positive friends, read a good book, get outdoors. Sing worship and pour out your heart to Him. Immerse yourself in the Psalms. “My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” Proverbs 4:20-22.

2. Don’t be afraid of scars

Ever seen a little kid who is just fearless on the playground or at a park? He/she is the first one to run to the nearest tree and climb right up. They fall and scratch up their knees, but then get right back up and keep trying. They’re the ones in their 20s who sit around and tell you and your friends about all their physical scars and can recount the exact circumstances surrounding each one. But notice, they’re not crying about them now. They enjoy telling the stories and giving their friends a glimpse into their past and who they were as a kid.

In the same way, don’t be afraid of emotional cuts and bruises. The truth is, pain changes you – either for better, or for worse. If you allow God to heal the wound, it will inevitably be for the better. And the memory of the emotional cut will now be a testimony for others of God’s glorious healing and faithfulness.

3. Remember Jesus’ scars

Do you realize that Jesus still has His scars to remind Him (and us) of what He did on the cross? He rose from the dead with a new body, but we know from the Gospels that His resurrection body still has the scars from His death (John 20:27-29). He understands emotional pain. He understands betrayal, rejection, abandonment. And He lives to show us the way through those things. The reminder is in His scars.

Press through to Him for your healing, and your cut will one day become a scar too – a glorious testimony of God’s faithfulness, healing, and everlasting love.