Good morning FB! I wanted to share a letter with you that I wrote to our congregation in September. I hope it encourages you today! Greetings! Several weeks ago I was sitting in a surgeon’s office in Northern Kentucky for a follow-up from breast cancer. Although I didn’t have as many side effects during treatments as others have had, I have had a few that are called “late side effects”. In the office, the surgeon gave me three options, none of which I preferred. After she left the room, the nurse began talking with me about my feelings and I began to cry. I told her I just wanted closure. I wanted all of this behind me and done! Little did I know that the Lord would use one word to minister to my heart. Webster’s dictionary defines closure as a feeling that a bad experience has ended and that you can start to live again in a calm and normal way. The apostle Paul said in Phil 3:13 (TLB) No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. When we suffer hardships in life, it is often the memory of the hurt that can affect us more than the event itself. As we focus on the event, our feelings get more deeply rooted in it and begin to produce fruit that is destructive to the rest of our lives. It’s not easy to forget the past and move on especially when confronted with circumstances that keep reminding us of that past! But as we all know, God sees ahead and provides all we need to walk in peace and freedom from every issue of life that would torment us. Following surgery of any kind, the opening or wound must be sewn back together. The wound is cleaned then closed to start the healing process. It also takes time for that wound to completely recover so we can get back to a normal way of life. I’m sure many of you have suffered from a splinter or paper cut in your hand. It’s absolutely amazing how such a small thing can make your whole body hurt. That’s just how it is when we are hurt by people, sickness and worldly circumstances. Whether that hurt is big or small, hurt is still hurt and it needs to be cleaned out of our life so we can get back to a calm and normal life. How do we do this? First of all remember Rome wasn’t built in a day! Time is a good friend. Time allows things to heal if the wound is not reopened. Sometimes we rehearse our problems. We actually have a stage in our mind where we play out how things were, could be, might have been and shouldn’t have been. We reopen the wound. We are tormented by the events. 1 John 4:18-19 (NKJV) There is no fear in love; but perfect (complete/mature) love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect (complete/mature) in love. 19 We love (Him) because He first loved us. What does this have to do with closure? For me, when I fear what is going on in my body, I realize that my focus has switched from Jesus to me. When I begin to look at my circumstances and the fear of the unknown begins to creep in, I now have stepped on the stage in my mind, the curtain rises and the play begins. However, so many times I’ve used the wrong script! As I look to Jesus, the One who has made me complete in Him, the One who has loved me perfectly, the One who gave His life so that I would no longer suffer torment, the One who loved me first, I then can flip the script. I allow Him to be my director. Verse 19 in the Greek says “we love because He first loved us.” Through His love, we not only love Him back but we love, period. When we look to His love, it gets rid of the fear and torment. Many times I’ve heard people mention that they turn their head away when getting a shot or giving blood. They remain calmer if they just look away. To maintain closure in our lives, we have to look away. Look at something different. Look at something that will keep our focus on God and His love for us. Paul said he chose to forget the past. Looking behind us while running the race that God has set before us will always trip us up even if we are on the right path! Through deception, lies and the circumstances from a fallen world, Satan wants to keep us tripped up. He wants us to stumble, get bruised and to have open wounds. He wants to pour dirt in the wound through people’s comments and our own negative thoughts. If he can keep us reopening the wound, it will never heal. I encourage all of us today to allow the healing balm of God’s love to close the wounds of the past. There is such a wonderful future ahead for all of us. Paul said he wanted to finish the race that God set before him. He suffered a lot of persecution and abuse because he preached the truth about Jesus. Yet, in all the things he suffered, he declared he was more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ. Focus on God’s love for you. Allow Him to mend your wounds. He is the Great Physician! Allow the healing medicine of His love to saturate your entire being! Allow the Word of God to dictate your feelings. Proverbs 17:22 says “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” Get back up on that stage of life and follow His script. Let Him take the lead and you can play the background. You’ll get a standing ovation from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He loves you and is well pleased with you. Come to Victory Christian Center’s services and hear messages that will help you see once again how much God loves you. Come fellowship with other believers to experience His love for one another. Come experience closure by putting things behind and learning how to run your spiritual race. Closure... a feeling that a bad experience has ended and that you can start to live again in a calm and normal way. Forget the past and start living!
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 12:19:58 +0000
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