Thursday, May 5, 2011

Time Doesn't Heal

"Time heals all wounds," I was told. "You will feel better in time," they said. "It just takes time," echoed in my head.

When my dad died in 2006, I was told over and over again that time would cure my broken heart. I kept waiting for this magic moment when the grief would suddenly disappear. As each month passed, as each year flew by, my grief did not end. It merely transformed.

As you walk or drive past the destruction of last week's tornadoes, it's hard to imagine how anything could mend our crushed city. We have faith, though, that our cities, businesses, houses, lives - that all of those things will be rebuilt, in time, and made new. But to believe that time will heal us is a lie.

The first time Jesus predicted his own death, he promised that he would be raised to life on the third day. The disciples, though they had heard Jesus' promise on more than one occasion, did not take his promise of miraculous resurrection seriously. They couldn't see how a man, beaten and slain, could ever live again. But, just as he promised, Jesus rose from that grave after just three days.

It wasn't time that healed Jesus. It wasn't the number of days or some magic time frame that set him free from death. And it surely wasn't the faith of his followers holding vigil over his lifeless body. It was the power of his Heavenly Father that gave him new life!

Time doesn't heal. God heals.

We have faith that, yes, God will repair and rebuild what has been damaged and lost. He will make all things new again. It will take time, but it will depend solely upon God's mighty power. Trust in HIS promises - not in time. Put your faith in action, rely upon God's sovereignty, and declare that God and God alone is the Creator and Rebuilder.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5

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