There is a holy pause that happens when the heart chooses to look again. What first felt sharp, personal, or unjust begins to soften when we ask a gentler question: What pain might be speaking here?🤔

I used to hate people who were drunk because of the wounding I carried. Their lack of control, their noise, their unpredictability all felt threatening to places in me that had learned early to stay alert and guarded. Over time, the Lord gently reframed my seeing. I learned that addiction rarely begins with indulgence. It often begins with neglect.

Now, when I see a drunk, my heart no longer hardens. I wonder what hurts. I wonder where comfort was missing, where safety was absent, and where pain learned to numb itself instead of being soothed. Compassion has replaced judgement, not because behaviour no longer matters, but because understanding has deepened.

Offence is loud. It demands defence, explanation, and distance. Woundedness, however, whispers. It reveals places where love was absent, where fear learned to speak first, and where protection became habit.

Jesus never ignored sin, yet He always addressed the wound beneath it. He looked at the angry, the proud, the withdrawn, and the defensive, and He saw hearts bruised by loss, rejection, and unmet longing. His responses were measured, compassionate, and deeply rooted in truth.

Forgiveness was not born from denial but from discernment. Jesus recognised that cruelty often flows from blindness and pain. Love interrupts that cycle.

Seeing woundedness does not excuse harmful behaviour, yet it changes the posture of our response. Boundaries remain, wisdom stands firm, and truth is still spoken. Love, however, leads the way.

When we choose to see the wound instead of the offence, our reactions lose their urgency. Compassion steadies us. Grace slows our words. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to respond without surrendering our peace.

This is how hearts are healed, not by winning arguments, but by refusing to mirror pain back to pain.

💡Reflection:

• Where have I reacted from offence rather than discernment 🤔

• Is there a person whose behaviour triggers me, yet whose wound God may be inviting me to notice 🤔

• What boundary might love require me to hold with gentleness and clarity 🤔

🎺Affirmation:

I am not ruled by offence. I see with compassion, respond with wisdom, and walk in the love of Christ.

🙌 Prayer:

Lord Jesus, teach my heart to pause where I once reacted. Help me to see as You see, with truth and mercy entwined. Heal the places in me that still flinch from old pain, and soften my gaze toward the pain of others. Where wounds cry out through broken behaviour, give me discernment, compassion, and courage to respond wisely. Lead me by Your Holy Spirit in every interaction.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.