Dear Ones.
Hope your day is going well. We are so happy to be at Mark’s after going about 1500 miles! Thank you for your prayers as we needed them going through lots of traffic. The grandsons will be home very soon and we are excited. Lots of games etc. planned! So great when we can be with family again. God is good!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I’m sure we have all painful experiences in our lives and the way to healing is to embrace our pain. We have Jesus example as He went through so much and spread out His arms on the cross in pain for us; He didn’t run from it, even though He could have called on 10,000 angels! I am reading Stephen Seamands book on “Wounds that Heal,” and he shares how we should not run from our suffering but walk through it and bear it as Jesus did. But the truth is most of us try to avoid pain and bury it, and sadly healing doesn’t happen. We do this when we try to excuse the perpetrator and even feel guilty ourselves for what was done to us: but we need to face the truth before we can feel better. Then we can take steps to healing and break through the denial, which can be painful. Just as a child who was abused, it is especially hard for him or her to uncover the buried memories because it is so painful. God often uses even dreams and nightmares to help the repressed feelings like anger shame and grief to surface. But if we don’t go back to that painful time, it comes out in other hurtful ways and sinful attitudes. We must be allowed to grieve the wounds that have been inflicted as we prepare to forgive. When we face the fact of what happened and connect our feelings with the wound, then we are more ready to let go of the resentment and anger we feel towards the person that hurt us. Instead of demanding that they pay for what they did, we bear the injustice by forgiving and turning them over to God. We let go but release them to the One who determines what justice is for them. By taking this action, we are saying what happened doesn’t define who we are. Sometimes we get reconciled with the person, but not always as it is two sided. Also, sometimes forgiveness comes slowly as we have layers of what we have repressed. We need God’s grace to forgive and perhaps a prayer Seamands wrote would fit for our need. “Jesus, show me the truth about the nails in my soul. Remove them by your grace. Help me to feel the feeling as you reveal the facts. Give me the grace to admit the resentments I hold. Strengthen me to bear the pain that was directed against me. Move in my heart that I would release to you those who have sinned against me, trusting you completely as the only Righteous Judge. Instill responsibility in me. Show me how to get ‘unstuck’ and to reclaim my identity apart from my pain. May my heart beat with a longing for reconciliation as it accords with your will. Cause me to walk in forgiveness, Lord.”
Challenge for today: Be willing to pray the prayer of forgiveness concerning a hurt in your life, and let the healing can begin.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy
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