Devotional Day 19

Scripture

Psalm 147:1-11

Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

2  The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! 8 He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, 11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Devotional

This passage of scripture reveals to us a wonderful truth about God’s heart towards us, that he heals the brokenhearted and binds up our wounds.

Did you know that one of the reasons that we begin to idolise something is because it also promises the same thing - to heal our broken hearts and to bind up our wounds. And yet, only God really can do this.

Understanding idolatry at this core level is really important for us to repent from it. The reason for this is that when we begin to understand all that lies beneath our idolatry of pornography we begin to make sense of why we are going to it and can actually be tempted to justify our sin, because in some way it makes more sense to us. However, we never have the right to justify our sin! We do however need to engage with God’s compassion and love for us in order to overcome it - so how do we manage this tension? We have compassion for the wounds but not the sin. Just like God has compassion for your wounds, but not your sin.

When we begin to idolise something like pornography, what is often happening is an attempt at wound binding. The truth is, however, pornogrpahy only covers our wounds in something that isn’t clean and in fact creates infection and makes them worse! Let’s break this down a little: a wound is something that has happened to us - maybe its rejection, abandonment, primary trauma, or even dealing with stress, anxiety or loneliness. Even though pornogpraphy presents as a form of temporary binding and relief from this pain, it is certainly not a sterile bandage - but rather a dirty and infected one, that when placed on our wounds causes more damage and in fact, infection. Leaving us worse off than we were before.

God on the other hand, in his promise to bind up our wounds and heal our broken hearts is faithful and able to do what he has promised! Instead of making our condition worse, he is able to bring healing, not by changing the circumstances that happened to us, but by taking our pain and hurt upon himself, and pouring his love into our hearts, helping us to move through grief and sorrow and find him loving, kind and sufficient in the process. Isaiah 53:4 says of Jesus: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” He cares this much about you, that he would stoop down and bind you up where you’ve been hurt and wounded and even mend your heart where it has been broken, even after we have rejected him! How wonderful is our loving Saviour.

He is the one who can truly heal your broken heart and bind up your wounds, and he has endless compassion for your pain, but he will not allow you to go to both him and an idol. It’s time to lay down pornography and sexual sin, and whatever else you might be turning to instead of the Lord, repent and give your heart completely and fully to Him, in trust and faith that he is able and willing to love you, tangibly, and heal your heart and bind up your wounds with the clean bandages of Christ.

Prayer

Thank You Lord for your faithfulness as my healer, and your willingness to heal my broken heart and bind up my wounds. Please heal me Lord, where I am hurting, broken and in pain. I am sorry for turning to these idols instead of to you, and I’m sorry that I have not yet been able to fully trust you alone as my healer and comforter, you alone are able, I believe that now, and you alone are worthy of my worship. I trust you Lord, and I give my wounds, my pain and my heart, completely to you now. In Jesus’ name, Amen.