“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
1 Peter 2:24

Seven years ago, I was in a terrible bicycle accident that left my face ruined by road rash. My chin was split open, I had a black eye, and the skin on my shoulder was shaved off. I was black and blue from head to toe but fortunate in that I had not broken any bones in my face.

I was laid up that following week and couldn’t work. I remember each time I looked in the mirror, I would thank God for healing my face even though at the time it was still in bad shape. I was trusting God to heal me because there was nothing anyone could do for the damaged skin.

This took a lot of faith to trust and speak those words over to myself in the midst of the situation because I looked the opposite of what I was thanking God for.

The breakthrough moment came a few days later when my face healed completely in the matter of a few hours. It was incredible! We physically watched the skin being restored. When my stitches came out, there were absolutely no scars from either the stitches or the road rash. My face had been completely healed and restored. 

This is the power of the resurrection!

But the real story begins here.

A couple of years later, I was at a conference. That night the pastor had been speaking about how much God loves us…really loves us. I felt God speaking directly to me, showing me how valuable I am to Him.

After the service, the pastor prayed for people and started mentioning someone with a jaw issue. He kept commenting on it, saying he really felt like God was showing him someone who had been in an accident and he wanted to pray for that person. 

I finally realized he was talking about me!

The truth is, I was having jaw issues after my accident several years ago. But because of the miraculous way my face had healed I didn’t think about my jaw much. However, each morning, I would reset it after waking and I tolerated the popping sound it made when I ate.

When I realized he was talking about me, I stood up to get prayer…a little confused and surprised.

In that moment, God told me that His desire for me was wholeness. 

I had prayed for the healing of my face, but He wanted me to be whole. My jaw issue was something I had grown accustomed to, but He died to redeem all of me and so in His love and grace He wanted to complete the healing He had purchased so long ago. 

This is the power of the resurrection! 

His love for me overwhelmed, crushed, defeated, and conquered the lasting effects of my accident. It also wrote a truth on my heart that God desires for us to be whole. 

He also desires to do this for you!

“By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24b).

The power of the resurrection means that—while we may still see devastation because of sin and death—we can look to Jesus to see life because He is the resurrection and the life.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!