Healing the Wounded Spirit (1)
Proverbs 18:14: The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
The pandemic we lived through has triggered an explosion of crushed spirits and broken hearts. Loneliness, exhaustion, abuse, fear of infection, grief over loved ones lost, and financial concerns are some of the key stress factors. All in all, young people and women and have been the hardest hit, and there are many who bear a wounded spirit. In this blog, let’s understand three vital principles that deal in general with healing a wounded spirit.
First, we must see the absolute importance of healing a wounded spirit. Proverbs 18:14 tells us that a broken bone or sickness can be sustained with a strong spirit, but a broken spirit cannot sustain a man physically strong. A wounded spirit becomes an unbearable wound and a crushing weight leading to the loss of desire to live. A broken spirit can prevent a person from finishing their course and it may lead to suicide. A broken spirit leads to a broken and a weakened body, as Proverbs 17:22 states, “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” It is of absolute importance to heal a wounded spirit and have a strong spirit to triumph in the many trials of this life that so easily crush us and weaken us.
Next, we must answer the question, what is a wounded spirit? A wounded spirit is smashed to pieces. This is the person who has no passion for life. They may be crushed by the fierce temptations of Satan or overcome with a deep and terrible sense of sin and guilt. Life trials such as divorce, being fired from a job, or getting a cancer diagnosis can smash and wound a human spirit. A wounded spirit is weighed down in fear. Proverbs 12:25 says, “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”
Third, a wounded spirit is crippled with disappointment. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life.” When we place our hope in something and our dreams are postponed or put on hold, we can get sick in our spirit. Someone who has hopes of getting a certain job or making it in a particular career but do not attain these goals, can be crippled from moving forward. Finally, a wounded spirit is destroyed like an earthquake in the inner man. Proverbs 15:4 tells us that “a wholesome tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.” The interesting word “breach” is used in Psalm 60:2 to describe the results of an earthquake. A wounded spirit is sort of like an earthquake in our soul: the inner man is devastated, and everything is turned upside down and destroyed. A wounded spirit is one that is smashed, weighed down, crippled, and devastated, and it must be healed!
Another principle to grasp is the path to healing a wounded spirit. Proverbs15:13 encourages us that “a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (See also Prov. 15:15; 17:22) A merry heart is a feast to the soul, and God has a way for our heart to rejoice. We must have a “merry heart,” and we can have it now. These scriptures encourage us to reject the notion that our physical circumstances must change before we can rejoice. A cheerful heart is not achieved through changes in our physical health or financial condition. We do not have to wait for circumstances to change to have a joyful heart. The difference between joy and depression depends on a person’s spiritual resources and not on one’s physical circumstances. Jesus’ beatitudes of a happy life have nothing to do with the physical happenings, but with one’s inner attitudes. Paul rejoiced and experienced contentment in jail. So let us reject the notion that our physical situation, our health, finances, or family circumstances, must change before we can experience joy.
The path to healing our wounded spirit begins with desiring in our heart what can never be lost. If hope deferred (postponed) makes the heart sick (Prov.13:12), we must rearrange our hopes upon what we can have now and never lose. This hope must be in God! We must make HIM the joy of our life. The one who hopes for nothing but God, and places all their goals in knowing Him, will find a tree of life, which speaks of soul satisfaction in our deepest desires. This is the “Mary principle:” to sit at Jesus feet. So, desire nothing except God, and what is for His glory. Make the Lord Jesus Christ THE desire of your soul.
I am not saying that we should not have personal goals for our family or career. We all have such desires and goals, but we seldom get what we desire all at once. Long years of waiting and struggle often come. Delay is difficult and we hate to wait. I am challenging all of us to make our foundational desire God Himself, who we can never lose and who will never leave us. Set your heart, fix your heart on God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and trust Him! Once He becomes your Savior, you will never lose Him, and He will never forsake you.
Isaiah 26:8-9 says, “Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of [our] soul [is] to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments [are] in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”
Matt Recker is the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in New York City.
In an article to follow, I plan to give three practical principles to further build on healing a wounded spirit.