Zombies…The Walking Wounded
My son, Logan talks frequently about the “Zombie Apocalypse” that he and his friends (and many other people I have learned), are preparing for. While I find it quite a bit comical to listen to, it hit me in church one night that quite possibly, we are already IN the Zombie Apocalypse! How do I know? I used to be one.
According to Logan, a zombie is “the living dead.” They kind of shuffle their way around, moan, growl, and snarl, looking for someone to attack. When they find someone they instantly grab them and bite them. Legend (or rather, rumor) has it, if bitten by a zombie, you turn into one yourself and the cycle repeats. Yet, I was healed of “Zombie-ism” when the Lord literally healed me from the inside out, then gave me hope and a purpose and sent me out to help others. So there IS a cure for zombies.
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help… The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. ~Psalm 34:15, 17, NLT
Being hurt by other people is not fun. It causes scars. I lived it for over forty years. At times I thought there was no hope for me. But there was! Healing was right there for the taking if only I would receive it. Yes, I have scars. But these scars serve as a testimony to others that they too, can be healed from their wounds. They do not have to walk through life wounded; snarling, biting, grabbing, and moaning about all their troubles… in essence, a ZOMBIE, the “Walking Wounded.”
I mentioned I have scars. Left from years of the things I endured. I could list them, but it wouldn’t serve any purpose but to speak them over my life again. Suffice it to say, each one left a mark and a scar. Through it all, I was told it was my fault. In addition, according to my family history, I should probably be in a mental institution right now. BUT…
God said NO! God led my husband and me to a wonderful church, with wonderful people, and began to heal me. It wasn’t long before I decided I wanted my mind healed. Then one night, I felt that God said, “It is time.” Here are my scars. If you look at them now, instead of the blinking, neon sign that once said, “Easy Target!” what you will see is a new sign that reads, “I SURVIVED!”
I shall not die but live, and shall declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord … He heals my broken heart and binds up my wounds [curing my pains and sorrows]. ~Psalm 118:17 and Psalm 147:3
Maybe you are a zombie, too. Maybe you are among the walking wounded. Perhaps you have been hurt by someone you love, someone you know, someone you go/went to church with. Maybe you are walking through life wounded, trying to find where you fit in, trying to survive long enough to get to the next place. Maybe you are hoping to find healing, just trying to stay above water and exist, yet lashing out at those who confront you.
Let me encourage you right now. Don’t let what others have done to you ruin your life! For when you allow those things to continue, you let bitterness take root and grow and fester. Don’t dwell on past history. Don’t let all the nasty things done to you over the years make a bitter, miserable, person out of you.
For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” ~1 Peter 3:10-11, NLT
The enemy of our souls wants us to stay miserable. He wants to keep us as zombies so we don’t prosper, so we don’t help others, so we don’t heal. But God wants us to move forward! Jesus wants to heal us, to pluck the bitterness out by the roots and balm over those wounds so we can use them to help others heal, too!
Precious one, don’t be a zombie anymore. Don’t be among the walking wounded. Come out and let Jesus heal you! Forgive! Be a survivor! Then go out and help someone else heal!
*Written 2013 – Revised and reposted 2021
