September 2023 - LPNI

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September 2023

LPNI Devotion

The Wounded Healer

World Suicide Prevention Day occurs in this month and it is a sobering reminder of the intense mental anguish that many people face in their lives. Parish nurses get an insight into this struggle as they meet with people and seek to help them. You may have gone to visit someone thinking that you were dealing with a particular problem and soon discovered that there was a much deeper issue involved.

Providing help for a physical injury can often be less complicated than the help needed for mental and emotional suffering. It is not as easy to diagnose, and the solution is also not always clear. And when a person ends their life it can leave many unanswered questions and feelings of guilt for those left behind.

Maybe you have been in this situation and have wondered what more you could have done to help. When people are weak emotionally, we feel as though we need to be strong. But maybe our own weakness can be our biggest strength in these situations. We see this lesson given throughout the Bible. Strength in weakness.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of the suffering servant, especially with the very well-known verse: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:55, NIV). Seven hundred years later Jesus became flesh to take on this role as our suffering servant.

Jesus revealed himself as the Good Shepherd who cared for his sheep (John 10). But he is also the Lamb of God who laid down his life for us. The risen Jesus came to the doubting Thomas and told him: ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe’ (John 20:27, NIV). In the same way he comes to us with nail-scarred hands. He is the wounded healer and it is by his wounds and through his apparent weakness, that we find healing and strength.

When you are going through mental and emotional anguish you can feel so weak and vulnerable and alone. You might think that you just have to be strong to get through it and when you have managed to do this then you will be happy and blessed.

How refreshing it can be to have someone who tells you that it is okay to be weak and that we have a God who comes to us in our weakness. We have a wounded healer in Jesus who is happy to be with us and bless us in our most vulnerable moments. We can never do enough or be strong enough – none of us can. Not ultimately. Even the strongest person can’t overcome death on their own. And they don’t have to!

Jesus tells us: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV). So as you minister to the vulnerable in your care, know that you can be vulnerable yourself. The grace of God is enough for you and is enough for them. Help them to see Jesus as their wounded healer who was pierced and crushed for them so they can find their peace in him.

Stephen Schultz, PO Box 1057 Littlehampton, South Australia 5250

Stephen.schultz@lca.org.au