Hurt – It’s Personal…Five Things to Take Away from the Sermon

But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the LORD with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. Psalms 3:4-5

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Emotional pain is one of the most difficult pains to heal.  There is no medication that can remove it, but only dulls our feelings and delays the addressing of the source. Hurt is the most frequently experienced painful emotion and, if not properly managed, canlead to other issues such as anger, fear, and condemnation. Brother Van preached two Sundays on this subject. Here are five take aways to remember on hurt and how we can best handle our emotions when we get hurt. 

Hurt is Unavoidable – It's not a matter of if we're going to be hurt, but when we will be hurt and more importantly, what are we going to do about it?  Broken relationships in marriage, work, family and friends are often based in the inability to deal with hurt, grief or personal pain. Hurt is a part of life.  The pepple we love and the ones we work with, go to school, with, do life with are human and humans will fail us because they are human!  

Hurt is Personal – Sometimes people hurt us when they don’t mean to.  It may be from a weakness, addiction, mistakes, good intentions, by not meeting our expectations, or because they have been hurt. Wether it is intentional or not, it feels personal.  When something feels like a personal offense, it hurts worse.    

Unresolved Hurt – The consequences of not resolving our hurt and having it turn to bitterness or depression are far reaching, affecting more than just ourselves.  We can inadvertly destroy lives of innocent people that we love. The bars of an emotional prison are made out of guilt, anger, bitterness and resentment.  But what people don't understand is that that kind of prison locks from the inside.  There isn't anybody that can let you out of that prison except for you.  We wake up every morning and choose what to think.  If you have chosen to carry the burden of guilt, shame, anger and hurt everywhere you go, what would happen if you decided, "I can't change what happened, so I'd better accept it and recognize that the life that I have today, tomorrow and the next day is going to be a function of what I choose"?

Healing a Hurt Heart – Be honest about what possesses you.Realize that some situations can control us if we let them. Whenever we are hurt, it colors everything around us.  We can’t really see clearly or function correctly until we begin the healing process of moving forward.  Moving forward out of hurt is hard because from the perspective of hurt, the future looks very uncertain and dim. Praying our way through the healing process and relying on God’s power to see us through is the only way. Jesus understands and cares about our hurts. He brings Hishealing comfort to a hurting heart.

Forgiveness is Imperative – Healing from a hurt will not happen without forgiveness. We cannot control the actions of others but we can control our own actions.  Forgiveness is for you more than for the person who hurt you. Until you can release the hold it has on your heart and forgive them, it continues to keep you in a prison. Forgiveness is a source of emotional health and freedom. It has the power to set us free from the hurts of the past, whether we are talking about ten minutes ago, or ten years ago.

It takes time for a deep wound to heal...especially of the heart. It also takes deep faith that God will lead you through the tunnel of hurt and loss to a new day and new start. Discover God’s healing and direction for the future by looking ahead of where you are. He always leads. Our job is to hold on to Him.