Healing Soul Wounds

The wounds left by people who claim to speak for God can be devastating. When Christians use hurtful words or judgment instead of love, it doesn't just create personal pain – it can distort your entire understanding of who Jesus truly is.

This episode tackles that raw, often unspoken experience head-on. We examine how Jesus himself actually treated people who were hurting, doubting, or living messy lives. Unlike many of his self-proclaimed followers today, Jesus consistently led with compassion rather than criticism. Whether it was the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, or even doubting Thomas, Jesus invited people closer instead of pushing them away.

We make a crucial distinction that can be healing for anyone carrying church hurt: Christians are human and often get it wrong, but that doesn't reflect who Christ truly is. Romans 8:38-39 reminds us that absolutely nothing – including the painful words or actions of imperfect believers – can separate us from God's perfect love. We also explore how forgiveness works as a pathway to freedom without requiring you to accept harmful behavior or remove necessary boundaries. Forgiveness isn't about minimizing hurt; it's about preventing that hurt from defining your spiritual journey moving forward.

Have you been wounded by someone speaking in Jesus' name? Don't bottle it up. Talk to him about it – he can handle your honest questions, doubts, and even anger. And remember, Jesus hasn't walked away from you, and he never will. Share this episode with someone else who might be silently carrying similar wounds and needs to be reminded of Christ's unfailing love.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Okay, great Glad you're here listening to your
encouraging five-minute podcastover the next five minutes, just
trying to inspire you, to liftyour day, to encourage you in
some way.
That's what it's all about.
I'm Eric.
This is my friend Heather.
If you, at the end of thisfive-minute podcast, need more
encouragement, you can alwayslisten to Virginia's Home for

(00:22):
Encouragement, WPER.
If you're outside that area,you can download the app.
Just search WPER wherever youfind apps.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
So today we're going to talk about something pretty
raw, something many of us carryquietly.
It's the wounds left by words,and especially when those words
come from people who callthemselves Christians, and maybe
you've been judged unfairly.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Maybe someone in the church said something that cut
you deep.
Maybe the ones who weresupposed to love like Jesus did
not and instead left you feelinglike you didn't even belong or
worse, maybe feeling like Jesusdidn't love you either.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Okay.
So if that's you, we just wantto say we're sorry, we see you,
but, more importantly, jesussees you.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah, there's something really powerful about
the way Jesus treated people,especially people who were
hurting.
Jesus never leads withcriticism, he leads with
compassion.
The woman at the well he didn'tshame her, he saw her.
The woman caught in adultery.
He didn't throw stones at her,he offered her grace.
And then Thomas, who we callthe doubting disciple.

(01:30):
Jesus didn't criticize him.
He invited Thomas to comecloser, to touch his wounds, to
see for himself.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
You know, there's something really important to
remember Christians are human.
Christians get it wrong,sometimes pretty badly.
But you me, Eric, none of uscan let that brokenness, that
other people distort our view ofwho Christ really is.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
In the Bible, in Romans, chapter 8, verses 38 and
39, Paul writes for I'mconvinced that neither death nor
life, neither the present northe future, nor anything else in
all creation would be able toseparate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus, ourLord.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah, so if you've been hurt by someone trying to
speak for Jesus, do not bottlethat up.
Talk to him about it.
Jesus is not intimidated byyour pain.
He's not intimidated by youranger, because he wants to heal
that.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
And if you've walked away from church because of that
pain, we just want to encourageyou to not give up on Jesus,
especially because of people.
Let Jesus show you who hereally is Tender, kind, faithful
, loving, full of mercy.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
I think it's also important to point out here that
forgiveness does not meanacceptance, because you can
forgive somebody for hurting youand create boundaries so they
can't hurt you again.
You can forgive someone just asChrist has forgiven all of us
and still not give them thechance to be in a place where
they are able to hurt you again.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Forgiveness actually frees us from bitterness and
anger towards someone who hurtus, so that we can move forward
free from that negativity.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Forgiving someone who's hurt you, especially as it
relates to someone else'sinterpretation of Christianity,
can free you up to build a realrelationship with Jesus.
Talk to Jesus.
Talk to him Even if it's messy,even if you're angry, he can
handle it.
Ask him to start healing yourheart and show you his truth.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
If you need to find out more about who Jesus really
is, and not just who someonesays he is.
You can find out in his ownwords who he is and how he feels
about you.
You can actually go to wperorg,tap resources.
That'll give you a dropdownwhere you'll see knowing Jesus.
Don't let the wounds caused byimperfect people rob you of the

(03:55):
perfect love of Christ.
He hasn't walked away from youand he never, ever will.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Nope, and not even if you're the one who has hurt
someone with your words.
There's grace for you too,because, believe me, we have all
needed forgiveness.
We're human and we will allneed forgiveness again.
But that's the great partThrough the forgiveness of Jesus
, we all get the chance to growin the grace of Christ.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
Hey, thank you for letting us share these moments
with you.
If this spoke to something deepin your soul, you're not alone.
Share this with someone elsewho might need the reminder that
Jesus is bigger than our painand closer than we think.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
So much closer.
Thank you so much for lettingus hang out with you these past
few minutes.
If you have at all beenencouraged, like Eric said,
share this podcast with somebody.
But if you want a little moreencouragement, head on over to
WPERorg to download the WPER appor if you're in Virginia, you
can always listen to WPERVirginia's home for
encouragement.