The Absolute Necessity of Cleaning Wounds

You would have thought I’d been bitten by a cobra or by some exotic spider.Not quite – it was only a small puncture wound from a hawthorn bush I was clearing for an elderly woman. No big deal, I told myself, but after a few days a large, hot bump rose on my wrist and two ominous red tracts were making their way up my left arm.

The emergency room doctor took one look and said, “You’re fortunate you came in.”  Without medical intervention, blood poisoning is a one-way express ticket to eternity.

Such a little wound – so much power to destroy. The difference between life and death was taking action – doing something about the poison.

Necessity of Cleaning Wounds

It’s no different with invisible wounds – the injuries that stab from the inside: that sharply selfish act you didn’t see coming, the pointed fangs of a painful put-down, or that series of statements that slice like paper cuts.

Almost everyone has sustained afflictions like this.  What is important is how you treat them.  Perhaps you choose to do nothing at all?  Maybe an infection is beginning to spread?

Like the poison from that puncture wound, toxins from neglected internal wounds of the soul fester just as much. Sooner or later, that venom will overtake you with the intent and power to destroy.

Marriages go down because of the poison from neglected relational wounds. And, just like my  puncture wound, the difference between life and death is taking action – doing something about the poison.

When we’re offended by something our spouse did, we often want him/her to come our way – to initiate the reconciliation. Seriously, does she not see that I’m peeved/hurt/angry? Is he so blind he can’t see how much he has hurt me?

Jesus disagrees. He teaches that the offended party is the one who needs to act first. If your brother commits an offense against you, go to him and tell him his fault (Matthew 18:15 MLJV).

Seek out your spouse. Tell him/her what happened that offended you. Many times, these conversations don’t go so well because we pursue them in the flesh rather than being led by the Spirit.  Therefore, approach them with these suggestions in mind:

1)   Pray before you attempt to reconcile, asking God to help you remain in the Spirit and to help your spouse see what you desire to communicate.

2)   Changing a person is God’s job, not yours. Purpose to leave your spouse in God’s hands and choose not to react to the response you receive. Ask God to take away the poison you’ve allowed to fester, and to clean your wound with His grace.

3)   Even if there isn’t immediate repentance, remember how much you’ve been forgiven and how patient God is with you. God is at work. Trust Him.

Remember God’s words about a man and a woman coming together in marriage?  The two shall become one flesh. Take action. Do something about that poison in your wound before it destroys the people you love.