Wounded Soldier

To be wounded means that I have been engaged in the fight.
I have risked myself for the sake of the call to not stand idly by and watch, but to walk it out everyday.
I will not go back to my old ways of thinking or doing business with the world.
Old folks use to refer to this as "pressing in and pressing on."
To press in shows that there is resistance to your forward progress.
Pressing in is not walked out in my own strength or will, but rather taking my will and placing it squarely on the shoulders and in the hands of Jesus. Then I simply follow.

Being wounded isn't fun or glamorous. But it is part of following after this Jesus.
Rest assured that with the wounds that you suffer, there is healing.
Sometimes the wounds come from people you thought were your friends. They will stab you with accusations and slander.......saying that you've changed. You've gone over the edge with this "God" stuff.
You turned into a Holy Joe or, dare I say it?  Their words will tear and rip at your heart causing you to think to yourself, "What have I done to deserve this?" Well, you've done nothing but given your life to the call of Christ.

To me this is the hardest part in the whole recovery process. When a person begins this new journey with Jesus, they long to be understood and accepted. Trouble is, we look for understanding and acceptance in the world. The world (Society or cultural system) will never accept us. Just as Christ said, "The world hates me...the world will hate you." The arrows of hateful words shot at us,do wound us and scar us, but as I said earlier, there is healing in Christ. He'll turn all the hurt into a love for those who brought the pain. I can't let the devil take my pain and hurt and coerce me to use it as a weapon against the ones who brought it to me. I can take all the pain and hurt and forge it in the fires of forgiveness, releasing me to love again.

Like Danny Daniels put it so aptly...."I am loved, I am accepted by the one who saved my soul."
If you are suffering from open wounds that are still fresh after years and years of bitterness, it's time to be healed.
If you are carrying around the ripped and torn places in your soul from the damage done to you by those closest to you, it's time to allow the great physician to heal you.
Don't let the past define who you are today.
Recover from the past.
Recover from the hurt and pain.
Recover from the old way of thinking and living.

In other words, lay hold of Jesus' hand and press in and press on.
God on you..
mb