“But He was hurt because of us; He suffered so.
Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed Him.
He endured the breaking that made us whole.
The injuries He suffered became our healing.”
Isaiah 53:5 Voice
Have you been hurt in your life? Is your pain so deep it takes your breath away? Do you feel like you’ll never climb out of the dungeon of darkness? Hopeless. Helpless. Alone.
Abuse of any kind can cause deep pain and devastation in our hearts and lives. We can even wonder where God was or is. It can take a lifetime of healing.
I was confused and distrustful of God for many years. But now I know and believe He would never, ever hurt us like that. He would never, ever abuse us in the name of love. He would never, ever steal our voices and grind the very essence of who we are into the dirt as if we are a good-for-nothing.
The older I get and the deeper He heals me, I see how He held me through it even when I didn’t see it at the time. The more He fills me with His love and grace, the more I see He values me. My identity is not in past abuse but in Jesus. And He alone practices the true meaning of love, because He is love Himself.
When people don’t believe us and slander us, God knows the truth and He will never, ever turn away from us. When people reject us and ostracize us, God will never, ever abandon us. When people judge and condemn us, God will never, ever condemn us.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:28
Who has hurt you in your life? Who has treated you with disrespect and disdain? Who has ground your voice and the essence of who you are into the dirt?
God knows. God cares. God understands.
There is no one who has been wronged more than Jesus. There is not one thing we have suffered in life that He hasn’t experienced Himself. Can you see Jesus suffering under the load of our sin and the sin of those who have hurt us? The staff hammering down and piercing the crown of thorns into His head, the whip slashing open his skin, the slander, the mocking, the desertion of those He loves, the stripping and nakedness for all to see, the stretching of His body against the nails pounded into His hands and feet, forsaken by His Father, descended into hell. And oh, so much more than we can ever put in words. We can’t begin to describe the pain He endured. If we put the suffering of all mankind together, it would not even be a drop in the bottomless ocean of suffering He endured. And He did it for us!
He was broken so we could be healed. Isn’t that amazing?! If He didn’t count us as valuable treasures, He wouldn’t have done this for us. If He hadn’t done this, there would be no love. No grace. No hope. Ever.
It takes a fathomless love to suffer unspeakable agony like He endured. Not for Himself, but for us. Because of Him and what He suffered, there will always be hope for the hopeless. Healing for the broken. Strength for the helpless.
The Lord
who made you
knows just what you need.
The Lord
who heals you
knows just where you hurt.
The Lord
who loves you
knows just what to do.
(From the front of a greeting card)
“When Life Gets Broken”
by Sandi Patty
Freed to Fly 
Beautiful truth. “Because of Him and what He suffered, there will always be hope for the hopeless. Healing for the broken. Strength for the helpless.” Yes, it’s true, because of Jesus’s suffering hope comes to the hopeless, healing will appear to the broken and strength is given to the helpless. I’ve been there in all three occasions. God never once forgotten me. At a particular time, hope, healing and strength did show up. May many hear the truth you have written a bout,Trudy, and believe. God bless you.
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I’m so grateful you, too, have experienced hope, healing, and strength in Jesus, Lidia. Feeling hopeless, broken, and helpless isn’t easy, is it? But it’s so true what you say that God never forgets us. God bless you, too! May we continually fix our eyes on Jesus who has suffered for us so we can be healed!
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It is amazing that Jesus suffered brokenness to make us whole. I find myself in awe of our Savior and the sacrifice He made for me. Your words are perfect as we make our way to the cross this Easter. I can feel the pain and suffering of those around me and know that it is not in vain. Jesus heals and brings hope where there was once only darkness.
You write from a deep, vulnerable place and I pray that you are finding healing in your words and in Jesus who loves you beyond compare.
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Thank you for your caring and prayers, Mary. I, too, find myself in awe of our Savior and what He has sacrificed for us. Such indescribable, infinite, unconditional love! May we fix our eyes and hearts on our Savior who loves us beyond compare and shines His everlasting light into our hearts to dispel the darkness!
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I’m so glad you have experienced this, Trudy: “The older I get and the deeper He heals me, I see how He held me through it even when I didn’t see it at the time.” What a testimony of God’s faithfulness, and also an encouragement to those who are not so far down the healing path. Thank you for this beautiful reminder of the great price Jesus paid so that we could have abundant life–here on earth and for all eternity. Hugs, friend.
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Thank you for your kind words, Lois. When we’re in dark valleys, we can’t always “feel” His presence, but in hindsight we realize He was there all along, right? Hugs back to you! I know you are struggling lately with difficult changes in your life, and my heart aches for you. Whatever we go through, may we remember Jesus is still with us and will get us through it!
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Yes, the pain Jesus endured because He loves us is unfathomable, Trudy. Because of Him, we are healed, forgiven and filled with His grace. This is the perfect reflection as we approach Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter.
Blessings, my friend!
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Thank you, Martha. Blessings to you, too! May we open our hearts more and more to be filled with His love, healing, forgiveness, and grace!
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Dear Trudy,
Thank you for this beautiful reflection on all that Jesus went through for us. We cannot fathom how much He suffered on our behalf, can we? But because of that He does fathom every drop of where and when our own brokenness has come in. What a precious Savior! And this is such a beautiful song that I had not heard. Thank you for sharing it, it’s bringing me such hope today! May the Lord continue to bless your words as you share His comfort and truth here! Hugs and Love to you my friend!
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No, we cannot even begin to fathom it, Bettie. I am encouraged by what you say about how “He does fathom every drop of where and when our brokenness has come in.” Yes, what a precious Savior! I’m glad the song brought you hope today. Thank you for your prayers and hugs and love back to you! May we cast all our brokenness and our burdens on Jesus and remember He will always be with us and carry us through!
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Beautiful song, Trudy, THANKS for sharing!! As usual, your post lifts my spirit and remind me I am never alone! “God knows. God cares. God understands” … thank you for reminding me of this! ❤
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We all need those reminders, don’t we? I’m so grateful your spirits were lifted and you are reminded you are never alone, Jennifer. Isn’t it amazing how deeply God cares for us and understands us? May we cling to our Faithful God who will never abandon us and will heal us of our brokenness!
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This is powerful, Trudy! It is so encouraging to remember that God sees everything- he knows and understands- and to think how much he loves and values us as he showed in sending Jesus. I love too that as you look back you can see that God was with you, even when it didn’t seem like it at the time. Love and hugs to you!
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I’m so grateful this remembering is encouraging to you, Lesley. Yes, He loves and values us so much! It’s so hard to imagine, isn’t it? Love and hugs to you, too! No matter how dark the valleys may get, may we always remember God is still with us and will carry us through!
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I was watching a portion of The Passion recently at a retreat and feeling so sad to the point of being overwhelmed over how Jesus suffered for us. And then I heard the whispers, “Remember Lynn, how it ends. It’s going to be okay.” It was a reminder too, that when I’m in deep pain that it is a moment in time, and “it’s going to okay.” Yes, He’s always with us!
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Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Lynn. It brings tears to my eyes. We so need to remember that the sadness is not how it ends. I can’t imagine how Jesus’ followers felt before they knew He was risen. May our hearts remember that when we’re in deep pain, He is always with us!
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Such encouraging words, Trudy. And that song. Just tears. Yesterday was both beautiful and hard in EMDR therapy. The beauty of His Presence but then the ugly of more trauma surfacing to work through. So, these words are a balm this morning. They take me back to the beautiful visions of His Presence with me in therapy. His heart of compassion goes deeper than anything we can even fathom. He sees and knows and loves us like no other.
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I’m so grateful these words were a balm to your soul this morning, Anna. Yes, His compassion goes deeper than anything we can even fathom! I’m so glad you felt God’s presence with you as more trauma surfaces. Without His strength we could not bear it, could we? May God peel away the layers of pain and heal us ever deeper, and may our suffering bring us to a deeper knowledge of what Jesus has suffered for us!
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Hi Trudy,
I am so grateful God heals and cares for us like he does! It’s hard to imagine how his suffering can benefit us but in God’s upside down world, that’s exactly how it works. Without his love and healing in our lives, I couldn’t imagine how we’d get along. So thankful for your words today! xoxo
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Yes, it’s so hard to imagine, Valerie. Not only how His suffering can benefit us, but also how we’d ever get along without His love and healing. xoxo back to you! May the depth of His love buoy us up through this difficult journey of life!
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Trudy, you have a beautiful, gentle way of speaking truth. I’ve never read Isaiah 53:5 in the Voice translation before. That makes our sin and Jesus’ sacrifice so personal. I know I don’t deserve any good thing, that I’ve hurt God’s heart, and still, He loves me. He is faithful, even when I’m not.
He heals our broken places. He doesn’t remove the scars, but those scars remind us of His faithfulness and love.
Thank you for helping my mind and heart focus in and begin preparing for Easter.
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Thank you for your kind words, Jeanne. This was the first time I read the Voice translation. Yes, it really makes it personal. Yes, He is faithful, even when we are not. That makes His love even more amazing and precious, doesn’t it? I love what you say about our scars reminding us of His faithfulness and love. Thank you for encouraging me. May we all focus our minds and hearts on Jesus and His great love for us in suffering for us so we can be healed!
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yes, yes … when all is said and done, only Jesus alone truly gets our pain and our sorrow and our trauma.
and only Jesus brings us that healing we’re yearning for.
thank you, dear hope-giver …
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He uses people like you to counsel hurting ones, and I’m grateful for that, Linda, especially because you point them to our hope in Jesus. Yes, only Jesus truly gets our pain, sorrow, and trauma. That’s such a comfort, isn’t it? May He lead each of us into a deeper healing we’re yearning for!
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Oh, Trudy, what hope and life filled thoughts you have given us! I’ve never read Isaiah 53:5 in the Voice translation before and it really hits home with immediacy and fresh impetus. To consider that the “injuries he suffered became our healing” is so amazing, implying as it does that the deed was done and dusted at the Cross, and is having its working out now in our lives.
I was also deeply touched by your own words here: “The older I get and the deeper He heals me, I see how He held me through it even when I didn’t see it at the time. The more He fills me with His love and grace, the more I see He values me. My identity is not in past abuse but in Jesus.” Amen! May we all grow in our ability to see and sense those things. Lovely, needful encouragement as always! Bless you, dear friend. xo ❤
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I’m so grateful God gave you hope and needed encouragement, Joy. I had never looked up the Voice version for this verse before, and it really hit home for me, too. Yes, to consider that the “injuries He suffered became our healing” is truly amazing! I love how you say “implying as it does that the deed was done and dusted at the Cross.” And it’s working out in our lives now. So true. Blessings and xo to you, too! Make we be led ever deeper into the truth that our identity is in Jesus, not in our past abuse!
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So beautiful, Trudy! Yes, He is there! And I am grateful again and again! Thank you for this absolutely wonderful post of encouragement and comfort, Trudy!! ❤ ❤ and hugs!!
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Thank you, Lynn. I’m so grateful you found this encouraging and comforting. Yes, He is always with us! May we open our hearts more and more to the depths of His suffering out of such love for us and His desire to heal us! Hugs to you, too! Have a Blessed Easter!
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Thank you so much for this Trudy- It was helpful and meaningful to me in many ways. So grateful for you. xoxo
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I’m so grateful for you, too, Susie. I thank God this was helpful and meaningful to you. May God heal us ever more deeply and give us hope and strength to keep taking the next step forward, holding tightly to His hand of love and grace!
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