Scabs or Scars?

Booboos or ouches will happen throughout our life. As a child those injuries can be extremely dramatic and cause lots of tears. Even the smallest booboos can be overwhelming. For adults, small injuries are not a big deal, but they can still evoke pain and sometimes tears. People tell children and adults to be brave when terrible things happen to them, but sometimes being brave is difficult.

In today’s blog, I want to focus on the difference between scabs and scars. In both words, all but one letter is the same. Scab has a “b” and scar has a “r.” 

A scab is what occurs after an injury. It is the body’s way of healing the skin after the injury. The bleeding that occurs when the skin is broken dries and forms a hard covering or protective barrier over the wound to prevent infection or further injury. Normally the scab will get smaller until it falls off, indicating that complete healing has occurred.

Pain hurts immediately. It takes patience for complete healing to occur. S-C-A-B. The “b” represents “barrier.”  Spiritually, when our hearts hurt, God sends the Great Comforter as a barrier to cover our hurt so that we can heal. Jesus’s blood covers our wounds as a protective barrier. Healing takes time.

But sometimes, we are ‘pickers’ of physical scabs, delaying perfect healing. When you pick at a physical scab, it starts to bleed again, hurt again, and may even become infected, because the protective covering was broken. If we hurt emotionally or spiritually, Jesus’s blood covers those pains too. And just like a physical scab takes time to heal, we must be patient for our emotional or spiritual hurts to completely heal. If we pick at those hurts by rehashing the pain or reliving the injury, healing is delayed. And during that delay, other things can enter the wound or hurt and make it become far worse than the initial injury.

Now let us think about the scar that may come after the scab heals and falls off. Sometimes an injury, when healed, leaves a scar. The initial injury is gone and no longer hurts. The scar reminds us of a previous injury but does not hurt like it initially did. S-C-A-R. The “r” represents “resilience.”  Resilience is the capacity to withstand or recover from difficulties. Therefore, scars represent how we overcame something difficult or something that injured us physically or spiritually. Resilience allows us to successfully adapt to challenging experiences. Both scabs and scars require time to heal.

Scars will often remind us of the initial injury. But trust God that the scar reminds you of what you overcame! In the Bible, Jesus’s scars from crucifixion symbolize sacrifice and restoration. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was on him because by His wounds we are healed. The scars of Jacob and Job illustrate transformational journeys, overcoming adversity leading to spiritual growth and renewal. In Romans 5, Paul reminds that suffering produces perseverance and perseverance brings character and character yields hope. That is resilience!

This week I want you to look at your physical scars. Touch the scar just like Jesus had Thomas touch the scars in His hands. Do you remember how you got that scar? Do you remember how long it took to heal? Do you remember when the scab fell off indicating complete healing had occurred?

Think about an emotional or spiritual scar. That scar should remind you of your transformational journey. Just look at how far God has brought you from that initial injury!

Scars tell stories of pain, healing, and resilience. The spiritual meaning of your scar reveals how your own experiences shaped your faith. The scar represents the journey that is now your story! Scars symbolize hope and testimony as to what God has done for you. Focus on the healing journey and share that with others who may still have scabs. Scars serve as powerful testimonies of faith, encouraging others that Jesus’s blood still covers their wounds and that their scabs do heal! And if you are hurting now, let Jesus’s blood cover your hurt. And do not pick at that scab because it needs to heal but in God’s timing. Then that beautiful scar will tell a story of how you overcame in the name of Jesus!

Scars by I Am They

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