Mending Your Bruises

Yesterday at church, an interpretation of tongues went forth and a phrase stuck out to me more than the rest of the message, “I have come to mend your bruises.” When I think of injuries to be mended by an outside hand, a bruise doesn’t typically come to mind. Wounds and lacerations, as well as other injuries, seem to be more in need of the Healer’s hand than a bruise. This morning, the phrase still plays in my head, along with questions. Why bruises? Jesus doesn’t mince words. He means every worth He ever speaks. Why bruises? 

Bruises are “an injury appearing as an area of discolored skin on the body, caused by a blow or impact rupturing underlying blood vessels.” The injury that caused a bruise doesn’t break the outside skin - it’s easy to cover up and ignore. In fact, most bruises heal on their own rather quickly. In my questioning, I went to the well-known search engine and asked questions about bruises. What is the severity of a bruise? How to mend a bruise? The list goes on. 

The severity of  bruising can vary greatly. It can be a small localized place of discoloration that has a bit of pain but heals on its own within a few days. The area could be larger and more discolored, dealing with more pain, and taking more time to heal. The area of bruising could also be severe and include darker discoloration, more pain, and significant swelling. The healing of this last kind of bruise can take several weeks or longer, and may indeed need outside help. 

I continued on my research in finding out how to mend bruises and the immediate response was the commonly known R.I.C.E. method. 

Rest

Ice

Compress

Elevate

 

I stared at the answer for a minute or two, the spiritual implications swirling in my head. How… fascinating. To heal a bruise that doesn’t go away on its own, Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate. 

Rest

Resting helps the body avoid further damage. It helps your body preserve energy from other adventures and pours the energy it has into healing. It gives the body space and the time it needs to mend the broken pieces. 

Ice and Compress

These two have similar causes, so we shall put them together. Icing and compressing a bruised area can alleviate pain, reduce swelling, and can even reduce the internal bleeding.

Elevate

It is often taught that when we elevate an injury, we must elevate it above the heart. This reduces swelling, slows the blood flow to the area, and promotes drainage of toxins through the lymphatic system. 

How… incredibly… fascinating. 

Let’s take this method, and apply the spiritual thoughts to it. 

If you follow Jesus, it is safe to say that you are in a spiritual fight. The enemy, the world, and even our own human nature fight us when we submit to Jesus. One time I heard a teacher say that if we could see in the spiritual realm, we would see many of our spiritual brothers and sisters with wounds, openly bleeding, some bandaged, some limping, and others with limbs completely severed. 

And Jesus came, not only to mend our open wounds and severed limbs, but also the bruises, no matter how mild or severe. While He often gives miraculous healings, even to our spiritual wounds, sometimes He allows for the science HE created to be used to provide healing… so Spiritual R.I.C.E.

Spiritual Rest

There are many places in Scripture where we find God commanding rest. It isn’t a suggestion. Not merely a “good idea,” but a necessary part of being human. To rest is to say, “God, I trust You with everything.” When we rest, we are declaring that our own works aren’t good enough without Him. When we rest, we declare our utter dependence on the King of Kings. Yes works are needed - He uses us as His hands and feet in the earth. But they are not from our own strength and if they are, we will fail. This is especially hard for those where we are gifted and talented because on our own, we can make it look really good, but looking really good still isn’t the same as when God does it. Rest gives us the time and space we need to heal, for God to tend our wounds and bruises, and to refill so that we may pour out to others again. When we choose not to rest, we declare in the spiritual realm that we are ourselves gods - that we can handle it without His help. 

Spiritual Ice and Compress

Icing, along with ointments are used with bruises to soothe, comfort, and reduce swelling. Compression helps with this as it holds the soothing agent to the painful area and keeps outside forces from affecting the area more. Scriptures of the Healing Balm of Gilead and binding up their wounds come to mind. Every time mending an injury of any kind is researched, reducing swelling is deemed as a top priority. Swelling is an important body function because it helps reduce movement, reduce possible increase of injury, and overall keeps that injured part protected. But swelling can also be a problem. The more our own body tries to surround an injured area, the more we can actually impede the hand of our Healer from reaching where He must to heal. Swelling serves a purpose, but if left swollen, the area will ultimately lose blood flow. The surrounding areas will take on damage. If swelling is left untreated, over time, organ failure becomes a risk. Spiritual swelling, if left untreated, often produces bitterness because we were never meant to protect ourselves… We were never meant to protect ourselves. When we swell up to protect ourselves spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, we are saying, “I CAN DO THIS ON MY OWN. I don’t NEED anyone else. Don’t look at that area, it is hurting and broken.” And all the while, the Savior, the Healer of the Universe is saying, “Let Me in. Let your brothers and sisters in Christ in, with discernment of course - but discernment and bitterness are not the same function.” He heals us by His own hands and by the hands of His children. Icing and compressing a bruise can be painful at first, it feels vulnerable, but once the initial pain goes away, the real underlying cause of pain starts going away and healing can take place. 

Spiritual Elevation

To elevate a wound means you must move it above the heart. I find it interesting that Scripture mentions that the spiritual heart is desperately wicked and deceitful. Scripture also mentions that God will give us a new heart. But until we reach Heaven, and are perfected in all ways, I think it is safe to say that these two hearts will war, just as our human nature wars with our spiritual nature. When submitting to the healing of the Almighty God, we must elevate our wounds above our own heart; above our thoughts and understanding about the matter; above our own will and desires. We lay out our wounds and bruises before the Healer with no other agenda than to submit to His will, His healing, His plan. This also reduces that swelling of self-protection. It slows down the racing thoughts of injustice and frustrations. And when we fully lay it all before Him, the toxins drain away and His beautiful work of healing can actually take place. 

My friend, my dear sister, my brother, we are in a thick spiritual war. Something is coming for His church. We are in a transition time as the church of the living Savior. For a while, I thought it was only me, but the more I speak with others, the more I see, the more I know, it is for His WHOLE church. There is a Spiritual breakthrough coming, new ministries coming, fulfillment of promises coming. And the closer we get to that transition the louder the enemy will roar. That’s his only tactic - to yell as loud as possible to try to distract those who are called. The next season will require you to be as wise as a serpent and as innocent as a dove. We cannot hold onto bitterness, doubt, worry, or the everyday frustrations that come at us. We MUST walk in the Spirit. We MUST hear Jesus’ voice. We MUST submit fully to His will and way. God has given us this space to R.I.C.E. our wounds and bruises. No matter how small or large the hurt is, we must take care of it now. He is calling for us to be WHOLE so that we can minister to the harvest that is coming. You CANNOT mend to the broken while actively bleeding your own bacteria onto them - you will infect them if you do, possibly killing them in the process. You CANNOT move the way He intends for you to move if you are incapacitated by swelling. 

Do not doubt, you are called, you are chosen. But you must choose to follow His leading. It is your choice. How you respond in this season determines what He trusts you with in the coming season. It is worth the cost.