When Jesus Stood and the Miracle of Healing

I have experienced betrayal in many forms throughout my life.

I have been lied to. I have been cheated on. I have been abandoned, misrepresented, and wounded by people I trusted. I have learned betrayal does not always arrive through a stranger or an enemy. Most often, it comes through someone who was given access to the most tender places within us. Yet I think the most recent betrayal has been one of the most painful. There is something uniquely devastating about discovering a person who chose to stand close to you, the person who called themselves your friend, shared time in your home, entered your arms, and said they loved you, was speaking vile words about your character behind your back.

Not simply expressing frustration.

Not asking for help understanding you.

Not having an honest conversation about something that hurt them.

But attacking who you fundamentally are.

Your integrity.

Your leadership.

Your motives.

Your heart.

Your very character.

There is something chilling about discovering someone could speak against you in one moment and then turn around the next day wanting tenderness, affection, and friendship from you as though nothing had happened.

That kind of betrayal creates a pain that is difficult to explain. Sexual betrayal is devastating, but sometimes the mind can understand when someone pursues a physical desire outside the relationship. Emotional betrayal is painful because someone formed a connection and intimacy with another person which should have been protected within the relationship. Character betrayal reaches somewhere even deeper for me. It is discovering the person invited into your inner world was quietly building a case against you. They never sat down with you. They never looked you in the eyes.

They never gave you an opportunity to understand what they were feeling, answer their concerns, correct what was wrong, or work through what was broken.

Instead, they carried their accusations to someone else. They reduced your life to a distorted story sprinkled in lies. They cut your character to the bone and then returned to you calling it love. There is nothing loving about secretly dismantling someone’s character while continuing to receive the benefits of being loved by them. It feels gross. It feels violating. It is painful, confusing, and deeply disorienting.

One day, I woke up believing I knew the person whom I shared much life with. By the next day, I was reading messages revealing an entirely different relationship, one happening behind my back.

I was not only grieving the words.

I was grieving who I thought this person was to me and for me.

I was grieving the safety I believed we shared.

I was grieving the relationship I thought I had.

Perhaps, the hardest parts of betrayal is,  you do not only lose trust in another person. You can begin to lose trust in your own perception.

How did I not see this?

What else was happening that I did not know?

Was any of it real?

Was I loved, or was I merely useful?

Betrayal can make you question everything.

The Greatest Miracle Is Healing

I have a friend who has said for many years,  the greatest gift God ever gave him was the gift of healing. His family experienced a tragic accident involving his son. There was confusion, questioning, grief, and pain no parent should ever have to carry.

Yet when God began healing the places tragedy had devastated, my friend said healing was the greatest miracle he had ever experienced.

I have pondered those words many times.

The gift of healing.

We often pray for the miracle that prevents the pain.

We pray for the relationship not to break.

We pray for the betrayal not to happen.

We pray for the person we love to choose differently.

We pray for the accident not to occur, the diagnosis not to come, the loss not to happen, and the truth not to be what it is.

But sometimes the miracle is not that we are spared from the devastation.

Sometimes the miracle is devastation did not get the final word.

The miracle is we lived.

The miracle is our hearts remain tender.

The miracle is what tried to destroy us became the place where God rebuilt us.

The miracle is healing.

Healing does not mean pretending it did not hurt. Healing is not minimizing betrayal because someone else has suffered something worse. Healing is not rushing toward forgiveness so quickly, we never tell the truth about what happened.

Healing begins when we are willing to acknowledge the wound.

We must name the pain.

We must admit what was lost.

We must stop protecting people from the consequences of what they chose.

We must be willing to say:

This devastated me.

This changed how I see you.

This broke something within me.

This was not love, and I need healing.

Isaiah 61- The Mission of Yeshua

Isaiah 61 has always been deeply personal to me.

I believe it reveals the mission of Yeshua- Jesus- verse by verse. When Yeshua began publicly teaching, He read from this passage and declared that its promise was being fulfilled.

Isaiah 61 is not merely a beautiful poem.

It is a declaration of what Yeshua came to do in wounded human souls.

He came for people whose hearts have been shattered.

He came for people held captive by pain, fear, shame, trauma, bitterness, and confusion.

He came for people sitting among the ashes of what they believed their lives would become.

He came to restore sight, not only physical sight, but the inner sight we lose when pain distorts everything around us.

He came to free us.

He came to comfort us.

He came to rebuild us.

And eventually, He came to make us strong enough to become places of shelter for others.

Isaiah 61-Good News for the Brokenhearted

The Spirit of God rests upon the Anointed One to bring good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom to captives, and open the prisons of those who are bound.

For the soul, this means Yeshua does not turn away from our brokenness.

He does not stand at a distance and tell us to get ourselves together.

He comes near enough to bind the wound.

Binding a wound is careful work. It requires the wound to be seen, cleaned, and tended. God does not shame us for bleeding. God meets us there.

The brokenhearted are not people who have failed at faith.

They are the very people Yeshua came to heal.

Isaiah 61- Comfort for Those Who Mourn

Yeshua came to proclaim the season of God’s favor and to comfort all who mourn.

Grief is not unbelief.

Mourning is the soul’s honest response to loss.

Sometimes we mourn a person. Sometimes we mourn a marriage, a friendship, a dream, an identity, or the version of someone we believed existed.

Yeshua does not demand  we skip mourning in order to appear spiritual.

Yeshua enters it with us.

Comfort does not always mean immediate answers. Sometimes comfort is simply the holy presence which says:

“I see what happened.”

“I know what this cost you.”

“You are not alone in it.”

Isaiah 61-Beauty Instead of Ashes

Isaiah speaks of receiving beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of a spirit of heaviness.

Ashes represent what has burned down.

They are the remains of something that once had form, beauty, promise, and life.

After betrayal, we often sit in the ashes of what we thought was true.

God does not merely sweep the ashes away and demand we forget. God creates something beautiful from the very ground where destruction occurred.

Beauty from ashes does not mean the betrayal becomes beautiful.

It means the betrayal does not get to decide what our lives become.

Joy does not erase grief. Joy slowly grows alongside it.

Praise is not denial. It is the declaration that even here, suffering will not have ownership of my soul.

Isaiah 61- Oaks of Righteousness

The passage says those who have been restored will be called oaks of righteousness, planted by God for divine glory.

An oak does not become strong overnight.

Its strength forms beneath the surface, through deep roots, changing seasons, violent storms, and years of standing.

There was a time in my life when people’s opinions could toss me internally. Their acceptance made me feel safe, and their rejection made me question who I was.

But God has been growing roots within me.

Betrayal may shake the branches, but it does not have to uproot the tree.

An oak does not chase after every person who misunderstands it.

An oak does not explain its existence to every passing storm.

It remains planted.

Perhaps healing is learning to remain rooted in who God says we are, even when someone close to us tells a false story about us.

Isaiah 61-Rebuilding the Ruins

Those who are healed will rebuild ancient ruins and restore places devastated for generations.

God does not only want to soothe our pain.

God wants to rebuild what pain destroyed.

Betrayal may uncover older ruins within us, the fear of abandonment, the belief we are unlovable, the habit of ignoring our intuition, or the tendency to sacrifice ourselves to keep a relationship.

Sometimes the present wound opens doors into wounds that have existed for decades.

This does not mean we are going backward.

It may mean God is taking us deeper.

We cannot rebuild what we refuse to acknowledge has been ruined.

We must be brave enough to walk through the old places and say:

This is where I learned not to trust myself.

This is where I believed love required me to tolerate disrespect.

This is where I became afraid to speak.

This is where I abandoned myself to keep someone else.

Then, slowly, Yeshua begins rebuilding.

Isaiah 61- Help in the Places We Cannot Restore Alone

Isaiah describes others coming alongside God’s people and helping tend what belongs to them. For the soul, this reminds us healing is deeply personal, but it does not always happen in isolation. God may send trusted friends, counselors, spiritual leaders, family members, or unexpected people to help carry what has become too heavy.

Healing requires discernment, not everyone deserves access to our pain.

But isolation can become another prison.

There are people who will not exploit our vulnerability.

There are people who will sit with us without trying to control the outcome.

There are people who will remind us who we are when betrayal has made us forget.

Isaiah 61- A Restored Identity

The passage declares God’s people will be called priests and servants of God.

Betrayal often labels us.

Too much.

Not enough.

Difficult.

Unlovable.

Crazy.

Controlling.

Selfish.

A failure.

Isaiah 61 declares God restores identity.

We are not the names spoken over us in secret conversations.

We are not another person’s interpretation of our worst day.

We are not the distorted version of ourselves someone created to justify their behavior.

We are called.

We are chosen.

We are worthy of dignity.

We belong to God.

Isaiah 61-Double Honor Instead of Shame

Instead of shame, God promises restoration and honor.

Betrayal often leaves us carrying shame which does not belong to us.

We feel embarrassed we trusted.

Embarrassed we stayed.

Embarrassed we did not see the truth sooner.

But trusting someone who betrayed us is not a moral failure.

Loving someone is not something to be ashamed of.

The shame belongs to the choices that violated love, not to the heart offering it honestly.

God does not rebuild us into people who regret having loved.

God teaches us how to love with wisdom, truth, boundaries, and discernment.

Isaiah 61- God Loves Justice

God declares a love for justice and a hatred for robbery and wrongdoing.

Betrayal is a form of theft.

It steals peace.

It steals emotional safety.

It steals time.

It steals a shared understanding of reality.

God’s love does not require us to call injustice acceptable.

Forgiveness does not mean pretending there should be no consequences.

Grace does not eliminate accountability.

God cares about what happened to us.

God cares about truth.

Isaiah 61- A Life which Reveals God’s Blessing

The passage speaks of future generations recognizing what God has blessed.

Healing eventually produces evidence.

Not always in the form of a perfect relationship or restored circumstances, but in the life emerging from the pain.

People will see the peace that should not have been possible.

They will see wisdom born from confusion.

They will see strength where there was once despair.

They will see betrayal touched our lives but did not become our identity.

Isaiah 61-Clothed in Salvation

Isaiah rejoices because God clothes the wounded with salvation and righteousness.

Betrayal can leave us feeling exposed.

We wonder what others have been told.

We wonder who believes the lies.

We feel stripped of dignity.

But God covers us.

We do not have to chase every rumor or defend ourselves in every room where our name was spoken. There are times to tell the truth. There are times to confront. There are times to establish boundaries and there are times to allow our lives to speak.

God can cover what another person tried to expose.

God can protect what another person tried to destroy.

Isaiah 61- New Life Will Grow

The chapter ends with the image of the earth causing what is planted to spring forth.

Healing can feel invisible at first, like a seed underground, nothing appears to be happening. But roots are forming. Truth is taking hold. Strength is returning.

One day, we notice we did not cry as long.

We did not feel the need to defend ourselves.

We trusted our own discernment again.

We laughed without forcing it.

We felt peace in a places which had once been occupied by fear and something new had begun growing.

The Bible often describes Yeshua seated at the right hand of God.

There is one scene in the book of Acts when Stephen is being falsely accused, condemned, and killed. Stephen looks into heaven and sees Yeshua standing at the right hand of God.

Standing. I have always found that image powerful.  The morning after I read some of the most painful messages I have ever seen, I was driving to work with my heart crying out to God.

I was not composed.

I was not offering polished prayers.

I was devastated and in the middle of that pain, I had this overwhelming sense that Yeshua stood up. I cannot fully explain it. It felt as though Yeshua was saying:

“I see you.”

“I see what was said.”

“I see the pain you cannot put into words.”

“I am not indifferent to what happened.”

“I am coming toward the place where you are wounded.”

“I want to rescue you.”

“I want to heal you, I am coming towards you.”

Perhaps Yeshua stood because heaven is not passive toward our suffering.

Perhaps Yeshua stood because betrayal does not go unseen.

Perhaps Yeshua stood because when lies are spoken against our character, the One who knows the truth of who we are rises in our defense.

I may never fully understand what happened in another person’s heart.

I may never receive the honest conversation, apology, accountability, or closure.

Yet, I know this: Yeshua saw me. Yeshua stood and Yeshua came near to me.

Maybe you are carrying your own betrayal.

Perhaps someone you loved created a version of you, you do not recognize.

Perhaps you discovered conversations never intended for you to see.

Perhaps you were cheated on, abandoned, lied about, rejected, or made to feel your pain was an inconvenience.

Perhaps you have been sitting in ashes for so long,  you have forgotten beauty is still possible.

Do you need the healing of Isaiah 61?

Do you need Yeshua to bind your broken heart?

Do you need freedom from the prison of replaying what happened?

Do you need sight to see yourself clearly again?

Do you need comfort as you mourn what you thought the relationship was?

Do you need God to remove the shame which never belonged to you?

Do you need strength to become rooted again?

What if the greatest miracle ahead of you is not the betrayal never happened?

What if the miracle is you will heal?

What if one day the wound will no longer control your thoughts, your decisions, your identity, or your capacity to love?

What if the place that almost destroyed you becomes the place where God grows an oak?

God of the brokenhearted,

I come without polished words.

I come with the pain I have tried to explain and the pain I cannot explain.

You see it all. You heard every word spoken in rooms where I was not present.

You know the truth about my heart, my intentions, my failures, and my character.

I will not pretend this betrayal did not devastate me. I will not minimize what was broken. I will not call something love when it violated the safety, honesty, and tenderness love requires. Yeshua, bind the places within me that are bleeding. Give sight to every place where pain has made me blind. Help me see the truth about what happened without allowing it to become the truth about who I am. Open the prison doors of fear, shame, bitterness, obsession, and confusion. Release me from the need to understand everything.

Release me from the need to defend myself to everyone. Release me from carrying responsibility for choices that were not mine. Comfort me as I mourn. Let me grieve the person I believed I knew, the relationship I believed I had, and the future I believed we were building. Take the ashes, God. I do not know how to make anything beautiful from them, but I place them in Your hands. Give me beauty in time. Give me joy without denial.

Give me praise that rises honestly from the deepest parts of my soul. Make me an oak of righteousness. Root me so deeply in truth that no accusation, betrayal, rejection, or false story can toss me away from who You created me to be. Rebuild the ancient ruins within me. Restore the places where I abandoned myself to keep others.

Restore my voice. Restore my discernment. Restore my boundaries. Restore my ability to trust wisely.

Remove the shame I have carried for loving, trusting, hoping, and staying. Cover me with dignity. Bring justice wherever justice is needed AND GRACE TO ALL. Give me wisdom about what must be confronted, what must be released, and what must never again be permitted access to my heart. Yeshua, stand with me. Stand in the place of my deepest pain.

Stand against every lie. Stand beside me when I feel alone, when I cannot move forward, come toward me. Rescue me from despair. Heal what betrayal tried to destroy.

Let healing become the miracle. Let new life spring from this devastated ground.

One day, may the life growing from these ashes become shelter for someone else who believes they will never be whole again.

Amen

With all I have to give today - Rebecca