Even though the calendar says it’s “spring,” we still seem to be getting some mornings where there’s a chill in the air.  It causes me to ask, “how do we avoid a spiritual chill?”  Perhaps it might come down to where we are directing our attention.  Hebrews 12:2 tell us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  As we look to Jesus, I believe we will find that the Lord is reaching out today to the wounded heart. Truly there are hurting and desperate souls all around us… people who need the warmth of a spiritual “spring.”

There are the ignored ones, the wounded ones, the ones who choose to live in emotional isolation because they carry internal wounds that are deeply traumatic. If we choose to look we can see them all around us. Sometimes it is hard to see the truth because people tend to hide the hurt and pain behind a façade that masks the turmoil on the inside.

For some who carry a wounded heart life seems like an endless winter for which there is no spring. As we know, winter can be a hard, cruel mistress. It strips the mind and heart of hope and life. So many hearts have known the icy blasts of rejection and sorrow.  Their hearts, like the ground in winter, have grown cold and hard.  And, as winter seemingly strips the earth of all life, millions of souls hunger for just a kind word, a loving hand… something—or someone—to reach out to them in love and compassion.

To that wounded and lost soul, there is a heart that is moved with compassion for you.  God, our Heavenly Father, loved you so much that he sent his son Jesus to die in your place. He did this not only to bring forgiveness of sins, but also to open brand new vistas of love and compassion.  Jesus brought hope, love, and healing in all of its forms, everywhere he went.

The wounded ones, such as the prostitute Mary Magdalene, found in him a man who looked beyond her lifestyle.  Jesus saw beyond the destructive patterns to the wounds of the heart and he offered her love for judgment, hope for despair, and dignity for oppression.  To all those who know the pain of a wounded soul—who have only known the icy winds of hurt and despair—the heart of Jesus is open to you.  He came to bring in a new season, a spiritual “spring,” to replace the sorrow that accompanies the wintry blasts of despondency and rejection.

Jesus will bring the wonder of spring into our hearts if we let him. His heart is grieved by all the suffering so many have endured. Spring is the very antithesis to winter. It brings warmth to the cold hard ground that winter imposes. Jesus will take the cold hard ground of your wounded heart, and by his love and compassion restore and heal the wounded places.

Do you possess a wounded heart?  If so, know that there is someone who will bring true love and joy back into your life. The Lord’s heart grieves for the suffering you have endured. He wants you to share with him your pain and despair. When brought into the light of his love, he will forever more erase the pain of the past.  He will infuse in your heart the light and freshness of spring. Where once there had been only the cold, lifelessness of winter, the budding of life that spring brings shall come alive in your heart.

Jesus reminded us in John 10:10 that, “the thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. But, I have come to give you a rich and satisfying life.”