In prayer, I had this vision of my body draped across the lap of Jesus. As I was crying about situations and people out of my control, He lowered His head. As I confessed my inability to find peace and comfort with unhealed wounds and diseases, He brought His ear closer to my lips. And as I wrapped my arms around His neck, I told Him I wasn’t leaving until He let go.
With one arm tenderly keeping me tucked into Him, He reached into His robe and took out something that looked like tweezers. He touched them to my mouth and splinters of unbelief and idle words were pulled out of my lips. He ran them over my ears and bits of doubtful voices that were trapped in unseen places came out. Then He closed my eyes and removed fragments of medical reports, unholy images, and distorted views of myself. He placed His hand upon the top of my head and whispered, “Let My Kingdom come.” Slivers of this world shed right off my body with those sacred words. Then He lifted my hands and I saw fractured pieces of wood wedged beneath the surface. It was evidence that the work of my will had been in vain. He held onto my feet for awhile as we both remembered the dark places they had been before this moment. With one breath, He blew out the sin of my past. And then He looked right into my heart where I knew He saw the greatest splinter of all. The one we all have that hurts every time the accuser reminds us that it’s still there. The one that feels dangerous to our soul, because with time, it has grown in unholy power and has threatened our relationships, our trust, and caused uncertainty when we think about the future. For this one, He didn’t need any tools. He reached into my heart with His heart and the second they intertwined all was made new.
As I sat up in His arms, I saw a pile of splinters on the ground beneath His cross. I saw clearly that my words, actions, and unfaithful moments caused me to forget what had been paid for me. Those splinters were like a fee the world was calculating against me, but my Jesus has already ransomed me with His perfect life. It was an awakening in my spirit that He has overcome all things and His suffering releases freedom from our splintered lives. And it’s a reminder that in His lap of love, our prayers move Him to touch us with the sacrificial glory that heals us.
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