When we hurt...

Become kind toward one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as also God in Christ has forgiven you.
​- Ephesians 4:32
​

One of the hardest things to encounter is when an old hurt suddenly becomes hurtful again in a current situation. We all have these things that we thought we had either worked through, hidden away, or simply thought we had forgotten.

Letting go of old hurts can serve as a stumbling block to overcome, and challenge our ability to practice grace and forgiveness.

We all have these encounters where by holding on to such things, it begins to eat away at us, until we become so trapped that the only option is to lash out, or seek revenge.

Sometimes our hurt isn't actually even ours. How many times have we made a choice based on someone else's bad experience?

Holding people's faults against them often creates a situation that cannot be healed. Paul shares: "For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see. It is all God's work."

Indeed, we cannot let go of old hurts, but God can. That's what renewal, reconcilliation, and forgiveness is all about.

Paul continues: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone's fault against them."

It is God's work, but we are instruments of God. We have been challenged by God to minister to one another, and to be "the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19).

This message calls us to let go of old hurts in the Name of God. It is the message our world most needs to hear. In many ways, we all need to find a way for the hurts we have exoerienced find a pathway to grace and peace.

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2018