If you’re reading this blog post, then it means that you’re still breathing. And if you’re still breathing then God still has a purpose for your life. Believe me, God is far, far bigger than any mistake you’ve ever made and ever likely to make. He’s more than enough to heal the wounds that have been inflicted on you by the hunter, Satan. But the trouble with our elk-like behaviour is that we go into damage control and take measures to minimize the effect that the hunter’s arrows have caused. Running away becomes mantra. Running away becomes our story. 

Now, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t take responsibility for our mistakes, sins and mishaps, sometimes it’s the only way we can learn some truthful lessons. However, what if we turned damage control on its head and saw it as controlled damage? I mean, isn’t that what the hunter, Satan wants, to control the damage of where he wounds us? Starting a blood trail that keeps us running for years? 

As believers we should be savvier when it comes to looking out for the hunter, using our discernment as we navigate the path of our Christian life because Satan takes advantage of our brain fog and uses the same tactic of controlled damage on us as he did with Peter in Luke 22:31. “Satan has asked for you” reminds Jesus. The cruel hunter sifts us all like wheat as his poisoned arrows probe deep into our flesh, draining our faith until all we can do to minimize the effects of the wounding is to go into damage control by hiding in the deep shadows of the forest, trying to salvage and soothe what little faith, if any, we have left.

Psalm 139 is King David’s poetic song about how God knows all about him. He writes that God perceives every movement, every thought, and reads his heart like an open book. So, the question is this; if God is constantly with us, why is the hunter, Satan allowed to wound us with his controlled damage? If God knows every step of our journey before it begins, why not save us from all the pain? Because like a wild elk, we too want to go our own way and do our own thing. We rebel against the safe perimeters of the parkland, ignoring the park ranger whose job it is to take care of us. 

Looking back as a teenager, I was in damage control for years because I’d strayed from the safe path, allowing the hunter, Satan, to control the damage he did to my faith. And as he watched the poisoned arrowhead of a verbal outburst by my pastor drain my faith and cause me to become wounded and on run, he knew he had started a blood trail. Nobody, not even my parents stood up for me that day, as the pastor hurled accusations at me in the church foyer. I was made to feel that my silly teenage rebellion that was littered with bad choices and stupid mistakes was completely my fault. Yes, part of it was, however looking back at that time in my life, I was surrounded by unhealthy Christians who fuelled my rebellion rather than help me and mentor me. I ran away from the church at the age of fifteen and the controlled damage Satan had inflicted upon me left me wounded and on the run.  

King David questions in his Psalm, ‘Where could I go from your spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face?’ Oh, but we do! We run from the Holy Spirit because we feel the shame of our mistakes. We run from God’s face so we can hide in the shadows, thinking that the herd of Christians that surrounded us was there to protect us from the hunter. 

David writes in verse 5 that God never leaves us, even in the pain of abandonment and brokenness, ‘You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness, you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past.’ (Psalm 139, TPT) 

Don’t let the controlled damage of Satan send your faith into damage control. Stop running and let God sift through all your anxious cares. Because in His kindness, He spares us from the harm of past mistakes. God is more than enough, and he is big enough to help you with your past mistakes and turn those wounds into scars.  

Wendy xo 

Have you experienced wounding from unhealthy Christians? Did you run away or run to God?