Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed.

      The patchwork of our self-righteous attempts at cleaning ourselves up will only leave us in an unfulfilled position of existence where we will have no more bandages left to cover the many sores and wounds of our own making. Whenever I try to fix my shortcomings on my own, it is not long before the fix that was applied needs fixing itself. Hag. 1:6a You have sown much, and bring in little. The world system has been out of bandages for a long time and shows no signs of finding new ones. They keep using the same old, worn and unclean swathes, expecting a different result, and in the meantime, the wounds become infected and never heal. So many poor souls end up in a cycle of self-righteous remedies that turn out to be cheap snake oil cures.

      There is a large population of zombie-like wounded people trudging along their painful way, heading to nowhere. They are all in need of the healing and the cleansing gift of our God. Isa. 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed. It is not another temporary dressing that is needed. What everyone needs is a full-blown healing of the Holy Spirit. We can only repair what we confess needs healing. True repentance must come from our hearts so that the Lord can apply the cleansing ointment of heaven to heal all of our infectious sores that are causing havoc to our souls.

      People who try to mend, or bring healing to the part of their soul that has been damaged, (whether by someone else or through their poor choices,) seem to be unwilling to immediately go to God with their hurt. They tend to try to fix a major spiritual problem with a carnal solution and wonder why healing does not happen. Even though God explicitly says to come boldly to Him with the sin or problem at hand, they don’t do it. Heb. 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For some apprehensive reason, people would rather field-dress the wounds with a form of self-righteous medication, rather than ask God for help. After many attempts of failing to become whole, they then profoundly came up with the solution that was in front of them the whole time. They come to God asking for help. Truly, human hearts are messed up. Jer. 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?

      Why do we wait until we are out of bandages before we ask God for help? The thief nailed to the cross alongside Jesus was out of bandages before he finally asked the Lord to remember him. Luke 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” To his admission, the life choices this man made to end up under the punishment of crucifixion were because he had not lived a forthright life. Luke 23:41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. The thief had no access to any more self-promoting remedies and could not fix the problem he was in at the end of his life. But miracle of miracles, he was nailed right next to the solution to all the misery he had ever gone through. Finally, for once in his thieving life, he asked for help outside of himself, and his request was fulfilled. Luke 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

      This self-righteous patchwork and temporary fixes are not only an issue in the world, but the same problem will sometimes show up in the church, and we are just as hesitant to ask God for help. In the book of Revelation, Jesus addresses all the different bandages and makeshift repairs used within the seven churches. The Lord doesn’t want His Ekklesia using the same temporary tourniquets to prop up spiritual dysfunction that the world uses to bring interim relief to their life problems. In particular, the church of Laodicea had chosen remedies that would do nothing to heal their character flaws or their unholy lifestyle that was starting to take root. Rev. 3:16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

      The Laodicean church was what many churches have become today. The Lord wants His church to be more than social clubs and gathering places for group activities. When we read the remedies that the Lord offered to the different churches listed in chapters two and three in the book of Revelation, the answers from God for the healing of the nations and body of Christ are straightforward. Thank God, our Heavenly Father is there to help us, but we are to let the Lord lead us so that we do not need to be patched up all the time. When we fall, we are to go to Him right away. When we lack wisdom, we are to ask for His counsel. We are to obey the Word that is before us and live in the righteousness He has given us through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Lord is ready and waiting for us to ask Him for His help. Rev. 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me. What an amazing invitation Jesus is offering. As for me, I am right out of bandages, and I need to answer the door He is knocking on!