Wherever we are in life, we’re either inviting a new blessing to come in or causing it to remain at bay. This begs us to know two things, one is that we are responsible for making room for something new to take root, and the second is that God’s Plan causes us to be presented with this choice continually. Lamentations 3:23(NLT) tells us, “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Heavenly Father never gets bored. He’s doing something new and fresh all the time. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus Christ said that he stands at the door and knocks, and all we need to do is open it, and he’ll come in. It’s that simple to invite the newness our Redeemer offers, but so often we reject it. Sometimes without even knowing it, we block the blessing because we’re still holding on to past hurt.
Causing the Blessing to Remain at Bay
Any time it feels as if we’ve stalled out in life, spiritual maturity begs us to look within, because it may mean that we’re causing a blessing to remain out of our reach. It isn’t God’s Will for His children to be sad and to feel hopeless, and He has empowered us to do something to change these conditions. This kind of change isn’t an arduous process, but a glorious one. But here’s the important lesson we must learn, the hurt of the past is a good teacher, in the sense that we learn how dependent we are on God. Like young fingers first experiencing heat from a hot stove, past hurt should remind us to seek Him in all things, but it shouldn’t make us afraid and refrain from cooking ever again. That’s the thing we want to make sure we don’t continue to carry, the fear, because fear and faith cannot dwell in the same place.
2Corinthians 5:17(NKJV) tells us that we are new creations in Christ. The term ‘new creation’ is referring to our human-spirits, because they have been recreated through the new birth experience in Christ Jesus. Genesis 1:26 tells us that we are made in the image of God. Just as He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are human-spirit, soul, and body; and our human-spirit is the core of who we are. Our human-spirit is where the Holy Spirit lives.
Romans 8:16 (NLT) tells us, “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” God has given us the Gift of His Spirit, and the Spirit is proof of His wonderful plan for each of us. 1John 4:13(NLT) tells us, “And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.” Not only is the Spirit a down payment on an amazing future, he’s confirmation of our reality as God’s children. He affirms the goodness of the Father towards us. This is good news indeed, because the indwelling Holy Spirit is continually communicating information that will keep us on the path to great blessings of spiritual growth and abundance.
We can be assured that through the indwelling Holy Spirit, God is working in us to will and do of His good pleasure. The Holy Spirit will never tell us something that isn’t true. He teaches us God’s Word, and John 16:13 says that he tells us what he hears from Jesus Christ. So, we can be confident that the knowledge and information we receive from Holy Spirit is of the very best kind, but being sad and down for too long tells us that somehow, we’re crossing some internal wires, because information from the Spirit isn’t getting through to our minds and hearts. When the emotions of our flesh convey something that is different from the sweet and powerful messages from the Holy Spirit, then something in our flesh is blocking our hearing.
A Blessing Invitation
Sadness and hurt is almost always a result of something that has transpired in our past. The situation isn’t happening to us at this very moment. It occurred in a time and space that is gone forever, and we will never be able to precisely duplicate the situation that may be lodged in our memories. Perhaps someone told us that we would never amount to much, or that we weren’t pretty or smart enough. It could be that we were so severely heartbroken in a past relationship that we’re afraid of being hurt that way again. Whatever the case, sometimes these memories prompt us to experience emotions that do not line up with faith. They cause our hearts to broadcast messages that are counterproductive to the life we should and could be living in Christ.
There are things about ourselves right this very moment that we need to address, but we simply do not see or will not own them. In some areas, certainly not all—but some, we have a perception of how others see us, and how we see ourselves that isn’t exactly accurate. In other words, we don’t own our stuff in certain areas, and because we don’t, we’re not always aware of the energy we’re putting out there. Sometimes when fear is driving our decision making, we call it being smart and protective; and sometimes when truth is staring us in the face, we reject it, and label this rejection as being steadfast. We can get these things all twisted up internally, and do so to serve our own agendas.
We need to remind ourselves how incredibly awesome it is to have the gift of indwelling Holy Spirit, because he has been given by God through the Lord Jesus Christ to get these kinds of things untwisted. Jesus Christ says of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8(NLT), “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” Convicting us of our sin and the heavies that hold us back is one of the things that Holy Spirit does. One of our great privileges is to open our eyes to what he is revealing to us, because he is continually communicating information that will lead, guide, and direct us to the truth.
Don’t let the hurt of yesterday steal the joyful song God is delivering to your soul today. Be committed to always invite the blessing, and not repel it. Begin to understand that humility is the ultimate lesson gleaned from all heartache, because it teaches us how totally dependent on God we are. Ask Him to help you keep your heart and mind open to the messages of His goodness, and have faith in the good future He has planned for you, because your commitment to embrace hope and leave the hurt of the past behind invites new blessings. ■
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“How Past Hurt Can Navigate A New Path” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.