The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14 KJV

It is ironic that a person can be physically sick and will, will their way to get out of bed to go to work, or do something else that they deem important; but this same person will feel too ill, or too sick to come to church to worship Almighty God. But the writer of Proverbs reveals the answer: a man can sustain sickness in his body by the strength and energy of his mind. But if his spirit is wounded—if his heart is broken, or deeply hurt in some way— the pain cannot be sustained.

“A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Prov. 17:22).  A broken spirit is a wounded spirit, and a wounded spirit can be an unforgiving spirit. Many people are wounded with anger, bitterness, resentment, and or hurt feelings because they refuse to forgive; therefore, they live day after, year after year, with a wounded spirit.  If you’ve lived long enough, you know that you or other people that you know of have been wounded in their spirit by a parent, relative, friend, teacher, pastor, or fellow church member. Such betrayal is like a dagger thrust through your heart—extremely painful!

Medical science has proved that there is a correlation between one’s emotional/mental health and their physical well-being. In other words, a person with a wounded spirit is more likely to live a life of sickness and pain. So, what is the antidote for a wounded spirit? According to God’s Word, it is forgiveness (See Col. 3:12-13). Unforgiveness wounds you least two ways: (1) the unforgiving person may not have knowledge of their trespass that hurt you, and if they do, they can be experiencing fear, guilt, remorse, and condemnation; (2) the deeply hurt person who refuses to forgive the trespasser can experience a loss of faith, joy and peace, healing, and other blessings.

God has given you the ability to be healed from your wounded spirit. He has given you peace and the Holy Spirit, and the power to remit another’s sin or retain it (John 20:21-23). Retaining the  hurt is the source of an unhealed wounded spirit (Prov. 15:13-15). Ergo, what do you do when you’re suffering from church hurt and other wounds inflicted in your spirit? Forgive and pray! (Matt. 6:14-15; Jas. 5:13).