Quit Carrying Your Ear

This powerful message confronts a universal struggle we all face after being wounded in church: the tendency to carry our pain rather than surrender it for healing. Drawing from the dramatic scene in Mark 14 and John 18 where Peter cuts off Malchus's ear during Jesus's arrest, we're presented with a striking metaphor for church hurt. Just as Malchus could have refused healing and carried his severed ear around as evidence of his wounding, we often do the same with our spiritual and emotional wounds. We post about them, define ourselves by them, and use them to justify unhealthy behaviors and isolation. The message challenges us to examine three critical truths: first, that what happened to us was genuinely wrong and shouldn't be minimized; second, that Jesus was present in our pain and deeply sympathizes with our hurt; and third, that healing is available right now through surrender. The concept of Jehovah Rapha—the God who heals, mends, and stitches together—reminds us that our God doesn't do superficial patch jobs but deep restorative work. The question becomes: will we continue carrying our ear as a badge of victimhood, or will we lay it down and allow the Master Healer to do what only He can do in our broken places?