To Spackle or Not to Spackle…

While covering a wall with fresh, new color, a painter found a small gouge that somehow escaped the spackling process. Time to weigh the options: Stop painting, fill the divot with spackling, sand it smooth and THEN paint the wall? Or, just paint over the thing hoping a fresh coat of paint will hide it? Being the impatient and sometimes lazy sort, I… um, I mean, “the painter” simply shrugged and ran the paint roller right over that hole. But after the paint dried, everyone’s gaze was immediately drawn to that single, unfilled hollow in the wall. It all but shouted, “Attention: Damaged goods here!” How could one tiny flaw command so much focus that all the beautiful, freshly-painted walls were left unseen?

When we accept salvation from Jesus, our sins are instantly washed with the blood of that pure, spotless Lamb. Every past stain is removed, obliterated. And yet, the damages, the consequences of our past sins leave open wounds that distract us from all the marvelous light God is pouring into us. We torture ourselves over those remnant wounds that we can’t fill, forgetting that Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit for that very purpose. Jesus never planned to die for us and rise again only to say, “I’ve forgiven and forgotten your sins, but they sure left some ugly damages on your spirit. Well…good luck with that!” Instead, He revealed the next part of His perfect plan, knowing we would need a constant Helper to repair our self-inflicted damages.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans – I will come to you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative – that is, the Holy Spirit – he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:16-18, 26 NLT)

If you’ve repented of your sins, accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and put Him in charge of your life, you are a new creation. Cleansed, purified. But if you don’t accept the Holy Spirit’s guidance, or entrust Him with your past hurts, then those gaping, fractured areas in your spirit will steal your focus and halt your forward motion. You’ll see only the damaged bits, and never notice the beautiful, new creation God has made of you. Only the Holy Spirit can weave a seamless, everlasting compound into every crack and crevice of your broken soul. Let Him fill those scars. Haven’t you stared at them long enough?

Deb