“When memories of past hurt flood your mind, go ahead and face them.”

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-01-21) from his book, Louder Than Words: The Power of Uncompromised Living (Kindle Locations 2095-2096). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Andy then says, “Allow yourself to remember the incident. It’s even okay to feel the emotions those memories elicit. If necessary, be angry but do not sin (see Ephesians 4: 26). But instead of reopening the case against your offender, instead of rehearsing images of retribution and revenge, use it as an opportunity to renew your mind.”

I’m not sure who it is that needed this thought today. All I can say is that God loves you and wants to release you from your past hurts. Go ahead and face it and then let God help you deal with it through forgiving you of the part you may have played in it and then forgiving the part that the other person played in it.

How do you really know that you have truly forgiven them? You know it because when you think about it the pain is gone. Now understand that may take some time as you continually forgiven them but it is possible by God strength and His grace to get there.

As Andy says, “Pinpoint once again the thing you were robbed of. Then thank your heavenly Father for giving you the grace and strength to forgive. Thank Him as well for forgiving you. Don’t accept the lie that you haven’t really forgiven. Focus on the truth. The truth is, you have decided to cancel the debt, and so the debt has been canceled. How do you know? Because you decided, as an act of your will, to cancel it.”

Why not go ahead and face the memories of you past hurt today?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Je...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog