For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal,
says the Lord,
because they have called you an outcast:
“It is Zion, for whom no one cares!”
Thus says the Lord:
Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob,
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,
and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the voices of those who make merry.
I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
Jeremiah 30:17–19
When we face our brokenness, it can feel as though our wounds will never heal. We feel lost, destroyed, out of options, and beyond hope. We wonder if God can fix us or if he is even there. Our lives are in a heap of ruins, seemingly never to be rebuilt. What can we do when we experience our woundedness?
The answer lies in the One who suffered to the fullest for the worst sins of humanity. Only Jesus can bring us new life, restore our fortunes, and heal our wounds. The glory in this is that Jesus not only heals us, he builds a beautiful new dwelling from our ruined lives. We are enabled to multiply the blessings of God by sharing the healing of God with others. No longer outcasts, we are citizens of heaven who now experience an eternal inheritance and live with a new purpose in the kingdom of God.
Questions for reflection
What wounds have you brought to the Lord for healing, and what was the result?
What kind of a dwelling has God created from the ruins of your life? How has that dwelling impacted the lives of others?
How can you celebrate God’s restoration in your life by helping to restore the lives of others?
Praying with Scripture
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds. (Ps 147:2–3)
You can learn more about the To the Ends of the Earth Series HERE
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Mark C. McCann is an author and Ministry Consultant with more than 30 years of writing and ministry experience. He has published articles for a number of Catholic magazines and websites including St. Anthony Messenger, Emmanuel Magazine, Liguorian Magazine, Catholic Stand, the Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He recently published the 4-volume Catholic men's devotional, To the Ends of the Earth, as well as the 2021 Advent Daybreaks devotional and 2022 Lenten Daybreaks devotional with Liguori Publishing. He has also released his End Times novel series, Jacob's Dream: The Vision and Jacob's Dream: The Final Battle. He was a radio host and producer for 8 years at a Connecticut Christian radio station and has worked as a Catholic religion teacher/campus minister and a parish youth minister. He has also served the Norwich, CT Diocese as a Youth Ministry Director and Family Life Director. He currently lives in Connecticut with his Proverbs 31 wife, where together they have brought up three incredible children. He strives each day to live out his call to be a man of words. You can learn more about Mark and his writing at www.wordsnvisions.com.
