My heart is flowing with thanksgiving for all of the prayers offered for me as I was shut in with the after-effects of last week’s infusion. I am so grateful for the time that He gave to call me deeper into His heart. While the physical effects were heavy, the soul effects were heavier, as truly He did infuse my heart with Himself.
Have you been in a place where He uncovered a deeper truth than just the surface moments easily seen?
An old wound was uncovered this week. God had brought it to the surface at other times through the years, and each time a deeper scrubbing was required to scrape away the scabs that had formed around the edges. But still I heard the words that had been uttered, “I’m turning my back on you here. I cannot look upon you any more,” and my soul heaved sobs within.
In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Psalm 31:22 NIV
I recognized the alarm and panic. It was the old wound, and yet it was the new wound of this place of disease also. As God has asked me to let Him wash away the debris that I have let accumulate, the grime that has stuck to the label that I’ve allowed this disease to name me with, I have recognized the sameness of the old wounding. Both labels have borne the name “cut off and shunned.” One from a person, the other from a disease. But neither was given by God. Neither is the eye of how He sees me.
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. Acts 10:9-16
And if God sees me as clean, all of my hope is carried in HIS naming of me.
There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:18 NIV
He has become my Living Hope. In the places of my heart where the panic rises, there is One who calls me to see what He has accomplished. There is a lover who calls to me from within that place of wounding, and says draw near, look at what I have given:
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. Isaiah 53:8 NIV
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. Hebrews 13:12-13 NIV
As I offered my wound to God, I felt Him cleansing anew the scabbed over sores that were festering underneath. He brought His own pure washing that scraped away the blistered edges where fresh baby skin was already growing underneath.
Outside the Camp
They called me cut-off
They called me shunned, sent away
And the wound imparted
could never heal
For my eyes looked on
as one forsaken
and my heart bled tears
as one forlorn
where are the joys of my youth
where is the love of my heart
is it not burned deep within
never to depart
We called HIM cut off
stricken of God
sent outside the camp
where the bodies were burned
Yet His soul cried out
for the friends of His youth
And His wounds tore open
for the children God gave
Outside the camp
Cut off from the living
Forsaken by all
Glorious Rising won over
the dead
Heavenly breathing gushed into
HIS lungs
Oh sacred Head now wounded
Oh gentle scars now bearing
LIFE is pulsing in Beloved’s
side once pierced
And HE calls my name
In the wounding I wake
In the shunning I run
In the loosing I’m drawn
In the drawing I’m loved
For in the place where
my heart was torn
the life of Jesus uncovered the wound
Balmed it and healed
The enemy sought to harm
Yet God always planned
outside the camp
with sinners restored
Love is made complete
–bg
Who is God like ours? Who is King like our God? There is none other. Only He can bring such beauty for ashes.
Let the days of the king add up
to years and years of good rule.
Set his throne in the full light of God;
post Steady Love and Good Faith as lookouts,
And I’ll be the poet who sings your glory—
and live what I sing every day.
Is there an old wounding in your heart? Have you allowed another to name you with what God never intended?
I would love to pray with you today, and offer our words, together, to Jesus:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you that You alone name our hearts. Thank You for the beauty that we were created in: Your very own image. Lord we confess that we have tried to cover our old places of wounding. We have let those old wounds scab and fester. But would You uncover them today? Thank You that You are so gentle with Your loving and cleansing, and You never cut us off. Thank You that in Your touch is true healing. We rejoice in the Glory of You, our true King! And we rejoice that we bear YOUR name and are part of Your community, Your Body. Help us to carry the glory of Your majesty with singing in our every moment, joined together with You.
In Your precious name we pray,
Amen.
I am linking with:
BettieGsRAseasons 
Good morning my brave sister strong because of Her Lord and Savior.
Your story is one so many need to hear. I am sharing this with a friend today. Thank you for writing in the midst of physical pain and heart suffering. May He wrap you in a tight, warm embrace binding the pieces still astray. Love you, Bettie.
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Oh Dear Julie,
Thank you so much for your encouraging words today. I am praying for your friend now, and asking God to draw her so close to His heart! I love your prayer here, “May He wrap you in a tight, warm embrace binding the pieces still astray.” What a comfort to know that He is our security, wrapping every piece of our heart into His great love! Blessings, love and hugs to you!
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Forgot to tell you Bettie. I forwarded this post to several friends. Unfortunately I know many who struggle with chronic pain and/or battle their past issues regularly. I pray God share these words with hearts craving His touch.
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Amen, may the Lord bring His own gentle touch to each heart that is aching.
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Amen! Praise God we are never forsaken! He is with you and He loves you Bettie! God bless you!
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Yes, Praise God! He is so good to always be with us, in every place where we feel so alone. He never will forsake us! Thank you Dear Brother! Blessings to you and your family!
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Old wounds can come back at the oddest times. An old hurt that I thought was long gone resurfaced recently. After some hours of feeling sad, I put the hurt aside and asked God to help me with the situation.
I truly enjoy your messages and love your photo. You always make me smile. Have a blessed week!
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Dear Melissa,
Yes, isn’t that something how those old wounds will resurface, sometimes so many years later? I am so thankful that the Lord helped you to seek Him when you were so saddened. He truly does carry us through so many hard places. I am so blessed that you have been encouraged and uplifted here! I thought that daisy just sang so sweetly of God’s glory! And my husband took the snow photo for me during some of our recent storms. May you be blessed this week also!
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Thanks, dear Bettie, for your courage and love in sharing God’s grace and mercy even as you go through the deep valleys and many levels of pain.
These words in Isaiah 51:3 are true in your situation:
The Lord will comfort Israel again
and have pity on her ruins.
Her desert will blossom like Eden,
her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found there.
Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.
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Dear Lisa,
Thank you so much for being so open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and to share what He brings to you! Your words and Scriptures have been such a blessing to me, and today’s just flows so sweetly also. Yes, Lord may I let You fill my heart with Your own songs of thanksgiving to fill this air. And may the Lord bring you great strength in your days of valleys and pain also. Love and Hugs!
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Oh, Bettie, so beautiful! I love the poem and I love the song by Michael Card. Thank you for the prayer. May we all sing His praises every moment of the day. He has named us. No one else can say who we are. The enemy may be strong and may try to get us to believe the lies, but God is so much stronger. We are wrapped in His love forever. Amen. Blessings, love and hugs to you, dear sister/poet/friend! xoxo
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Dear Gayl,
Thank you so much for all of you beautiful prayers and support. You are so right that we are wrapped in God’s love, and the enemy’s lies can never touch that! Our God truly is so strong. I am so thankful that even when we fall under the weight of those attacks, God doesn’t condemn us there, but comes to our rescue. May you be blessed with His beautiful singing over you today! Love & hugs my dear sister/poet/friend! xoxo
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Another beautiful post.
It’s frustrating, and sometimes scary when those odd would raise their ugly heads. Satan loves to try to defeat us with the past but praise God. We are overcomers
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Dear Mandy,
Oh, yes! Praise God that in Jesus we are overcomers! What a blessed thought to dwell in. I am praying for you now as you prepare to speak tomorrow. May the strength of Jesus flow through you there. Blessings!
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The songs are just beautiful, and oh, your words! They resonate on so many levels, and they show forth the deep work God has done and is doing in your heart, dear friend. I, too, have some of those old wounds that sometimes pop up out of no where, and I wonder if there will ever be a time in this life that the sting is completely gone. I suppose we all have those places, and it is a beautiful thing when Jesus applies His healing balm to the pain. May He bless you and hold you close, dear friend. I am continuing to pray for you and send much to you today.
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Dear Cheryl,
Oh, I am so glad you were blessed by those songs. Aren’t they such gifts? Jesus finds such precious ways to meet us when those old wounds pop up again. And I think you are right, that there may be some wounds that will hold a sting until we are finally and fully healed in Heaven. But how beautiful that will be! I long for that day of completeness. Thank you for the hope and encouragement that you always share, Sweet Friend. Blessings and hugs to you!
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Bettie, you have blessed with your words, and the Lord has made you a blessing. 🙂
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Oh Dear Fances, thank you so much for your sweet words. May Jesus bring us closer to His own heart through these days. And may He bless you as well!
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🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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You are always being built anew, even under those wounds visual on the surface. I loved the imagery you expressed here Bettie! May you have a day seeing and feeling new life!
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Dear Lynn,
Thank you so much for your prayer here, “seeing and feeling new life.” Oh yes, may we keep our eyes open to where He is at work, building His own kingdom within us. Blessings and love to you!
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Oh my, this is deep. Reading it in my mail, I thought to myself, I should come over to re-read this, Bettie.
And sis, the poem oh my….beautiful
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Dear Ifeoma,
I am always so blessed by your sweet words here Friend! Our Lord is so good to carry us deeper into His heart, isn’t He? Just when we think we can’t go on, He calls us closer. Blessings, love, and hugs to you!
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I’m so sorry for the wounds you were given, Bettie. Hurtful words can pop up so quickly. You know of my older wounds, but even words said by people who don’t understand chronic illness can pop up. I often don’t listen to the signs in my body that a bronchial infection is coming or my intuition telling me not to push myself so much. I keep hearing past words that it’s all in my head or I should just “suck it up” or be like the little engine that could, that I can do more than I think I can, etc. Even words like we can do all things through Christ. Like I don’t have enough faith. And it goes on. So I end up waiting too long and the infection hits me even harder and longer. I can’t begin to tell you how much this post has affected me. You described it exactly how I have been feeling lately concerning this disease. “Cut off and shunned.” Also concerning those wounds of past abuse. I love how you take us into the depths of what Jesus suffered for us. Such healing grace and love He has for us.
“For in the place where
my heart was torn
the life of Jesus uncovered the wound
Balmed it and healed”
Amen! May we keep opening our hearts and deep wounds to Jesus’ balm of grace and may He cleanse us of all “the grime that has stuck to the label.” I need that so much. Thank you, dear friend, for this hope and empathy of understanding you have given me today. Love and blessings of Jesus’s love and grace to you and His continuing strength to uphold you in all your suffering!
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Dear Trudy,
Oh I am so very thankful that the Lord touched your heart here, you have brought tears to my eyes. It’s amazing to me how the Lord calls us to community, in the very places where we are wounded. He has the gift of true loving waiting right there for us, in joining with Him. And your words have helped me so much tonight too! I have an appointment with a new Doctor tomorrow, a thyroid specialist, and I have been hearing all of those old taunts also: why I am wasting another Doctor’s time, I should be able to just keep going, I am not ___(fill in the blank), and OH! that enemy is such a schemer! But Praise God for the balm that Jesus comes to wash us with. He is so full of love and empathy for each one of us. I am so very thankful for your precious friendship Trudy. May you be blessed with showers of His great love today! xoxo
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I’m so sorry you’re hearing those old taunts, too, Bettie. Yes, that enemy is such a schemer. He knows that when we are so tired and sick or in pain, it’s harder for us to process those lies and to resist them. But yes, praise God for the balm that Jesus comes to wash us with. I hope and pray a solution may be found to ease your pain. May God bless your visit today with a thyroid specialist. I am thankful for your friendship, too! May God continue to bless you with deep revelations of His love! xoxo
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Oh thank you Trudy for all of your prayers and encouragement! Yes, our Jesus is so precious to us to come and bring that balm just when we need it the most. He was with me yesterday at the appointment with the new Specialist, and brought such comfort to my heart. I am so grateful that He understands us so well! Love & Hugs to you Sweet Friend! xoxo
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Dear Bettie!
I am rejoicing with you for the deepening in relationship you experienced with God this past week. What a blessing! The wounds of our past have a way of reappearing if we let them. But God wanted nothing to do with the past and everything to do with your future. He wants you to know you are chosen, secure and loved. Your poem was the perfect culmination to healing the wounds from the past. Love is made complete!
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Dear Mary,
Thank you for your sweet support and praising! Truly our God is so good to draw us closer to Himself, and to show us new and beautiful ways of His loving. I am so very grateful that He does call us His “chosen, secure, and loved” ones! Amen. May you be blessed this week!
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Dear courageous, warrior woman of faith, you are named in all the best ways possible by a God who loves us so much that He got wounded on our behalf. And still bears the scars. Our own wounds have a habit of breaking open unexpectedly and piercing us afresh. It can be hard to react with calm or to pay them no attention. Your words reveal how you are letting go of the pain and releasing the sweet, grace-laced fragrance of Christ in its place. It’s a perfume which reaches us too as we see the wonderful work He is bringing forth from your surrendered spirit. Your poetry is breathtaking and beautiful. Your ability to sense God’s hand at work in adversity is truly lovely. As is your praising spirit, full as it is of gratitude for the healing and sustaining power of the Lord, instead of resentment for the things you’ve had to endure. I love your tender heart and its desire to go deeper with God, even if the way has thorns and briars to negotiate. Stay strong, dear sister! Blessings, love and hugs! xoxo
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Dear Joy,
Oh what a wonder to realize that He who was wounded and bruised for us, now carries us deep in His own heart. He does see and understand how easily those scarred over wounds can suddenly break open, doesn’t He? And He sends such beautiful friends along the way to lift us up to Him, just when we need it too. Thank you for being one of those dear, encouraging, and uplifting friends. You have made this thorny path, with its hidden briars, a little bit easier to navigate as you walk alongside and point out some of the places where God has helped you to climb over the rough spots. God is so good to let us share the journey with each other! I appreciate your prayers and your friendship so much! May you be blessed! Love and Hugs, xoxo
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Thank you, dear Bettie, for this timely post. Through a question, the past tried to taunt me. I answered, “I am loved, I am enough.” His love makes us enough. Hugs, dear sister in Christ. 🍃🕊️💙
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Dear Wendy,
Oh, thank the Lord that He gave you the words to speak truth into your heart when that taunting was stirred up. He is so good to come to our rescue! What a precious Lord, who truly makes us enough in Him. Thank you for your precious sharing here. Love and Hugs to you dear sister in Christ!
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Praying for you, Bettie. The poem is materful, and I love the video!
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Oh thank you dear Andrew. Your prayers are such a blessing, knowing how much you are facing on your path! Praying so much for you tonight also!
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Hi Bettie! Thank you for this beautiful post and poem. How good is it to know just how much God cares for our every wound, old and new. God bless you and I’m praying for you right now. ❤❤❤
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Dear Vivian,
Thank you for your sweet comments and prayers! I appreciate each one so much. Our Lord is so good to us, isn’t He? Oh may I continue to offer my heart to Him, for His complete healing! Blessings to you too!
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