For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Psalm 72:12-14 NIV
Walking wounded…
We saw one yesterday… in the surf… about twenty yards from the shore… and less than a hundred yards from our boat…
F**k…! Something got me…!
The words came across the water… capturing our attention…
Hobbling toward shore… a young man in serious pain… hopping one-legged… trying to stay upright… keeping his head above water…
Do you need help…?
His friend responded… waving us over…
What we saw when we got there was the young man writhing with pain in the sand… ankle bleeding…
A stingray… punctured his ankle clean through… just behind his Achilles tendon…
[Photo by karen kayser on Unsplash]
We put him in the boat… drove him down the beach where their truck was parked… while his friend gathered their stuff… and took it to the truck…
On the way… we offered ice… comfort… help… first aid…
The jagged bloody wound… gaped… a little over an inch wide on the entrance side of the ankle… on the other side a smaller puncture appeared…
It was a sparsely visited part of the island… we were the only ones near to witness the wounding… the only ones able to offer assistance…
After depositing him into the hands of those who could get him the next steps of care… the sound of an ambulance approaching… we went back to our boating… drifting… fishing… vacationing…
But the image it sticks… I sat next to him… tried to comfort as he shook… towels under his head… his ankle… and over his shivering frame…
We went slow… not to jostle him… the trip up the beach took a good ten to fifteen minutes…
It was easy to see his need for help… his crying out… his fight to get to shore… the bloody wound when we came to see what we could do to help…
We were all so thank-full… we were near to help… to hear the cry of the needy… and offer aid…
Today… I think about those who are spiritually wounded… those we come across daily… at work… at home… in our community… our churches…
Wounds that aren’t so evident… but just as deep… jagged… painful…
And I wonder… how do we reach out to those in need…? or those who may not even recognize they are wounded…?
Who is actually willing to cry out for help…? or has a friend who will call others alongside to offer care and ministry they can’t provide on their own…?
The church… the world… is full of walking wounded… and also those with gifts to minister to their pain… in Jesus’s name… authority… power…
All we need to do… is be willing to share our stories… our hurts… our gifts… know our own vulnerability…
Share our experiences with the Healer… who heals all our wounds… cures all our dis-eases…
Seeing the spiritual wounds of others…. should move us to act with compassion…
But unless we hear a call for help… an acknowledgement of pain… how can we see…? how can we help…?
The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy…
Psalm 69:32-33 NLT
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