By His Scars

By Sharon Worrell Beshears

We often feel our scars are unsightly, and we try to hide them. In By His Scars, author Sharon Worrell Beshears helps you overcome your emotional scars and insecurities through scripture.

She encourages you to learn from the many lessons your scars can teach you because each scar has a story to tell. Some speak of victory and triumph, while others remind you of painful moments you long not to relive. Emotional scars cannot be treated with ointment, and she advises you to give those scars to God. Through his word and his grace, you can face your giants, take control of these negative memories, and find victory.

Inspired by the teachings of Jennie Allen, author of Get Out of Your Head, Beshears communicates that you have the power over your mind through scripture, prayer, and ultimate surrender to Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664222694

Sharon Worrell Beshears

Sharon Worrell Beshears was born and raised in the North Carolina mountains. She is the daughter of a pastor and has been active in her churches, serving as Sunday school teacher, praise and worship team member, youth leader, and nursery coordinator. Sharon worked as a medical laboratory scientist for fifteen years, but primarily devoted her life to raising her son, Zak. She and her husband, Rod, now live in Arizona with their two bulldogs, Kuni and Kora.

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Copyright © 2021 Sharon Worrell Beshears.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2268-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2267-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2269-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021902269

WestBow Press rev. date: 2/26/2021

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Scars of insecurity

Chapter 2 Scars of Grief

Chapter 3 Scars of Failure

Chapter 4 Scars of Uncertainty

Chapter 5 Scars of Trauma

Chapter 6 Scars from Embarrassment and Humiliation

Chapter 7 Scars of Judgment

Chapter 8 Scars of Shame

Chapter 9 Embrace Your Scars

Notes

Introduction

Do you ever look at your scars and wish they were not there? Do you try to cover them up? Do you saturate them in vitamin E or any other product that promises to diminish your scars? It is okay. I used to do the same. I have since learned to look at my scars as if they were tabs in my notebook of memories. Each scar tells its own story. Some scars tell of victory and triumph, while others tell of heartache and disappointment. Whatever the story, it is almost impossible to glance at a scar without being reminded of its origin.

I see the tiny scar on my foot. This one reminds me to rejoice because I, as a toddler, ran through hot coals on a camping trip and did not end up with heavily scarred feet. The one on my knee is from a minibike ride when I was a little girl. I held my leg too close to the muffler, and the heat melted my brightly flowered polyester pants and burned my leg. I do not grimace when I look at this scar. I smile remembering how proud my daddy was that his little girl could ride a minibike. I undress and see the scar across my lower abdomen. This scar reminds me that my baby and I both survived an emergency C-section. The five additional scars on my stomach make me appreciate the fact I can now eat without pain. I could go on and on because this body is covered in reminders. I have learned not to hate them but to embrace them. Each scar reminds me I have been through a battle, and I came through victoriously. My scars remind me my wounds have healed.

Not all my scars are physical. There are scars I cannot see, others cannot see. These are the scars only visible to God. The mental scars are the most profound yet the most difficult to be grateful for. Emotional/spiritual/mental scars are the memories that linger in our minds after we have been through impassioned traumatic situations. Mental scars are deep, jagged, bulbous scars. There is no medication or ointment to facilitate fading. These most painful scars are the ones we must let go of by giving them to God. Our mental scars bring us anxieties and fears. They plague us with feelings of doubt and insecurities. I have learned the most meaningful of lessons from a few of these scars. Others, I am still searching for their messages. What could possibly have made that scar necessary? I cling to the words God gave us in Romans 8:28:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Or Genesis 50:20:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

My favorite is Galatians 6:17:

Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Praise God! I want my marks to show that I am Jesus’s servant. That should make our scars worth bearing. Yet He provides us healing for our physical, mental, and spiritual scars. As I write, I pray for your healing as you desire to accept your scars. As I speak to you, I also speak to myself. I strive to embrace my scars a little more each day. My friend, with the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, we can come to a place where we appreciate each scar, whether physical or emotional. We can learn to grow from them and realize these scars have shaped our lives. They have molded our personalities and determined our behaviors. They affect so much in our lives. These scars play a large role in the way we react and communicate. They affect our beliefs, the way we trust, and the ways we work and parent. These scars even affect our health. We need to take a look inside ourselves and identify these scars and loosen their grip on our minds. It is time for us to take this journey together. Let’s find out what is written in our scars. Each one has a story to tell. We must be willing to read each story and face each giant as we urge our healing to begin.

I want to discuss scars for a moment. When I looked up the word scar in the online Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, it gave me four definitions:¹

1. "a mark remaining (as on the skin) after injured tissue has healed."

My friend, it is time for us heal! The scar may remain, but the wound is no longer there. The wound is no longer there. Read that again and again. Let us stop allowing our scars to remind us of the wounds or how they occurred. Instead, allow the scars to be reminders that we have healed.

Our scars are just evidence that we have lived and survived. Accept your physical scars. Be proud of your physical scars. Our scars may open a door to be a witness to others. When someone sees and mentions your scar, tell them the story behind it. Tell them how you were wounded and knocked down—but only briefly. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a survivor.

2. a lasting emotional or moral injury.

Now these are the scars that we cannot use ointment to lessen or heal. These are the ones that our friends, families, or coworkers cannot see but yet are so vividly visible to us. These are scars that are haunting yet often shape us into the people we currently have become. Mental scars often turn into guilt and shame. There’s hope for we do not have to accept the phrase, Scarred for life. Sure, in most cases the scar remains, but with the divine ointment we call the Holy Spirit, we can mend. The Lord left the Holy Spirit with us to comfort and guide us. He tells us this in John 14:16–17:

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

He is with you always. He never leaves or forsakes you. When we allow the Spirit to guide us, He will lead us to a place where we find beauty in our scars. The place where we no longer feel pain when our scars come into view. The place where we embrace our scars with pride and rejoice for we have overcome. In John 15:26–27, He tells us He can no longer be physically present with us, but He will not leave us alone. He leaves us with a Helper.

But, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

When I speak to myself, I do not always speak truth. As I write this book, I