Hey friend,
I think we’re all in agreement that the world isn’t in the best place to be. Especially with all the chaos going on right now. It’s like constantly walking on eggshells everyday. Afraid of saying the wrong thing, posting the wrong things or the “unpopular” things. But there is something powerful about being bold in your beliefs. I know that through my life the only constant thing has been Jesus so I will live to proclaim his name. Despite it being the “unpopular” thing to do these days.
Why do I say all of that? Because despite how others hurt us there is something to come from it. I can’t even count how many times I’ve been hurt. I’ve been hurt by the same person over and over again, but I’m learning that placing it in the hands of Jesus is the best thing to do. Sometimes things just grow out of our control and we have to give it to God.
When we are dealing with hurt, we can: grow from it, learn from it, or help others from it. We’re all given a choice. But it’s important to not live in hurt. Living in hurt turns into a mentality that’s hard to come out of. We start to believe we’re the victim of every situation. So instead of being a victor, we choose to be the victim. We have to acknowledge our conversations and how we live. Do we live and constantly talk about that hurt? If so, that is a big problem.
I like the story in John 5, when Jesus found a man by a pool where others laid there sick and disease in different ways. The first person to jump into the water would be healed. Jesus approached the sick man, who had been sick for years, and asked him if he wanted to be made well. Instead of the man saying, yes or no, he gave an excuse on why he couldn’t be healed.
John writes, “When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?“’ John 5:6
The first thing we can see here is that Jesus knew that this man didn't just become sick. This disease had gripped this man for most of his life. One thing Jesus could know is that someone who has a disease for a long time can end up wrapping their identity around their disease. What comes against us can end up becoming a part of our identity if we are not discerning.
All of us, if not careful, can carry a story within us that is not the story God has given. The story we carry can be littered with chapters of unhealed pain, distorted perspectives, and limited thinking. We can carry that story into many different situations, projecting it onto future encounters. The man was given a choice to replace his story with the story that Jesus was bringing to him—a story of healing and wholeness. It is the same story God is bringing to us today, but we have to ask ourselves the same question. Do I really want to be healed?
Jesus didn’t only heal this man, but he made him whole. We have to understand that even if we’re healed from hurt or whatever we’re carrying with us, if we don’t watch out for the sinful issues we have, then the “sickness” can appear again. And it could come back and make us even more sick than we were before.
Jesus warned the man, guard this wellness you have been given. Watch how you are thinking so that you don’t fall into the old patterns that made you and kept you sick.
So, right now, ask God to expose the areas of your heart that are not of him that you’ve been holding on to. Ask him to replace the hurt and sin you’ve been holding on to, with wholeness. There is so much freedom to come from true healing and forgiveness. You’ll thank yourself later for doing this. It will benefit not only your life and relationships, but your relationship with God.
Praying that this message was able to bring clarity and healing to your heart. Each message, each week is prayed over and thoroughly thought through. The goal here is to penetrate hearts and bring you closer with Jesus.
Have a blessed week,
Brittany ❤️
Extra encouragement:
For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psalms 30:5
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
John 14:27