Unresolved Pain

‘…I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest? He will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’ Zec.13:5-6

One indisputable fact of life is that you are going to get hurt. It is guaranteed as long as you are human. No matter how much we love, protect and prepare a safe environment for those around us [even our children], they will still get hurt. It is just a part of life. As we mature we encounter painful experiences. But when these painful experiences are not sorted out over time, we inevitably carry the baggage of unresolved pain. The problem with baggage is that you begin to see the world through the window of the baggage that you are carrying. The farmer in today’s scripture reference is obviously a victim of unresolved pain. Everyone would expect that the scars a farmer would have will be as a result of his vocation particularly one that has been farming since his youth. Yet he said, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’ The interesting thing about life is that it is the people that are closest to us that are really capable of wounding us. In many cases, we do not only bear the scars but we carry the pain and history of the wounds with us everywhere we go. Sometimes the wounds are caused by a natural phenomenon like Job experienced; in one day he lost everything he had. At other times, and usually the more painful cases, we carry wounds caused by betrayal. Every single parent or those who have gone through divorce or abandonment know the pain of betrayal. For some people, it may be the wound of injustice, perhaps racial or ethnic discrimination they are carrying. For others, it is the wound of abuse. Regardless of what the source of the pain or wound is, it is a baggage nonetheless. It is one thing to be wounded and it is another thing to become a victim of that experience. God wants us to be victors and not victims. God promises a reward ‘to him that overcometh’ [Rev.2:7]. Which means there will be something to overcome. A victor is filled with wisdom; while a victim is loaded with the baggage of unresolved pain. A victor is able to turn that experience into wisdom, profit from it. It’s your time of victory. Yes you have been wounded but you will come out on top and not under.

 Prayer: Lord, I choose to be a victor and not a victim of the pain I have experienced. Show me how I can rise above the pain of the past and walk into victory, in Jesus Name