1997-10-01 - He Hurt Me - So What?
Ephesians 4:26 - Be angry and sin not: let not the sun go down on thy wrath. (KJV)
Some things are pretty much guaranteed in this life: you're going to have to pay taxes, you're going to die, and you're going to get hurt.
At some point in your life someone is going to say something or do something that hurts you. Real or imagined, accidentally or on purpose; as sure as the sun rises and sets, you are going to get hurt.
The true secret to the Christian life is learning to deal with the hurts.
I heard a story of two sisters who were angry with each other for over 30 years. They didn't talk to each other, they wouldn't even share the same space with each other. Living in the same house, they had painted a line down the middle of the house!
Ridiculous as it sounds, we do that all of the time. When someone hurts us, we paint an invisible line around that hurt.
And in time, if we don't take care of it, that invisible line of hurt becomes a wall of bitterness.
Job 21:25 - … another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. (KJV)
Bitterness robs us of so much: pleasure, health, joy, blessings, etc. A heart that is bitter has a void; where bitterness lives, peace and love escape.
When I stand before God, as He reviews my life, He's not going to look at the hurts that people have done me, pat me on my back and say, "Oh you poor thing". Instead, He's going to look at the hurts and see how I reacted to them.
1 John 4:20&21 - If a man say, 'I love God', and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother, also. (KJV)Give ear to my words, Oh Lord Consider my meditation Hearken unto the voice of my cry My King and my God. For unto Thee will I pray My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning. Oh Lord, in the morning Will I direct my prayer Unto Thee and will look up. -King David-Psalm 5:1-3 (KJV)
My dear Lord, help me to remember that You alone are my Strength. Sometimes my feelings get hurt by the things that people do or say. Lord, let me not dwell on my thoughts and on my feelings. Father, You have told me to think about You. You have told me to think about Your goodness, Your mercy, and Your love. Help me to remember that You are all that counts in my life. Even if I were surrounded by friends, even if I had the gold of millions, even if all of my life was spent in good health, even if I had everything a man could wish for, Lord, if I had to spend one day without You, that day would have been spent lonely, poor, and empty. Thank You for this day. Thank You for allowing me to spend time with You. I love You, Lord.
Amen
Oh, my dear Lord, so often I forget that I am not my own. I forget that You made me, and You bought me back when I accepted the death of Jesus as the payment for my sins that I committed against You. Oh, Lord, so often I forget. But, I thank you that You remember that You love me. I thank You that You have never forgotten me. Help me to remember You in all I do.
Amen