Removing the Pain to Receive Healing

On the same journey that inspired my views of God as the Great Artist, I was going over a verse from a very old hymn. I recall finding myself musing about the fact that there is a message to be found in all Christian music no matter the genre! I quite often speak of more contemporary pieces because that is what always plays in our van.

However, the last verse of this hymn really spoke to me. And, I remember thinking something like, "A song so old can still speak volumes to us today!" So often, we find ourselves drawn to one (or a few) particular styles of Christian music. But, they were all inspired by the Holy Spirit and offer us valuable and meaningful messages.

The hymn is "I Want a Principle Within" by Charles Wesley.
1. I want a principle within of watchful, godly fear,
    A sensibility of sin, a pain to feel it near.
    I want the first approach to feel of pride or wrong desire,
    To catch the wandering of my will, and quench the kindling fire.
2. From Thee that I no more may stray, no more Thy goodness grieve,
    Grant me the filial awe, I pray, the tender conscience give.
    Quick as the apple of an eye, O God, my conscience make;
    Awake my soul when sin is nigh, and keep it still awake.
3. Almighty God of truth and love, to me, Thy power impart;
    The mountain from my soul remove, the hardness from my heart.
    O may the least omission pain my reawakened soul
    And drive one to that blood again, which makes the wounded whole.

Something about that third verse really spoke to me. I am very aware of the many hurts that I still hold in my heart. The image of a mountain in my soul is very powerful. I envision this mountain to be all of those hurts and resentful feelings. This mountain, much as a real mountain, is huge, an obstruction. And this obstruction bring hardness to my heart.

I need to remove the obstruction from my heart in order to be more aware of myself and how I treat others. To be able to be aware of my own flaws (conceit, envy, not forgiving someone), I first have to remove the mountain to be able to see into my soul.

I also envision that mountain as a protective barrier, a wall. I quite often find myself putting up that wall for fear of being hurt. But by keeping a part of myself walled off, blocked by that mountain, I can cause a permanent hardness in my soul.

I cannot fully love someone with an obstruction in my heart. In turn, I cannot fully receive love, without first removing that mountain. And to be truly able to love and receive love, I must remove all of the obstruction. I must be painfully aware of any of that mountain left behind.

And if I should end up hurt, or if I am hurt now, as I take down that wall, I need to run to Jesus. For by His blood, I am healed. My wounded soul can be made whole. But to know that there is a wound, I must first remove that mountain.

This process brings to mind an analogy of a dentist visit. You know, one of those ones that's not so pleasant, where you have to get a filling. To repair the defect (the wound) the tooth (soul) must be prepared and drilled out (mountain removed). Once the tooth is ready, the filling can take place.

Like the material that is used to fill the void in the tooth, so the blood of Jesus is to our soul after we take down the walls and expose our wounds. As the filling material corrects the defect, the tooth becomes whole again. As the blood of Jesus fills our wounded souls, we can become whole again. "...And drive me to that blood again, which makes the wounded whole."