Sunday, August 21, 2016

Sunday Thoughts

 This is the day the Lord hath made...

The Lord, our Creator and Savior. When I think about all the Lord has done for me, how He has loved me when I'm most unlovable, my heart just can't take it. I know what a sinner I am and I know I am so very unworthy of His love, yet He loves me. Not only that, He blesses me and wants what is best for me. I always, always feel so unworthy. Let's face it - I am unworthy!

I still struggle with so much - especially unforgiveness to those who have hurt me. That is my biggest struggle. I get my feelings hurt so badly when someone rejects me that I thought wouldn't and I have a horrible time getting past it. I think about it and meditate on it when I should be meditating on the Word of God!

The Bible has everything to help us in our struggles. It has encouragement and admonishment and a step-by-step instruction manual for living. Why is it that it's so hard to open this book when we're hurting? Why is it so hard not to reflect on the hurts from others? The quiet phone or empty inbox of our emails can devastate us. The rumors that people start behind our back and we find out it was our best friend who started them. The people in church who ignore us because they already have their little circle of friends and there's no room for one more. All of this can break our hearts and it can start to define us and harden us. I know.

I can only encourage us to pray and ask God to help us to not hurt so much but to forgive over-much. It's also a really great idea to journal our feelings. Getting it out on paper can really help us to work things out in our hearts and minds. Putting our blessings on paper really helps, too, and that's why I keep a blessings journal where I list my blessings. Putting the positive stuff into our mind and getting rid of our sadness and unforgiveness is a great step for moving forward.

This all sounds so easy, doesn't it? It's not. It's much easier to wallow in our hurts and remind ourselves of how we've been hurt. We can wallow around so much in this sadness that we become rather stinky! We're hard to be around and then the problem perpetuates. We push people away because we don't want to be hurt again.

We need to ask God for help.

Dear Lord,
I pray for those who are hurting today. Especially those who have been hurt by others in the church, our friends and family.  We always expect so much from those closest to us, yet they are human, just like us. I pray that we would be able to lie our unforgiveness aside and give those who have hurt us total and absolute forgiveness. I pray, Lord, that you would comfort our hearts and bathe them in the peace and love that only You can provide.

I pray that we would know how truly loved we are by You. I pray that we would know how special we truly are and that the opinions and pain from others does not have to define us. You define us, Lord, and I pray that we would hold that close to our hearts and minds until we know it as sure as we know our name. 

Thank you for caring for us so much, Lord. I thank you for all your blessings. I pray this through your Son, Jesus...Amen.

I hope, as you spend this day with the Lord, that you will realize how truly loved you are and how there is a plan and a reason for all that we go through. We may not understand it but we must trust God and know that because He is God, He knows what we're going through and He understands it. Sometimes knowing that God understands is enough. Knowing that, in the end, things will work out and we will be redeemed is enough. Hold on to that, dear friends. I intend to.

Blessings - Julie

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