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Spiritual Injuries

Spiritual Injuries

Last updated on: March 6, 2019 at 7:00 am by MaryJo Petersen Castro

Spiritual Injuries 2019-03-04T14:35:46-05:00 MaryJo Petersen Castro

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Disappointment and confusion in my husband eyes told me everything was not okay the moment our son Joseph was born. I couldn’t accept the way he looked at me nor his words that followed announcing our baby had a birth defect.

Milada Vigerova | www.unsplash.com

Although we were aware of this birth defect called gastroschisis through an ultrasound, we believed God’s will was to heal our son before he was born. Our family, friends, and church joined us in earnest prayer for his healing. We believed God wanted us to have a perfect, healthy baby, and we believed God’s promises*.* We had no reason not believe our baby would be healed in utero.

But, he wasn’t.

The shock of reality devastated my faith. It was a spiritual injury that lasted for many years. The hurt and disappointment I felt forged bitterness and resentment in my heart against God, until the day the Lord revealed to me that I had errored in my belief causing my spiritual injury.

Spiritual injury happens when what we believe to be true of God and what the Bible teaches us to be true of God, come into conflict with what we experience or perceive to be true of God.

Sometimes, what we believe is true about God goes against what we’re experiencing. When a conflict between our belief and reality come into play, a spiritual injury can occur. Spiritual injuries differ for each person based on their understanding of God and Scripture.

Bad things happen to good people. The Bible shows us no one is exempt from harm. God’s Word is full of His promises, but we must remember:

Know what God’s will is first and pray according to His will. If we pray otherwise, we will be falsely led into believing what God did not personally promise us. Praying for God’s will includes asking Him for wisdom to know His will, and asking in faith to trust His will.
God’s promises aren’t a magical formula that guarantees no harm will come to us or others.
God’s promises are contingent on our obedience. His promises have requirements attached to them.

God confirmed my error the moment I was asked to write my mom’s eulogy if, in fact, the cancer she was fighting were to take her life. I was immediately impressed with a knowing that God was going to take her home instead of healing her. Once God revealed His will personally to me, an unspeakable peace settled on and remained in me.

The experience was exactly the opposite of the experience we had with our son. God did not personally promise us our son would be born healthy and healed, we assumed he would because we believed what we wanted to believe about the situation, but our knowledge of God and His Word was very limited at the time. We were in error about God and his ways and then took offense.

When we seek to know the truth about God and His Word by reexamining our understanding of Him and the Scriptures, our spiritual healing can begin. Spiritual healing is possible when we admit we misunderstood God, His Word, His will, and His sovereignty. It can begin when we’re honest with Him and confess our bitterness, anger, and resentment towards Him.

We must approach God on His terms, not ours.

When we take our focus off our feelings and put them on the reality of God’s unfailing love for us, we will find spiritual healing and peace.

Do you have a spiritual injury that needs to be healed?

“Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred.” Job 6:24

About MaryJo Petersen Castro

MaryJo Petersen Castro previously worked as the Communications Director at Courage For Life in Marietta, GA. As a creative leader and communicator, she has served in full-time ministry since 2003. MaryJo has worked in and produced content for live media, television, and film in the Atlanta, GA and Greenville, SC markets. You can read more about the author here.

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