As I read 2 Samuel 12–14 this morning one thought kept coming back to me. What we don't deal with doesn't disappear.
I wish it did. I wish hurt would just fade away if we ignored it long enough. I wish broken relationships fixed themselves with time. I wish wounds healed just because we stopped talking about them. But that's not how it works.
David's family is falling apart in these chapters. And it was uncomfortable and personal because I’ve lived it and seen the aftermath in my own family growing up. And it's why I'm so protective of my own family now.
It starts with sin. Then comes the heartbreak. Followed by anger, silence and then distance. And what struck me is that nobody is really dealing with what happened.
David is angry, but he doesn't act. Absalom is hurt, but he doesn't do anything to heal. So the pain gets buried, but it never gets addressed. And buried things have a way of growing roots.
As I said I've done that before. I've told myself I was over something when I wasn't. I've convinced myself I had healed when really I had just stopped talking about it. I've pushed things aside because dealing with them felt harder than carrying them.
The problem is that ignored wounds don't stay small. They show up later. In our attitudes. In our relationships. In our reactions. And in the walls we build around our hearts. I've seen it in families. I've seen it in churches. And i've seen it in my own life.
Sometimes we're praying for God to heal something we've never been willing to completely hand over to Him. We want restoration without complete honesty. Healing without full surrender. And Peace without actually dealing with the wound.
But healing begins with honesty.
God didn't expose David's sin to shame him. He exposed it because He wanted to restore him.
And the same is true for us. God doesn't bring things into the light to condemn us. He brings them into the light because darkness can't heal what we refuse to reveal.
As someone who has walked through rejection, church hurt, family wounds, and seasons of deep healing, I've learned something. Ignoring pain doesn't make you strong and pretending you're fine doesn't make you healed.
Healing only starts the moment you stop running from the wound and invite God into it. And the things we don't deal with will eventually deal with us. But the things we surrender to God can finally begin to heal.
So today, instead of pushing it down, give it to Him. Instead of pretending it's fine, be honest. Instead of carrying it another year, lay it at His feet.
God isn't afraid of the things that hurt you.
And He can't heal what you're unwilling to bring into His presence.
Love Pastor Mandy
Ark of Hope Ministry
Daily reading 2 Samuel 12-14
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