In my most painful moments, I’ve longed for Jesus to take my pain away, or take me home to heaven. It’s not a popular statement, I know, but it’s honest. As I think back on the wounds, physical/emotional/relational/spiritual that have caused the greatest scars, I looked forward to heaven with my new glorified, scar-free body. But as God had me spend time studying the resurrection story, I realized I may have had some faulty theology guiding my thoughts, as I imagined Jesus in heaven in his glorified, scar-free body as well. Yet, upon studying the passage, I realized Jesus still had his scars in his resurrected body, and they served a beautiful redemptive purpose. Similarly, the painful trials you have endured will also lead to beautiful, redemptive, sacred scars if you entrust your healing to our good and faithful God.
Healing through Jesus’s Scars
Jesus’s scars represent a healed wound of his own: the pain of knowing he must die and pay the penalty of our sins because we never could. His scars provide a testimony of his experience. Jesus’s sacred scars from his time on earth embody his great love for us. They reflect the extremes to which God was willing to go so that we could be afforded a way for our sin debt to be canceled and for us to spend eternity with him. In his infinite wisdom, God knew that many would need to see Jesus’s scars to put their trust in him and believe that he sacrificed his life on their behalf. His sacred scars reflect the healing that took place between the crucifixion and the resurrection and are a crucial part of the landscape of his story.
Jesus’s scars prove he can sympathize with our suffering and heal us too. When we look to Jesus’s scars, he offers healing for our shame, guilt, regret, and despair. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Because of Jesus’s scars, God looks upon us through the lens of Jesus’s righteousness, with arms beckoning us to receive his tender embrace of forgiveness, love, grace, and mercy.
His sacred scars reflect the healing that took place between the crucifixion
and the resurrection and are a crucial part of the landscape of his story.
Jesus’s scars prove he can sympathize with our suffering and heal us too.
Transforming Wounds into Healed Scars
Friend, God never wastes our pain. But when we’re in the trenches, trying to bandage our wounds and shield ourselves from further injury, we can’t see the good that will come as he heals us. During those times, we may have to borrow the hope of others and put our faith in the truth of God’s Word. Sometimes Romans 8:28 gets thrown around a little too casually and we cheapen its significance, but we can take God at his word. He will bring beauty from the pain of our ashes, and when our wounds transform into healed scars, we can look back with fresh perspective and gratitude for what he has done. But in the waiting, we are challenged to continue trusting and praising God. We may not praise him for the pain, but we can praise him despite the pain, knowing that he is working things together for our good, even when we can’t yet see it.
Prayer for Comfort and Trust in the Midst of Painful Trials
May I pray for you?
Dear Heavenly Father,
My friend is enduring a painful trial. I know you hurt when we hurt, and you know best how to comfort my friend in their pain. Would you encourage them to know you never waste our pain or our past, but instead promise to work all things together for our good. Help them to feel your presence in a very near way, and to entrust all their worries to you, because you care for them. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
*Portions of the above are an excerpt from Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past is Not Wasted by Dr. Michelle Bengtson ©2024 Revell Publishers, used with permission.
Your suffering has purpose! See how faith in God's redemptive power can turn your deepest wounds into sources of strength + beauty. Discover the powerful story of Jesus’s scars + what they mean for you. #SacredScars Share on X Struggling with pain and scars? Find out how God can transform your suffering into a testament of healing and grace. Jesus’s own scars hold the key to understanding your journey. Click to find out how. #SacredScars Share on X
Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise that Your Pain is Not Wasted
Now Available!
We all endure trials, pain, and hardship in this life. Too often we believe these experiences disqualify us from being useful to God. But the truth is, your past pain and brokenness serve as preparation for what God wants to do in and through you – if you will surrender to and trust him.
Just as Jesus’s scars didn’t disappear after his resurrection, our emotional or physical scars tell our story and lend credence to our testimony of God’s love and power. If you are ready to turn your past pain into present comfort and future hope, let Dr. Bengtson be your compassionate guide.
Find out more and order here: Sacred Scars
