Dealing with Hurt
In life you are going to encounter hurts, some might be intentional and some might be accidental, and the sad truth is the ones that hurt the most also come from your closest relationships. But you cannot live on guard you have to live in a place of forgiveness.
Forgive the hurt - a hurt is like a splinter you cannot ignore it or try to minimize it by covering it up. The more you cover it up the more infected it gets. Most times the person that has wronged you is doing it out of anger and when they think about what they have just done will feel guilty and come asking forgiveness.
Don't let a hurt turn to bitterness and hate it will destroy you if you let it.
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14- 15 NASB
Some of us have been hurt from a parent some a spouse or girlfriend and some have been hurt by someone in the church.
First you have to open up the hurt and resolve it in your own life, let God deal with the other person, one way to know if you have forgiven them is it no longer is the first thing you think of when you think of that person, when you are holding on to it you will still have pain when you think of them. Give it to God he cares for you and knows that bitterness and hate will only poison your heart over time.
“But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.” Luke 23:34 NASB
Our savior showed the greatest act of forgiveness, the people beat him mocked him and crucified him and while hanging on the cross he still showed that forgiveness truly comes from the heart he asked that the Father would forgive.
With this devotion I would like for you to take time to pray. Pray that God would show you any hurt that you might be harboring in your heart and ask God to give you peace with that hurt and give it to God, but don’t just ask that he would really give it to him, abandon it.
Pastor Benaiah Snider