Michael Harrison's e-devotion

Yesterday I reminded us to pray for Israel.  I ended up being invited to an online prayer meeting for a church in Jerusalem.   It was eye opening and humbling, to say the least. My heart goes out to those who are in the midst of the war, those who have lost so much and those who are struggling to keep their families safe.  I adjust in another direction and talk to a friend who is battling a severe health issue that they just can’t get healed from.  Then there is a conversation with a neighbor abut their health and daily struggle. My heart goes out to these and so many more.  Those battling addiction … those without food or who are homeless … those in the middle of broken relationships and so many more. Then I read the following devotion from Henri Nouwen.  It is a devotion I receive each day, and often they are right on.  Thus, that was the case today. Read on.  Pray for those on your heart.  Pray for Israel.  Be a conduit of blessing in...

I can not stress this truth enough.  But hold on with me for a few minutes.  There are all kinds of pain.  There is pain from health or injury.  There is pain from growing or growing old.  And many more examples that could be shared. But the kind of pain on my mind today is one that we have all experienced and rips up open.  It is the pain that comes from a broken heart.  I am sure you have been there as I have Psalm 147:3  NASB He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. God is close to the broken. God heals the broken hearted. God can be trusted always and with everything. That is the place where I look at or think about my personal wounds and the wounds of the people I care about deeply.  That is why I share the following quote with you.  Read and take this in… Nobody escapes being wounded.  We are all wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually....

Psalm 147:3   NASB He heals the brokenhearted And   bind s up their   wound s. Let’s take a step further from where we were yesterday.   God is often more comfortable with our hurts than we are.   And we have all been hurt. Nobody escapes being wounded. We are all wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not, 'How can we hide our wounds?' so we don't have to be embarrassed, but 'How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?' When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers. -- Henri Nouwen Yesterday I pointed us to the fact that it is God that heals the broken hearts, those with hang up and struggles that are overbearing.   This is one of those promises that so many of us have experienced. Are we being honest about our hurts, hang-ups and our brokenness.   As Nouwen asked in the quote above “how can we pu...