The Nature of a Wounded Spirit, Crushed Spirit, or Broken Spirit

What is a wounded spirit?

What is a wounded spirit? It's also known as a broken spirit or crushed spirit.

The bible says, “A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” Proverbs 18:14.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones,” Proverbs 17:22.

A wounded spirit is injury to any area of our soul or spirit faculties - mind, emotions and will. It is injury to the unseen areas of our being. The only way others can see the injury is how we behave and conduct ourselves. At least one area inside us may be more affected than the others. The deeper or more severe the wounds the greater the negative effect on an individual's life - spiritually, socially, materially and physically.

As the scripture says a wounded spirit is worse than physical sickness. Physical sickness can be sustained by a healthy spirit but a sick spirit cannot be sustained by anything. Needless to say God is fully able to cure spiritual wounds and heal a sick spirit. He's our spiritual physician or medical doctor. The chapters ahead deal with God's healing work.

The spirit part of us is the engine to our lives. Life is broken when the spirit's health is considerably compromised no matter how attractive, healthy and expensive the body may look. The breakdown of the spirit also eventually brings sickness to the body. The bible says it dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22).

A wounded spirit is not a poor man's bread but affects all economic groups. You've probably heard this: A survey of 65 countries, published by New Scientist (1999-2001, UK), said that people in Nigeria are the happiest people on earth followed by people in Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico respectively. Third world nations took the lead. The USA was 16th.

The survey keeps yielding different results each period and has its human limitations. However it confirms Christ's words: “A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,” Luke 12:15.

People have rephrased it as: “money cannot buy happiness.” The researchers actually described the desire or longing for material wealth as “a happiness suppressant.” So those longing for earthly possessions end up less happy and prone to spiritual wounds.

Spiritual attacks, next to social and financial problems cause the worst afflictions to believers and non-believers. Some are so severe that the victims end up being ruined spiritually. You have probably heard of references such as nervous wretch, emotional wretch, maniac, psycho, etc. The ruin can be in any area or combination of our inner selves –mind, emotions and will areas.

Scars Showing Healed Wounds Vs. those Showing Wounds Yet to Heal

Spiritual wounds compromise or harm our spiritual health. They potentially can lead to spiritual illness or inner health problems. Two matters determine whether or not these past unpleasant experiences have any negative effect on our present: 1) our reaction to them, and 2) the severity of the experiences. The degree of their effect varies from person to person and in different areas of our spiritual faculties (mind, emotion and will).

Each of us has some level of scars in our spirits from whatever unpleasant past experiences. Scars imply that the wounds have healed. We can recall the unpleasant experiences and how we had so much inner pain. Occasional recall or remembrance of the experiences only serves as a reminder that we pulled through. God was faithful in enabling us to rise above the experiences instead of leaving us to drown from them.

In the present we've moved on, the past inner hurt and pain is gone. There is no preoccupation with the sad past experiences. They have no power over us, or over our present circumstances. Many times we may also see how God still brought good out of the unpleasant experiences.

It is when the wounds have not healed that it's a problem. It's the opposite of the above scenario. We constantly recall the unpleasant experiences, how unfair they were, and assume we'd be better off today had we not experienced them.

In the present we're still preoccupied with the past, the past inner hurt and pain still surfaces in negative ways. They have power over us and over our present circumstances. Many times we cannot even see how God still brought good out of the unpleasant experiences. The inner wounds are still raw and untreated

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