More Reality

Before I got right with God, I used a lot of foul language. I was particularly fond of a 4 syllable compound word beginning with the letter 'M.' Every now and again that word comes into my mind, not because I want it to, but because my cursed flesh is a part of me. And when that word comes to my mind now, it is almost always in reference to the enemy, Beelzebub, Satan, the devil himself. And it is a very fitting term for him.





In my last post I posed a question about the evidence of our faith. Where is the evidence of your faith in your life? Since then the devil has been busy trying to drag me off my blessed assurance. But the Word says my Lord is a fortress, and I will run to my fortress in my time of trouble. My question today is, How do you handle hurt? How you handle your pain is a way to gauge how much Christ you actually have. It may be a starting point for dealing with stuff you didn't know needed to be dealt with.





For instance, recently, I made a special trip to a function to see a friend. My friend did everything to avoid me for some reason. My friend would not talk to me, my friend would not look at me. If I walked close to my friend, my friend would walk away from me. And I left the function to do some things, and I went back a few hours later. My friend was still there and I received an even colder treatment the second time. Then, as I was trying to figure out why this was happening again, my friend's phone rings, and my friend begins to laugh out loud , smile, and engage in conversation with the person on the other end. I was greeted warmly by several other people, hugs, smiles, handshakes, etc. But the person I went specifically to see, treated me like a leper. That is painful, when you get rejected by the very person who you came to see. That hurts pretty deep.





I can do many things with my pain. I can tell that person where to go and how to get there. I can use that word I referenced in the beginning of this post. I can internalize it and blow up at this person weeks later. I can allow that thing to be a blow to my self esteem and resent that person. Or, I can pray for that person, and lay my pain down on the cross of Christ.





Because I am a new creature, and old things have passed away, I no longer belong to myself. I have given up my free will in favor of His will. So when I wrote, I can do many things with the pain, that was not altogether true. There is only 1 thing I can do that would not violate my conscience. I must present myself to that person again and allow that person to issue another blow. After that, I must go back and allow that person to kick me. I must do this until the person who is hurting me understands that it does not matter how many times they hurt me. The God who lives in me has enough love to forgive us for every trespass.





People, that is one of the hardest things to do. And we cannot do that. We are too fallen to be able to give that person grace. We must allow God to work in us and do that thing for us. Because left on our own, we would probably use that word I referred to at the beginning of this post. Chrisitans, how we handle situations can be a strong witness for Christ. When was the last you prayed for someone who wounded you?