Move Beyond The Hurt
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 5:23-24 (NKJV) Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Loving those who have hurt us is not easy, especially those we have trusted but who have betrayed us. Our initial reaction after being hurt is often anger, sadness, and possibly disillusionment. Some people may even turn inward, refusing to discuss their pain and anguish. However, if we allow grudges to take root, we risk becoming resentful, hostile, and even vengeful over time. Meditating on the negative things will rob us of love, peace, and joy in our lives. If we fail to deal with our hurt and take the necessary step to forgive, we may even carry anger and bitterness to every relationship, thinking that this is how everyone treats us, making us unable to enjoy new friendships or relationships.
Jesus, through the passage above, reminds us to reconcile with the brother who has wronged us. We may find it challenging to receive the love of God if we do not handle human relationships well because our horizontal relationships with others and our vertical relationship with God affect each other. A good relationship with God is impossible if we have poor relationships with people. Therefore, we need to work on our horizontal relationships by reaching out for reconciliation as soon as possible. We should always strive to keep joy, love, and peace in our lives because this is the abundant life that God wants us to enjoy.
Living in a broken world means hurt, betrayal, offence, and abuse are inevitable. However, we need to recognise that our soul, in terms of our feelings, emotions, and mental health, will not prosper if we continually revisit the offences done to us. The wounds in our lives will remain raw. Instead, we should acknowledge that it has happened, and it has caused pain and hurt. When we do that, we tell ourselves that the pain has been dealt with and we will not revisit it. The healing process begins when we release our pain to God. We invite the Lord into our lives and bring the person and the incident before Him, and choose to release the person through forgiveness. We may not even need to meet with the person, but by inviting God into our lives, we seek His healing and restoration, and our soul will start to prosper again.
Even though we have been taught to reconcile with those who have hurt or offended us, we must accept that not everyone wants reconciliation. Nevertheless, forgiveness is still possible if we release the person rather than “imprison” them by holding grudges and resentment. Forgiveness removes the power that allows the past incident to torment us in the realm of the soul. Therefore, move beyond the hurt by forgiving, and keep no record of wrong.
Sermon Series: Prospering In All Things
