Scars As Testimonies — Aneel Aranha

Hello and welcome to The Hope Podcast. I’m Aneel Aranha. Today, we will talk about how we should not be ashamed of our scars but make them our testimonies.

We all suffer injuries as we journey through life. Who hasn’t fallen as a child and scraped a knee? However, many of us have suffered from deeper wounds, perhaps due to an accident or surgery. Although the wounds have healed and the pain has stopped, the scars are visible even today. 

We also carry invisible scars resulting from emotional injuries that we have suffered, perhaps due to a painful divorce or the loss of a loved one. 

These physical and emotional scars can be a painful reminder of the suffering we underwent and fill us with much negativity. However, instead of allowing them to steal our joy, we can look at these scars as a testimony of God’s goodness and grace. It is how a woman might look at the stretch marks on her belly (or the long line stretched across it) and think about the child she gave birth to rather than the pain of childbirth.

“But,” you may say, “something good came out of that! What good came out of the accident that left me without a leg? Or from my divorce? Or the other terrible things I have been through?” I understand how awful it must have been, dear friend, but God took you through those painful times, didn’t he? If our scars can serve as a reminder of the grace of God flowing over us during times we needed it the most, they will become an opportunity to testify to his goodness rather than cause to make us bitter and sad. 

When Jesus rose from the dead, he had a resurrected body. There was no reason for him to have scars, but he carried them as a reminder of his crucifixion. What he went through was terrible, but we remember Good Friday so that we can celebrate Easter Sunday. His scars were also to encourage us not to be ashamed or distressed by our own scars because they don’t signify defeat for us either, but victory. 

Nearly twenty years ago, I lost everything I had and landed in jail. I still carry the scars of those days, but they don’t depress me. Instead, they remind me of the mercy of God, who used that time in the wilderness to bring me to salvation. It became my testimony for the longest time. Since then, there have been fresh wounds that have left deeper scars than those I had before. But they serve as new opportunities to testify to the goodness and greatness of our God.

So, don’t let your scars make you bitter, dear friend. Let them remind you of how much God loves you and how he took you through some of the darkest moments of your life. And just as Jesus let people touch his scars, let people touch yours. Let your scars be your testimony so people can find hope in the times of their own darkness! 

God bless you.