Some of us have had broken bones. . .

Some of us have had stitches. . .

Some of us have had knife wounds. . .

There might even be someone here who has had a gunshot wound. . .

But the wounds and the Healing that I'm talking about goes beyond the physical.

They are hidden wounds.

They are wounds that can't be stitched or stapled or bandaged.

We like to talk about our old physical wounds.

We like to describe the daring act that caused us to get the stitches or the broken bone. . .and we usually embellish it a little. . .and we show our scars. . .

But just a split second remembrance of a hidden wound can cause pain.

The worst hurts are those that don't heal by themselves. Some hurts heal with the passing of time. Some hurts leave lasting pain. Left to themselves, they never heal.

I'm talking about hurts like rejection, betrayal, and injustice. These hurts, if left over time, will fester. They need healing. They don't heal by themselves.

These are negative influence; it can result in feelings of distrust, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. We experience hurts as we readjust our lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, hurts will help or hinder us depending on how we react to it.

(Proverbs 18:14) The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

You cannot bear a wounded spirit alone, you need a healer.

Jesus said: (Luke 4:18) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. . ."

God is on a mission to bring comfort to the brokenhearted. He desires to trade your mourning for joy; he wants to take away your despair and give you praise. God promises to be a father to the fatherless and a defender of widows. That's what God is like.

(Isaiah 61:3) To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Therefore he will do all this for his people, He will heal their wounds, release them out of bondage, and comfort them in their sorrows,

That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that they may be such and be acknowledged to be such,

That they may be ornaments to God's vineyard and may be fruitful in the fruits of righteousness, as the branches of God's planting.

We must be obedient to God.

(Exodus 15:26) And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

The threatening is implied only, but the promise is expressed: "I am the Lord that healeth thee.

(Deuteronomy 28:60) Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.

(Psalm 103:3) Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

GOD CAN HANDLE MY GUILT WITH FORGIVENESS

(Proverbs 28:1) The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

That's what you feel like when you're guilty. You feel like you're being chased. You are your own accuser.

(Psalm 38:4) For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

Guilt is like a warning light bringing our attention to something that needs to get fixed. Many of us see the warning light on our dashboard flash, but we refuse to get service until the engine falls out. The smart thing to do, however, is to deal with the problem. We need to be healed of our guilt.

Paul learned to shake off his guilt of sin. In the book of Acts chapter 28 we see in verses 3-6

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. ⁴ And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. ⁵ And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. ⁶ Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

But, after this was done look what happened. 8-9

And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. ⁹ So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:

Peter also learned to shake off his past. After denying the Lord three times. And no doubt guilt came upon him. He got the healing he needed and was able to say. In Acts 3:13-14

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. ¹⁴ But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

Verse 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Refreshment, relaxation from burdensome circumstance.

(1 John 1:19) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Cleanse: To be free from guilt of sin.

(Isaiah 43:25) I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

You can have a guilt exchange with God.

GOD CAN HANDLE MY DISCOURAGEMENT WITH HELP

You might have come extremely discouraged today. God can handle your discouragement. God can provide healing from whatever it is that is dragging you down.

King David:
(Psalm 6:2-3) Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. 3 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?

Emotional: "Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint. . ."

Physical: "O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. . ."

Spiritual: "My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?"

King David found something out real quick and that is that life is not fair.

It's hard to imagine anyone having more problems than David. You name it, he experienced it. He was the least in his family – the runt of the litter.

King Saul tried to kill him. He had to run for his life for years. One of his sons raped his half-sister and was later murdered. His other son plotted against him to take away his throne, and slept with his own concubines in public view. David's life was one of turmoil.

(Job 5:7) Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

(Job 14:1) Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

(Job 5:8) I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause.

(Psalm 107:19-20) Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. ²⁰ He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

(Psalm 18:6) In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

God's promise is that whenever his people are in need, he will help. That's how God heals us from discouragement. He promises to come to our rescue. David said in Psalm 18 that when we cry out to God, he hears us from his sanctuary and comes to our aid.

God can handle whatever discouragement you are facing with his help.

(Psalm 46:1) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

GOD CAN HANDLE MY ANXIETY WITH HIS PROVISION

Provision: the act or process of providing, a measure taken beforehand to deal with a need.

I have this problem that sometimes I just worry to much. And, I worry about all the wrong things.

God promises to meet our anxiety with his provision. He promises not only to meet our basic needs, but to meet our deepest needs - to provide us with his love and tender mercies. Our God is a God who provides. I've found this to be true in my own life.

Talk about a personal testimony about my wife's job.

(Psalm 34:10) The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

(Psalm 107:9) For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

(Philippians 4:6-7) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

(1 Peter 5:6-7) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

(Isaiah 40:27-31) Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? ²⁸ Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. ²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. ³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: ³¹ But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Instead of praising the Lord, the nation was complaining to Him that He acted as though He did not know their situation or have any concern for their problems. Instead of seeing the open door, the Jews saw only the long road before them; and they complained that they did not have strength for the journey. God was asking them to do the impossible.

But God knows how we feel and what we fear, and He is adequate to meet our every need. We can never obey God in our own strength, but we can always trust Him to provide the strength we need.

If we trust ourselves, we will faint and fall; but if we wait on the Lord by faith, we will receive strength for the journey. The word "wait" does not suggest that we sit around and do nothing. It means "to hope," to look to God for all that we need.

The word "renew" means "to exchange," as taking off old clothes and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power. As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis.