“For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.” (Psalm 109:22)

Main Page About Us Articles Sermons Copyright Links Contact Us

Definition

A wounded heart occurs when someone or something brings hurt to your emotions. "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly" Proverbs 26:22.

SOURCES OF HURTS:

1. Result of offense brought to us from others.
• (People say and do things to hurt us) Proverbs 18:8.
2. Result from our own sinful behavior. Psalms 25:18, Proverbs 17:19, II Samuel 24:10.
3. Result from a calamity where one is overcome by the experience. Job 3:25-26.
4. Result of the sins of the forefathers. Exodus 34:6-7.
5. Result from drug and alcohol use. Proverbs 23:29-35.
6. Result from occult involvement. Leviticus 20:6.

Hurts Never Just Go Away!

Hurts never just go away! Time will not bring complete healing to them. Whenever you remember the experience, you feel the hurt. Some people will even block out their memory so that they won't have to face feeling the hurts, but they are still there.

SOME SYMPTOMS:

1. Physical Proverbs 17:22
• Nerve disorders
• Allergies
• Stomach problems
• Heart aches
• Insomnia
2. Mental Proverbs 18:14
• Depression
• Fits of anger and rage
• Confusion
• Various fears
• Shyness
• Dominance
3. Spiritual Matthew 18:34
• Nightmares
• Hearing voices
• Seeing unusual things
• Lack of control of self

The Ways People Respond

• Some people respond by backing away from the situation to allow time for healing. They often turn inward and brood over their hurts. The hurts become like a big sore risen just waiting for someone to prick it with a sharp word, then out comes all the corruption of anger, bitterness, hate, revenge, and fear. The rejection they then receive brings more hurts.

• Other people respond by immediately striking back trying to balance their hurt with anger and revenge or by trying to protect themselves from further hurt to allow time for healing. However, scar tissue (hardness of heart) soon appears. As they enter into relationships, they are rejected for their hardness and receive more hurts. Please understand that one only receives healing through the intervention of God.

God's Provision

1. God cares about your broken heart. Psalms 34:18, 51:17.
2. God healed David's heart and He will also heal yours. Psalm 147:3, Hebrews 13:8.
3. Jesus was sent to heal the broken hearted. Luke 4:18.
4. Jesus, Himself, suffered all the hurts that one could suffer. Isaiah 53:1-12, John 1:11, Luke 22:57, 23:35-37, Matthew 27:46.
5. Through the suffering of Jesus, God has provided the healing for you hurts. Isaiah 53:5.
6. It is God's desire to heal your hurts. I Peter 5:7.
7. God must have control of your whole heart before He can heal it. Jeremiah 29:13, Revelation 3:20

Steps Of Preparation

 

1. You must give your heart to Jesus letting Him become your Lord. (Lord = ruler) Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:9-10.
2. If you have offended someone else, then you must confess your offense and ask them to forgive you. Matthew 5:23-24, I Peter 3:16.
3. you must forgive (release) the person who has hurt you. Matthew 6:12, 14-15.
4. You must put their judgment into God's hands and then ask God to forgive them for their offense toward you. Luke 23:24, Acts 7:60.
5. You must yield your rights to God (possessions, respect, family, expectations). Matthew 19:21, I Peter 5:5-6, Luke 18:20, Mark 8:34-37, Psalm 119:165.

WARNING: A wounded heart that doesn't receive healing is an open door for evil spirits. Ephesians 4:26-27, I Peter 5:8, Genesis 4:4-7, Matthew 18:21-35.
 

How To Receive Healing

1.  Make a list of your hurts.
2. Begin with the greatest first.
3. Ask God go cleanse your heart of all wrong attitudes (anger, bitterness, lust, unforgiveness, hate, revenge). Isaiah 1:18, 51:10, I John 1:9.
4. Picture your experience of being hurt in your mind.
5. Now picture Jesus suffering the same hurt for you and overcoming it by his own death and resurrection. I Peter 2:24.
6. Next picture in your mind the resurrected Jesus offering healing to you. Luke 4:18-19.
7. In faith ASK God to heal your heart in the name of Jesus. Ezekiel 36:26, John 16:23.

NOTE: You should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal other hurts in your life that they may also be healed. Psalm 139:23-24. The Hebrew word that is translated "thoughts" literally means "disquieting thoughts" or the thoughts that keep us restless.  The phrase that is translated "any wicked way" would be better translated "any way of pain".  Therefore, we are to ask God to reveal to us any inner conflicts, show to us our emotional wounds, and then lead us in the way everlasting.
 

Your Ministry Of Healing

1.  As God heals your hurts, He will also give you a tender heart that will be sensitive to the hurts of others. Ezekiel 36:26, II Corinthians 5:18, Mark 5:19.
2. Remember that God can change that which was meant for evil into good. Genesis 50:20, Deuteronomy 23:5, Romans 8:28, I Peter 5:8-10, II Corinthians 1:6.
3. ASK God to give and fill you with His Spirit, His love, and His grace that you may share the healing that you have received with others that they may be healed. Luke 11:1-13, Ephesians 3:17-20, Hebrews 4:16, John 7:37-38.
4. Claim Luke 4:18-19 for yourself.
5. Share the content of this article with a hurting friend. Matthew 10:8.

Dr. Frasure writes: "The following is an outline that I use in the ministry that may also be of value to you."

1. Forgive the person who has offended you. (Matthew 6:12, 14-15, 18:21-35).

a. Others
b. God
c. Self

3. Confess your own sins to God: unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, hate, revenge, thoughts of murder, suicide, guilt, fear, etc.

a. Ask God to forgive you and to cleanse you.  (I John 1:9) (A wound needs to be cleansed of dirt before it can be healed).

b. If you feel that anger or something else is still there, then: (A wound needs to be cleansed of infection also).

4. Ask God to heal you of the hurts through the suffering of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 4:18, Isaiah. 53:4, Psalms 147:3) (Pray until you are healed).

5. Ask God to fill your heart with his love and power of the Holy Spirit so that you can view the memory through God's love and from His perspective of truth. (Ephesians 3:17-19).  (We have a tendency to color our memories).

NOTE [1]:  We should ask the Holy Spirit to bring to our minds each and every hurtful memory that we have experienced, that we may, by God's grace, walk through these steps and receive healing for every one of them. (Romans 8:16)

NOTE [2]:  The Holy Spirit will comfort us and guide us through each memory as we invite Him to do so.  (John 14:18)

NOTE [3]:  God doesn't want to waste any of our experiences of hurts, freedom and healing, but wants us to share them with others as directed of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:28-29, II Corinthians 2:15).
 

About the Author The author of this article, Dr. Basil Frasure, is an Ordained Minister and Counselor. He currently serves as a Pastoral Counselor with Whole Person Counseling of San Angelo, Texas. He has a Master of Divinity Degree and a Ph.D. Degree in Christian Counseling. He is a faithful minister, an effective counselor, and an able teacher of the Word of God. He is also a member of American Association of Christian Counselors.  He has previously authored How To Destroy The Evil Tree, an informative book on overcoming generational curses. More recently, he has authored Bringing Every Thought Captive, Vol. 1, an informative manual on Whole Person Counseling and also a great self-help book. He also has designed and taught competent counseling courses. The material and graphics in this article , "The Wounded Heart", were taken from Bringing Every Thought Captive, Vol. 1, copyrighted, 1996, by Basil Frasure, Ph.D.

The Wounded Heart Ministries, Inc., is a non-profit organization and is exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donors to the Wounded Heart Ministries, Inc., may deduct contributions and gifts, with no consideration received. All donations and gifts to the Wounded Heart Ministries, Inc., will be disbursed in accordance with the purpose statement of this ministry and all donors will receive proper credit for gifts received. All donations and gifts are greatly appreciated and may be sent to: The Wounded Heart Ministries, Inc., c/o Dr. Benny F. Woods, Founder and President, 3608 Bellhaven Dr., Valdosta, GA 31605