We are all hurting. Once upon in our lives, something was done to each one of us. The hurt I am referring to is that deep hurts, those hurts that scars each one of us for life. As you are sitting there reading this, I know you are thinking about exactly what that hurt was for you. That hurt we carry deep within ourselves. The kind of hurt that determined who we are, what we do, how we do it. Think about it, that hurt influenced how you see yourself, others, and God, and how you relate to others and God. And for some, it was not just one hurt, but one after the other. Traumatic experiences piled on top of each other, a lifetime of never-ending hurts. Hurts that you should have never experienced and hurts that you most certainly did not deserve.
We don’t talk about these hurts. In fact, sometimes we refuse to even look or think about what was done to us. The memories of these hurts are locked away in the deepest, darkest, cobweb-covered corners of our minds…yet it seeps into all of what we are.
We seem powerless in dealing with these hurts.
We seem unable to see how they are shaping and altering us, how they impinge on us in becoming who and what we are truly meant to be.
To fulfil our God-given purposes and destinies…
How they created, slowly over time, an impenetrable wall between us and God.
The hurt holds us back, it chains us, it chokes us.
We often feel very alone in our hurts.
No one will possibly understand.
No one can possibly help me.
People will never see me the same if they knew.
We decide on behalf of others ‘what they can handle’ about us.
satan is a master at wounding children
satan loves children…let me rephrase that, satan is a master at wounding children, at dealing them his best blows in order to take them out. He knows so well that children cannot possibly fight him the way adults can, they are open and vulnerable to attacks. (parents, never stop to pray for your children’s protection against his attacks!) To scar them so severely that they will never ever reach their destinies. That they will never become what God intended them to be. That it will take them their entire lives to overcome these hurts. You see, satan knows all too well that these hurts will turn into what is called strongholds, that keeps us in captivity, bondage and oppression. These hurts permeate our thoughts, attitudes, opinions, relationships and even our character.
satan wants to corrupt everything of God. That includes your character. We were all created in God’s image. Each and every one of us was created in God’s image. satan wants to destroy that, distort that image of God within us at all costs. satan wants to put our hurts between us and that image of God as much as possible, so we will never possibly believe that God created us for His purpose, that He created us with a specific goal in mind. Share on X
Once satan wounded you in some way, he relentlessly continues his assault. It is almost as if he selects a ‘theme’ of hurt for your life. From your hurt you act, you make decisions, you view your world through the lenses of your hurt. Your life seems rooted in your hurt. We get trapped in a never-ending cycle of our pain. Stuck in neutral, incapable of moving forward, of growing and overcoming. You see, satan operates on people’s ignorance, the ignorance of what he had done to you. We are so blinded and angry with God because of what happened to us, that we fail to see the devil sitting in the corner, watching us, laughing, he has accomplished what he set out to do! Do you see the enemies plot? Do you understand just as God has a plan for your life, so does satan? satan’s plan for you, however, is very simple: to kill you, to steal as much as possible from you and ultimately to destroy you! (John 10:10) But you see dear friend, satan can only destroy you, once he distracts you. He distracts you through your hurt, then comes the destruction.
Nurturing our pain
Why are we so reluctant to dust off our hurts and pains, and say; “I am going to deal with this, I am going to face it, sort it out and start living my life without dragging it on in everything I do, everywhere I go, I am going to rip it out by the roots and be free of it. Once and for all.”
When you ask yourself the question, (if you actually ever have):
“Why have I not dealt with this hurt?”
What kind of answers to you give yourself?
It will be too painful.
I cannot possibly face this.
If I just keep ignoring it, it will go away, it will get better with time. Time is not a healer, Jehovah Rapha is! Share on X
I have already dealt with this problem, and it is in no way affecting me in any way. (however, deep inside you know that that is most certainly not the truth!)
There is no one I trust to speak to…
The damage is too great. What was done to me damaged me too much, there is no healing from this.
We end up nurturing our pain. Taking ownership of it. Almost wearing it as a badge that says “This is my pain. I went through this. I earned my right to carry this!”
Listen to yourself…
“You have no idea what I went through, you have no idea what I had to survive! I cannot forgive and I cannot let go. I went through this and I have every right to carry this pain.”
Does that sound familiar dear friend?
It is time…
It is time. Are you a captive? Are you a captive of the abuse you suffered? The incest, the sexual abuse, the rape? Rejection? Bitterness and unforgiveness? Addiction? Are you trapped in what happened to you? What was done to you? Are you angry and blaming God? Where was He? Why did He allow this to happen to you? He promised in Hebrews13:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” but Lord I find that hard to believe after what happened to me!
Dear friend, Just as God does not want you to be poor or sick, He also doesn’t want you to be broken-hearted, He doesn’t want you to be a captive, oppressed and broken because of your hurt. Share on X Jesus didn’t just die on the cross for sin, sickness and poverty, He also died so we can be whole Share on X. Yes, life is hard, and He never promised us it would be smooth sailing all the way, but surely when we are hurting, He hurts too! He is telling you today…it is time.
“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives.” Luke 4:18b
Wife, you cannot be the wife you are supposed to be with this hurt. Mother, you cannot be the mother God intended you to be with this hurt! Husband, you cannot be the husband you are supposed to be with this hurt! It is time…
The thing about undealt with hurt is that it causes us to change. To be different than what we were before.
Everybody heals differently. It is a painful process. You see if something doesn’t challenge you, it cannot possibly change you.
You should be dreaming about what God has for you. You should have visions at night about the most amazing awesomeness that He has in store for you. It is time to dream again. Share on X
I want to challenge you, dear friend to start your journey to restoration. Here are a few things you can do to start the process:
I recommend that you buy or get a little journal to dot down your thoughts. If you feel that you can’t talk to someone about it yet, the journal is a start to identify your feelings and emotions, and it is an excellent way to keep track of changes that takes place.
- I want you to think about all your hurts, think about how they changed you, how they changed your relationship with others, but most of all with God. (write them in your journal)
- Do you blame God?
- Are you angry with God?
- Did your hurts damage your relationship with God, yourself and others?
- If you think about it, what did satan steal, killed or destroy through this hurt?
- Did he steal your joy?
- Did he steal your trust in others?
- Did he destroy you? Did he destroy your faith in yourself, your self-image?
- Did he kill your relationship with God?
- Did he completely kill the person you use to be?
- Anything that is not the way it was before the hurt, was either killed, stolen or destroyed.
- I want you to write a letter to God. I want you to tell Him exactly what happened to you. All of it. If you are angry with Him, tell Him that. Write in this letter everything you have ever thought and felt because of what you have gone through. Tell Him everything. Make sure you sign your name.
- I have attached a ‘Surrender My hurt’ prayer. I challenge you to print it and to pray it for 40 consecutive days. Dear friend, if you are not ready to be rid of your pain, please do not do this. If you are not ready to give up what was done to you, also don’t pray this. If you are not ready to forgive and live free, don’t do it! This prayer comes with a WARNING label. It is bound to change you. It is bound to shake things up and bring things to the light. It is not easy. But trust me it is worth it!
