Healing Old Wounds

In the midst of a storm the other evening a massive tree in our front yard split. Half the tree came to rest across our front yard. Fortunately, no damage was done. But it's a mess that will take a day or two to clean up. (As a man, I see it as a good excuse to buy myself a new chain saw!)

As I've looked over the tree and the location in it's trunk where the split occurred, I've noticed there was a bad spot with some rot and decay. It was never noticeable before the tree fell. Apparently years ago when the tree was much younger and smaller, it was damaged in this particular spot. A wound occurred.
For years the tree has continued to grow and to appear healthy. Leaves came in the Spring and fell in the Fall. Each year the tree grew substantially providing more and more shade to our yard. But all the while the wound was there.
Now, after so many years of apparent health and vigor, the wound has taken it's toll.

Wounds are like that. They can occur so easily, almost without notice. Hurtful words. A lie. It doesn't take much, does it?
Most often, when a wound occurs, we're quick to try to cover it. We get busy. We try to grow around the wound and thus conceal it. That may work for a while. Like the tree, we might look good on the outside. But just like the tree, the wound is still there. It doesn't just go away. All it takes is a good storm to make the wound obvious once again.

We need to stop trying to cover our wounds. We've got to stop trying to outgrow the hurts we've experienced in life. Wounds need to be dealt with.
And the Scriptures provide the prescription. David was a man who experienced the wounds of betrayal. In Psalm 55 he wrote:
"Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not Yourself from my supplication. Give heed to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted, because of the voice of the enemy, because of the pressure of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
My heart is in anguish within me ..." (v.1-4)

Sound familiar? You don't just pick up and move on from this kind of hurt. Instead, David took his wound to the Lord:
"As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray and cry alound, and He will hear my voice. He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, for they are many who strive with me." (v.16-18)

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." (v.22)

God doesn't want us to hide our wounds. He wants to heal them.