Friendly Fire
- AJ SADLER
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives…to give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes…Rename them ‘Oaks of Righteousness’ planted by God to display his glory. - Isaiah 61:1-3 MSG
When most people hear the words friendly fire, they think of the military. A tragedy where the greatest damage doesn’t come from the enemy, but from those fighting on your side.
Life can feel the same way.
Some of the deepest wounds you’ll ever carry won’t come from strangers. They’ll come from family. Friends. Leaders. People you trusted. People who were supposed to protect you. Sometimes the scars left by those closest to us hurt far more than the attacks we expected from the world.
That’s why Isaiah 61 is so powerful. Jesus didn’t come only to forgive sin. He came to heal hearts. There’s a difference.
Forgiveness changes your eternity. Healing changes how you live until you get there.
For years I carried wounds that had nothing to do with my relationship with God and everything to do with what people had done. Foster care, abuse, trauma, rejection, and later church hurt all left marks on my life. Even after coming to Christ, those memories didn’t simply disappear. I still had to learn that while people may have caused the wound, they didn’t have the authority to define my future.
That’s what Jesus does. He doesn’t pretend the pain never happened. He transforms what happened.
Isaiah doesn’t say God throws away the ashes. He says He gives beauty in their place. He doesn’t erase every scar. He gives those scars a purpose. He takes the places where life tried to destroy us and uses them as evidence of His restoration.
Too many believers spend their lives trying to hide their wounds because they think brokenness disqualifies them. The opposite is often true. God has always used broken people. Moses had a past. David had failures. Peter denied Christ. Paul persecuted the Church. None of them were chosen because they had perfect stories. They were chosen because they surrendered their stories to a perfect Savior.
The enemy wants you to believe your wounds are proof God has abandoned you. Jesus says they’re opportunities for Him to display His redemption.
That’s why I don’t let my past define me anymore. My childhood explains some of my struggles, but it doesn’t excuse my sin. My trauma explains why I needed healing, but it doesn’t determine who I become. My story didn’t end with what people did to me because Christ stepped into the story and became the Author of a new chapter.
The greatest miracle isn’t that God saves us from hell. It’s that He begins changing us long before we ever get there.
He turns victims into overcomers. Unless YOU decide to still live in it!
He turns bitterness into compassion. Unless YOU decide to not let it go!
He turns brokenness into ministry. Unless YOU decide your brokenness is your ministry!
He turns ashes into something beautiful enough to display His glory. Maybe you’ve experienced friendly fire.
Maybe your deepest wounds came from someone you loved, someone you respected, or someone who claimed to represent Christ.
Don’t let the people who wounded you keep you from the Savior who can heal you.
Jesus is still in the business of binding up broken hearts. And He’s not finished with yours.
Here’s the blunt truth: Your scars may explain where you’ve been, but they don’t get to decide where Christ takes you.
Friendly Fire
1. Am I allowing my wounds to become my identity, or am I allowing Christ to transform them into a testimony?
2. What part of my past do I need to surrender to the One who still exchanges ashes for beauty?
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