What wounds do you carry around with you?
I have scars on my arm from a childhood disease, places where the skin is darker than the rest. For you, it might be a physical scar from an experience that left you scraped and bleeding.
Or it might be something deeper: a fear of close relationships, the ever-present sting of betrayal, the feeling like you don’t belong.
On today’s episode I speak with Russell Joyce about how God can use these wounds in our lives to bring both freedom and healing.
Russell is the national director of church planting for The Foursquare Church and senior pastor of Faith Center in Eugene, Oregon. He’s also the co-host of the Same Jesus podcast. But today I chat with him as the author of his book, His Face Like Mine (Amazon affiliate link).
The foundational story of the book has to do with the fact that Russell was born with a rare craniofacial disorder where the left side of his face was not formed. And as he works through the scars from that—physical, emotional, and spiritual—he discovers how God meets us in our wounds and sets us free.
Russell and I talk about the gift of repentance, how journaling has played a role for him and how it can play a role in your own healing journey, and at the end, he shares some words to those who are walking alongside people who are healing.
This is a sacred conversation, my friends. So settle in and ask God what He has to say to you through this episode today.
[interview]
CONNECT WITH RUSSELL:
- Russell’s book, His Face Like Mine (Amazon affiliate link)
- Russell’s website (access his monthly meditation)
- Russell’s Instagram
You can do more than just read a Bible story; you can actually enter into the story itself and experience God.
And you don’t have to be a Bible scholar to do it.
In the Imagine devotional, you’ll dive into a different story in the Bible and get a taste of what a person’s life might have looked like as they encountered God through their specific circumstances.
Are You Planting What You Want to Harvest?
Faithfulness in a Full Season
The Pressure to Be a “Good Christian”
It’s Getting Real: God’s Invitation to Me for the Rest of Lent
