I have been thinking today about Luke 4:18. It says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
I had never really paid much attention to the last statement, to set at liberty them that are bruised, until a friend was telling me what that verse meant to them. Many of us have been hurt in our lives by people and circumstances. Those hurts have caused bruises. Sometimes those bruises go away with no trouble at all. Other times, it may get re-injured and cause more pain.
One of Jesus' jobs here on the earth was to set us free from those things. He doesn't want us nursing wounds from the past, He wants to set us free. Notice that it doesn't say that He came to heal them that are bruised. It says He came to set them free! That is because if we don't let go of those past hurts, we will be forever bound by our past.
Receive the freedom that Jesus provided! Stop rehearsing past hurts and move on! Hey, just so you know, I am talking to myself here as well. Release the people that have wronged you and be free! It feels oh, so good! [End of article. Original found here: http://www.sleepingwiththepastor.com/2008/03/do-you-have-bruise.html]
Maybe this meant so much to me because I had my own experience of being set free from a perceived bruise this week. What an amazing feeling to get things resolved and feel the burden lifted!
