Faithfully Wounded - Daily Devotional April 9th, 2010

Bible Reading - Leviticus 13, Psalm 15 - 16, Proverbs 27, 2 Thessalonians 1

Faithfully Wounded

No one likes wounds, especially when they are internal wounds that cannot be bandaged and have been caused by someone close to us. I find that for most of us an external wound is so much easier to deal with because you can see it, take care of it and watch the healing take place. The reality is though, we all have more internal wounds then we do external ones.

Proverbs 27:5-6 says, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy". When a friend wounds us as it says here it is going to be because of our love for that person or our knowledge of their love for us. If we have love for someone then their words and actions mean more to us then someone we do not have a relationship with. Therefore, we can be wounded much easier by our friends (those we love) then by anyone else.

In order to fully understand verse 6 we must read verse 5 with it. When it says faithful are the wounds of a friend it is in direct correlation with verse 5. In other words, the wounds that are coming from your friend are coming through an open rebuke. The reason they are rebuking you is because a true friend loves and cares about you. It is a wound to us for two reasons. First, it hurts to get rebuked by anyone and second, it hurts doubly when it is a friend who is the one rebuking you.

Most of us because we do not like wounds and rebuke for that matter, tend to surround ourselves with people who will not challenge us or rebuke us, therefore, we will remain unwounded. The problem with this is that we are deceiving ourselves, surrounding ourselves with only those who will tell us what we want to hear or talk us up. These are the deceitful kisses referenced in this passage. Not only are we deceiving ourselves but we will end up being selfish, head strong and shallow people. The reason we will end up this way is because now anytime we do get challenged we will automatically think the person challenging us is wrong because everyone else in our life is giving us deceitful kisses.

Now no chastening is fun at the moment but according to Hebrews 12:11 it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. If we want to grow into the man or woman God intends us to be we need to evaluate who our true friends are. This evaluation can not be seen just by looking for those who always encourage us but rather looking for those who will challenge us. This is why Proverbs 27:5 says that open rebuke is better than hidden love because love is seen in those who are willing to challenge us. Those who are willing to challenge us really care about who we are.

We just need to always make sure that when we challenge it is done in the right heart and in the right timing. If we never challenge a friend but always tell them how amazing they are but then in the heat of an argument or similar situation tell them a bunch of things they need to change then our heart is wrong. I personally had this happen to me at a place I was previously employed. Everyone around thought I had it made and so did I. It was as if I could do no wrong (trust me I did plenty wrong). I was always praised and told how amazing I was and what a great job I was doing. It was not just the job praise but they always praised my character as well. When I felt like God was calling me on to a different assignment in another city my boss and another supervisor wanted to sit down with me and talk to me before I left. For 2 hours my boss talked to me about 6 distinct things I really needed to work on if I wanted to be successful in life. I had worked at this place for over 3 years and yet this was the first time I had ever heard these things "I really needed to work on". The problem is that maybe I truly did need to work on those things but because my boss waited 3 years to share them and they were shared with me in a negative way, in the light of me leaving I did not receive them (I am still in process). A true friend does not share things with people in order to hurt them but rather to help them become better.

I am very thankful for this situation that happened in my life because it has caused me to become a better leader as I am surrounding myself with those who will not wait 3 years to share with me things I need to work on. I am faithfully wounded and I am looking for those who love me enough to rebuke me when I need it (of course all in love). Like most people I receive rebuke best from those who are willing to tell me when I am doing good as well, for this is balance and shows true love.

My question for you today is are you faithfully wounded? Are you running from those who love you enough to challenge you or do you have those around you who are faithfully wounding you because after all, an open rebuke is better than hidden love.

Are you faithfully wounded? I would love to hear your thoughts and stories so please log in and leave them for us to read and learn from.

Tomorrows Bible Reading - Leviticus 14, Psalm 17, Proverbs 28, 2 Thessalonians 2

Dream Big
Ben