Week 7 Practice: Wounded Healer

Henri Nouwen once said, “The great illusion of leadership is to think that men can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.” What a great God He is that even amid all our pain and hardships, God can shape us to be a trusty guide on other people’s journeys. The method of Lectio Divina includes four moments: reading (lectio), reflecting on (meditatio), responding to (oratio), and resting in (contemplatio) to nourish and deepen our relationship with God — moving from acquaintanceship to friendship to communion.

1. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 slowly to yourself three times, aloud if possible.

   • “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort”.

2. Meditate on the text and ask the Spirit to lead you in your time of reflection. 

3. What words and phrases stand out to you?  Are there other verses that come to mind as he delights over you? 

4. What moments of trials are you going through now and how can God use it to impact the lives of others? 

5. Could your seasons of hardship be fertile ground for God’s calling on your life to bless others?

6. What is He saying to you? Say a prayer in response to the Spirit’s leading through your time of reflection. 

7. Now take some time to rest in your Father’s arms.