Dear Friends,
Should we just forget about the past, or should we hold onto memories of past relationships?” The answer depends on just how memories of those relationships affect you. Often, people miss opportunities for joy in their lives because they are preoccupied shadowboxing with their past. They carry grudges and grievances for things that happened a long time ago, and memories can become terrible slave masters if we let them. Pave the way to a more joy-filled future by resolving to release past hurts.
Ask God to help you move past the hurt.
You may be familiar with the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors.
Sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph could have let the pain of his abuse color his feeling about his brothers. Instead, he chose to move past the hurt and show them grace.
“His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are
your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the
place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good …”
Genesis 50:18-20 (NIV)
Give God time to work on you.
“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
Seek God’s answers from the best self-help book ever written — the Bible.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
Choose love over resentment or retaliation.
“’ So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as
I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another
will prove to the world that you are my disciples.’” John 13:34-35 (NLT)
Be willing to take the first step.
“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge
against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
Mark 11:25 (NLT)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in
Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Choose to look at things from different perspective.
Try to put yourself in the position of a neutral observer in an attempt to
answer the question, “Am I seeing the whole picture?”
“Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good
judgment.” Proverbs 23:23 (NLV)
“A man’s pride and sense of self-importance will bring him down,
but he who has a humble spirit will obtain honor.” Proverbs 29:23 (AMP)
Find a reason to laugh.
In the poem Solitude, Ella Wheeler Wilcox reminds us, “Laugh, and the world
laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must
borrow its mirth, but has trouble enough of its own.”
Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us that there is, “a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
Be willing to change.
“When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly.” 1 Corinthians 4:12b, 13a (NIV)
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on
what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
You don’t have to justify your hurt or pain. God knows. Billy Graham once said, “Puppy love isn’t real, but it is to the puppy.” Emotional scars heal slowly, but we serve a God who will help us deal with all kinds of pain.
Going into the New Year, I offer you this prayer, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)
Blessings,
Your Friend in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 