“I will walk around in wide open spaces because I have pursued Your precepts. Psalm 119:45 CEB
In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus tells a story of a man that was beaten down and left helpless on the roadside. A Jewish priest walked by the wounded man. Knowing the man was suffering, the priest’s heart was so hard that he ignored the groans of the victimized countryman. Later on a Levite, a worker in the temple, walked by. Obviously the beaten man was not of any benefit to the Levite, and the Levite considered the man not worth the cost, nor the effort of saving. The third man to walk by was a Samaritan. The Samaritan man saw the wounded Jew on the wayside and considered his life to be of value. He cleaned the open wounds, bandaged the man, moved his body to a safe place, and cared for him.
We have an enemy that wants to damage us with wounds so deep that we won’t be able to move. He wants to keep us from our effectiveness as representatives of God. If he can debilitate us, Satan has accomplished his agenda against you and against the kingdom of God. Pain is typically a cause for ceasing activity in order to tend to a wound. Satan wants to do more than hurt us; he wants to stop us. The injuries the enemy instigates usually come through other people. The wounds can be physical, emotion, mental, or spiritual. Wounds can come through rejection, abandonment, abuse, manipulation, or other mistreatment. His aim is not only to cause pain, but also to immobilize us through damaging our ability to trust God and people. Fear, shame, and guilt are effects of sin that can hinder a person from moving forward.
Jesus came to make us whole. His salvation is more than an offer for eternal life; it is a life-giving flow that reaches into every hurt and lack we have experienced to bring wholeness and peace to our spirit, soul, and body. His salvation is a restoration to God’s original plan for us to have a vivacious and full life. The strategy of pain is to case a person to close their heart in self-preservation, guarding against more damage. A healed and healthy heart is an open heart – a heart open to receive freely and give liberally. God makes us whole, lacking nothing. Whatever age we are we have the strength, boldness, and compassion to reach farther than we’ve been before. We have every resource we could possibly need. When our heart is whole and open to receive and give God’s love, God is able to open up opportunities for us. The world is a wide, open space ready for the taking. The realm of the supernatural is open; the possibility of a miracle is always in the air. Nothing is impossible.
Application: Is there a part of your life that seems closed off? It could be connected to a part of your heart that is closed off. Seek God to restore.