Sting.

We ask why God lets certain things happen.

Why, when he promises to guard our hearts and our steps, then why does he still let certain things hurt? Why can’t we just remain as we were- distracted by our busy schedules, surrounded by familiar sights, and shielded by old beliefs?

Why is it that, though, after the sting, we’re surprised to remember that he hasn’t forgotten us- holed up in the dark, cushioned by things so certain and comforting to us? Thank goodness he remembers us enough to knock down our walls and allow the light to spill in.

The light isn’t always flattering either, is it? It can reveal some ugly things, things we really didn’t feel like looking at; old scars, bruises that still sting, and festering sores.

Thank goodness he doesn’t let us stay holed up. How else would we know to seek treatment, if we couldn’t clearly see our illness?

We need those scars to remind us of what were determined not to become; in what ways we will never allow ourselves to inflict pain onto other people or onto ourselves.

The bruises remind us of our needs, the things we’re still sensitive to when were poked and prodded, and what boundaries with people need to be established because of those sensitivities.

The sores are things about ourselves we’ve been trying to ignore, hoping they would just go away. But sores won’t heal unless they’re rightly treated. They have to be examined and cleaned and the impurities drained out. And sometimes that part stings the most, but it’s the only shot we’ve got, because with time that sore will only get worse and grow into something much more difficult to treat before it takes an entire part of us that may no longer be restored.

So why do certain things have to happen? Why are certain people meant to fly into our lives at certain moments if they’re not meant to stay? Because relationships are tools used to bring down those walls. We were never meant to hang onto people anyway. We were meant to hang onto the Cross.

People and scenery change, the seasons continue their cycle despite how we feel about it on any particular day…we were never meant to get cozy here. People are forced to adapt to changes, to all those big and small interruptions. And it’s going to continue to happen till we ultimately find our rest in one place, and that’s in the Lord. We can choose to rest in his consistency, in his sold truth now, even before this life cycle is over.

No matter how we feel about ourselves, our worth is in Him.

No matter badly our day is going, He’s got it figured out.

No matter how hurt we may feel, He’s protecting our hearts and bringing them back to His.

And no matter how badly we’ve been scarred in the past,
how many bruises we still have,
and how many sores we’ve still to tend…
what He’s willing to give up and do in our lives to get us cleaned up and redeem us wholly has already been taken care of. He’s paid our health insurance and we’ve no debt left.

We could never repay him for the body he gave up for us anyway.


He never claimed surgery wouldn’t hurt, but thank goodness he hasn’t left us alone with our wounds.