Present with God: In my Bruises

“a bruised reed he will not break…” -Isaiah 42:3

A bruise is visible evidence of trauma. It is the site of an injury’s lingering damage. A bruise is also a place of vulnerability and can be painful when touched. Isaiah’s promise is that our God is gentle enough to be trusted with our bruises. Knowing that God is the all-powerful creator and ruler of the entire universe may cause us to fear him. In fact, a healthy respect-based fear for God is appropriate. But that should never cause us to fear that he cannot be trusted, even with the most sensitive parts of our lives.

Too often we delay approaching God until we can heal all our bruises, ourselves. Often, the bruises on our souls are evidence of our own moral clumsiness. Sometimes they are the evidence of the injury and harm that has been done to us by others. Because of the embarrassment of our failures or a compulsive need to bury our past, we feel compelled to cover our bruises before we come to God.

Isaiah assures us that God’s gentleness can be trusted. In fact, only God can truly bring wholeness and healing to our deepest bruises. We may patch up what was injured and we may limp our way through life for a while, but until we truly reveal our brokenness to God, we will not be fully healed. It is only in his loving and gentle presence that our bruises will be healed.

Be Present with God

Make some time to be present with God. Share with him the deepest of your soul bruises. Be honest about the hurt you experienced. Be honest with him about how those experiences have affected your relationships with others and with him. Trust him to touch your bruises with a gentle, healing hand. Ask him to restore you to wholeness. Thank him for the way that he has made you aware of his presence during this time.