“The Spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” Proverbs 18:14.
There are many walking among us with wounded spirits. They lack hope, experience no joy, and their hearts are not merry. Truthfully they just live a burdened existence.
But there is a remedy! Before we dive into how a wounded spirit is healed…let us discover…
What is a wounded spirit?
A wounded spirit is a painful sorrow. It can be described as heartache, grief, dejection, despair, desolation, heaviness, misery, despondency, anguish, hurt, suffering or torment.
What causes a wounded spirit?
There are many things that can cause one’s spirit to be wounded for example:
- Death of a loved one
- Rejection by a spouse
- The unkindness of men
- Ingratitude of those we’ve helped
- Betrayal of a friend or relative
- When a friend becomes a foe
- Abandonment
- Health afflictions (infirmities)
Woundings can be inflicted by pastors, church members, bosses, co-workers, neighbors, children, parents who may say or do things that cause deep scars. And this can be rather painful…but there are things that can cause even deeper woundings according to theologian C.H. Spurgeon.
Charles H. Spurgeon notes in his sermon The Cause and Cure of a Wounded Spirit that woundings can also be caused by:
- When a soul is under a deep and terrible sense of sin—“I am guilty”
- The fierce temptations of Satan—“you’re lost”
- Desertion by God—God has hidden his face from you
- Through mistake—thinking more highly of oneself then one ought
The weight of guilt crushes, the knowledge that the wrath of God awaits you—wipes out all hope, the never ending taunts of the enemy badgering your mind that “you’re lost”, the realization that because of your continued indulgence in sin God has hidden his face from you, or knowing that you are utterly alone are weights that can crush and deeply wound a spirit—who then can bear it?
The good news is that no matter what has caused you spiritual wounding, God provided a remedy—Jesus.
Cry out for deliverance, shout unto the Lord for your healing, confess your need for a savior, acknowledge that he alone has provided all that you need to bring health and wellness to your spirit, and declare that without Jesus you have no hope. Let Jesus restore your hope and make your heart be merry once again.
To read the other parts of the series click the link.
Part II Refusal to be comforted
Part III Watch out for spiritual germs
