Fast Time: Tuesdays 6am-6pm
Thank you for your willingness to participate in what God is doing! Above all, please be Spirit-led as you fast. Please note that this is the designated time frame set forth by the Shine Empowerment Network. You are invited- but not required- to join us in any way that you can. If you have a medical condition that prevents a complete fast, then please look for another way to participate. Use wisdom and follow the Holy Spirit.
Teaching: Life Hurts But God Heals
If you have lived for any length of time, you have probably experienced pain at some level. No one is exempt from life. It happens to all of us- sinners and saints alike. The difference is who we turn to for help. It may be that life slapped you in face in the form of adultery, it could be dealing with your prodigal children and your broken heart, or it may be that life showed up as rejection. Unfortunately, the forms of life’s hurts ALL come in various situations and scenarios; however, the answer to ALL of it is the same. We are all born into this world with the same nature- the sin nature. We are born into it as a result of the Fall recorded in Genesis. As a result of this nature, people hurt people. It’s inevitable. It may have been your beginning, but doesn’t have to be your end.
Isaiah 61:1-3, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” (NKJV)
Psalm 142, “I cry out to the LORD; I plead for the LORD’s mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. Then I pray to you, O LORD. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me.” (NLT)
The pain of past hurts rules many lives. It simmers, it stifles, and sometimes it shuts a person completely down. However, God heals hurts. He is waiting and ready to touch our deepest pain if we will let Him. In a sense, His healing is another divine exchange, in which we offer to Him our hurt and He offers to us His healing. Psalm 147:3 states, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (or sorrows).” “Brokenhearted” refers to the wounds in the innermost portion of ourselves. Most of us do not know how to go about receiving this wonderful healing gift of God. Some of us have not been aware that this level of deep healing was available. Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted and to heal all our infirmities: spiritual, emotional, and physical.
In an excerpt from He Still Moves Stones, Max Lucado, helps us to see how much God wants to heal our hurting hearts.
“Why did God leave us one tale after another of wounded lives being restored? So we could be grateful for the past? So we could look back with amazement at what Jesus did? No. No. No. A thousand times, no. The purpose of these stories is not to tell us what Jesus did. Their purpose is to tell us what Jesus does. ‘Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us.’ Paul penned. ‘The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope.’ (Romans 15:4) These are not just Sunday School stories. Not romantic fables. Not somewhere-over-the-rainbow illusions. They are historic moments in which a real God met real pain so we could answer the question, ‘Where is God when I hurt?’ He’s not just doing it just for them. He is doing it for me. He’s doing it for you.”
Hurts of either the soul or spirit of a person are carried and experienced within that person himself. They are hurts on the inside that have been suppressed and hidden. They are invisible. Hurts affect the mind, beliefs, emotions, will, relationship with God, and relationships with others. Sometimes our hurts come not only from what was done to us but also from what was not done. There are many different intensities of hurt. Some hurts are the result of a one-time incident, but some are ongoing and constant. Ongoing hurts need ongoing healing. Some of you have experienced hurts that only God knows. God cares about your hurts and wants to heal them. Hurts also have consequences when not dealt with. Here are some facts about hurt:
- Hurts begin in the family and affect the entire family.
- Hurts affect the entire person.
- Hurts cause other hurts.
- Hurts cause lies (ungodly beliefs) to be established.
- Hurts cause ongoing vulnerability and hopelessness.
- Hurts cause shame.
- Hurts cause defense mechanisms.
- Hurts cause us to wear “masks”.
- Hurts cause restricted growth.
- Hurts cause blocked emotions.
- Hurts can lead to demonic oppression.
Hurts cause our real identity to become unrecognizable. Defense mechanisms that we use either to express our hurt or to protect ourselves from further hurt are disguises, like masks, covering the real identity. Do we recognize the hurt underneath these cover-ups and disguises? God explains in Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18-19 that Jesus came specifically to heal us and set us free from hurt and Satan’s lies which helps us to remove our masks.
Hurts restrict our vision of who we are and who we can become. Hurts also block intimacy in relationships, affecting whom we relate to and what we let ourselves do. They are like invisible walls, holding us in and others out. They also act as invisible chains that will not let us move too far away from our hurt-distorted concept of ourselves. Hurts, the birthing place of fears, cripple our potential and keep us from becoming all that God has ordained for us to be.
I Pour Out My Complaint
When we find emotions of anger, frustration, helplessness, etc., stored inside of ourselves, it is important to release these negative emotions to the Lord. We were not designed to carry emotions, particularly negative ones. They need to be released so that we can receive healing to our bodies as well as our soul and spirit. God has given us permission to release these in ways that are safe for us and for others.
There are many examples in the scriptures when God’s people “Poured Out Their Complaint” before the Lord. One excellent example is David in Psalm 142. This is a crucial part of the healing process. We are to take the innermost issues of our heart to God. His message is unmistakable – be real. We are to hold nothing back from our heavenly Father who already knows everything that is hidden in our hearts.
There is no formula on how to pour out your heart to God or on exactly how he will minister to you. You just need to be willing to believe and trust God wants to touch the hurt places of your life. This is the time when God wants to do a great exchanging of joy for mourning, healing for pain, purity for shame, love for abandonment, and freedom for captivity. As you are able to release your pain to the Lord, He then is able to fill you with healing, His love and His truth. Remember God is not a taker; He is a receiver and a giver. As you give Him your wounds, pain, and bondage – He receives them and in turn gives you liberty, healing and restoration.
Jesus is the healer. Healing takes place as we invite Him into our situation of hurt. As we encounter Him, He shows us how He sees our particular situation. He gives us the truth so we can begin to change the lies we have believed into Godly Beliefs. He shows us His love, and that He was there with us (even when at times we didn’t realize it). Sometimes He shows us His own pain about what we went through. Sometimes He helps us forgive others, or forgive ourselves. Other times, He may lovingly correct us – and show us where we acted wrongly. When Jesus comes, He brings with Him the full power of the cross – forgiveness, restoration, freedom from hate, fear, anger, guilt and shame.
When we are deeply wounded, we need to continue allowing Jesus to heal our wounds, until there are no more hurts left to heal. The problems may be different that we experience in life, but the answer is the same- Jesus Christ of Nazareth who came to save, deliver, and heal!
A Prayer for Healing from Life’s Hurts
“I ask You, Holy Spirit, to reveal the hurt You want to heal. I choose to pour out my heart, to express my hurt and frustration, my pain, fear, or anger. I humble myself before you repenting of unforgiveness, removing any hindrances in my life that may block your healing from fully healing me. I pour my complaint out. (Tell Him about it.) And I receive Your healing touch. I break my agreement with any and all of the ungodly beliefs or lies attached to this hurt that I had received. In Jesus name, Amen.”
A Word From Christy
I am reminded of a quote from Life Coach/Minister Amanda Wells, from Amanda Wells Ministries in Brisbane, Australia, that we hosted as a guest speaker at a recent i3 service in Greenwood, SC. She said, “You really don’t have a purpose, if, you haven’t had a complaint.” Wow. What good news. The events and hard things that you have went through in life, God can turn around and use for His kingdom. You just may have gone through all that mess to bring about a message! The problem comes when folks wanna skip the healing process for the promotion to the pulpit. God has ordered in His word a process that is beneficial and produces much fruit, if we will submit to the process. Healing is for today- physical, emotional, and spiritual. It is found in Him and His Word. I dare you to get healed today. Stop carrying that hurt and hurting others. Let it go today and pour it out before the Lord. He wants you to be healed more than you want to be healed. After all, He gave His best while we were still in our mess! Let Him bring a wonderful, awe-inspiring, provoking message out of you so that where He has planted you, you may bloom. Don’t forget- He wants the glory. Let Him have it starting today in your life with your life hurts. Let Him make them into Life’s Hallelujahs! Get ready, get set, it’s time to Shine!
Shining Brightly for the King,
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