What Your Heart Needs Most

He calls it a rip-stick.

I call it a skateboard with two wheels.

Took him two days to even stand up on the thing. Determination kept him trying over and over. More time was spent recovering from a fall than actually riding the board.

Maybe that’s just life: We spend more time recovering from falls to be further used by God.

I told him to rest for a few days to let his skinned up knees heal. But who has time to rest when the world keeps on spinning, and you got things to do?

His wounds began to scab and heal. He grabbed his board and headed outside before they can fully heal.

The wounds you bear will never heal if you don’t rest. The world says to push through the pain. No pain, no gain!

Ignoring the pain and not healing from our current season will cause us to bring shame into the next season. Let’s not cling to the past, when God wants to release us into the future.

Shortly after heading back outside, he came in crying with blood trickling down his leg.  The wounds reopened, and left him hurting again. No “I told you so” was said. Only love and kindness was shown to the boy who couldn’t rest, who wouldn’t allow his wounds to heal.

Much like my mothering heart, God is always waiting with open arms, even when we go back into painful situations. When we don’t take the time to heal, He lavishes us with love and kindness in the fleeting moments we give Him.

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” Zephaniah 3:17

In Joshua chapter 5, after forty years of wandering the Israelites crossed the Jorden into the promise land and all the men of that generation were circumcised. Forty years! Forty years of questioning God’s purpose. Forty years of physical freedom from slavery, yet never finding true freedom emotionally or mentally. God longed to restore them to wholeness if they were willing to surrender to the process. Later in Joshua chapter 6, they were finally ready!

During the forty-year wilderness wanderings, the Israelites were disobedient, and therefore refused to circumcise their children. The circumcision in Joshua chapter 5 was a sign of their surrendering to the will and ways of God.

“After the entire nation had been circumcised they stayed where they were in the camp until they recovered” Joshua 5:8.

Circumcision represented their surrender, and in the surrender, they entered rest. They stayed where they were until they recovered.

Sometimes we run from our pain. Sometimes we choose to stay so busy, that we become numb to the wounds we carry. Yet, maybe God is asking us to stay where we are and heal. Rushing into the next season without recovering from the old will only produce more hurt and pain for you and others.

“The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Joshua 5:9.

During the recovery season, God so sweetly rolled away the shame of their past season. Notice the Israelites could not go into the Promise Land with the shame and unworthiness of Egypt. God had to roll away the disgrace.

How does God just roll away the insults and hurts of a past season when it hurts so much? How do you keep the words from haunting you? How do we align our emotions with the Word of God?

He does it through His blood. The very blood He shed on the cross. He took every insult. Every disgrace. Every painful wound…even the ones that happened in the dark. He made a scandal of them. The Bible says, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him.” Colossians 2:15.

In the resting, He removes the shame, blame, and disgrace of our previous season. God is rolling away the guilt. He is rolling away the shame. He is rolling away the word curses that consistently say, you are no good, you can never trust again, you will never meet your full potential because you have been wounded.

God rolled away the reproach of our past season; now it is time for us to accept it. Today, let’s choose to renew our minds and walk in His victory. Allow the Spirit of God to bind your wounds by rolling away the disgrace of your past season.

Maybe next time a boy and his rip- stick will rest…or maybe not.