December 2017
springboard of ministry for the future. Not only can the hurts be overcome, they can be a means of ministering to others for their good and God ' s glory. Only God could do something like that!
The following principles can transform your life as they form God ' s path to bring deliverance and usefulness, even in the midst of great pain. You cannot take these steps on your own. They are only possible through God ' s enabling grace which He gladly gives as we humbly cry out to Him.
1. Recognize and admit your own sin willing to believe that God is bigger than your problem and can work it out for your good and His glory?
3. Forgive release the debt
If your bitterness has a face behind it, you will need to take the step of unconditionally forgiving the one who has offended you. There is no other way to remove the harbored hurt.
“ Admit my sin?! Don ' t you know it was the other person who sinned against me? If anyone needs to admit their sin, it ' s them!”
You are right, they do. However, your healing does not depend on their response. You cannot change the offensive person or the hurtful situation; but you can, by the grace of God, change your attitude. If in the midst of being hurt you have become bitter, angry, resentful, retaliatory, or critical, you have sinned. You can hold onto this all the while shouting words of self-justification and never find relief. Not only will you continue to suffer the results of bitterness, you will increase your burden with the guilt that comes whenever you cover and hide your sin. You will do nothing more than add to your pain. Instead, you could turn to the Lord in genuine humility and cry out for His cleansing.
2. Embrace God ' s sovereignty
At some point you must release your rights over the situation, accept the circumstance, and embrace the fact that God has the right to do whatever He desires in your life.
If, in the economy of God, He desired to allow such a hurtful experience, then He had also promised grace to survive... and to thrive. He is big enough to bring purpose in the midst of pain.
How are your fists... still clenched? Are you
Paul tells us in First Corinthians 13:5 that genuine love“ does not take into account a wrong suffered.” Here Paul uses an accounting term describing a merchant who keeps tally of what each customer owes him. He keeps these records because he fully intends to collect payment.
Many of us keep a ledger-book in our hearts. When someone hurts us, we enter their name in our ledger. We think they should not have treated us as they did( and we may be right), so we hold them accountable.“ They owe me,” we reason,“ and I will make them pay.” Then we set out to exact payment.
But listen to what God has to say about this practice.“ Never pay back evil for evil to anyone... never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,
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