“It (love) keeps no record of being wronged.” 1 Corinthians 13:5b
Girls, I want to be honest this is not easy to do, but it is the only way we can truly love others, and at the same time it is the only way as Christ followers we can truly live the abundant life Christ offers us. Thankfully, as, Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Did you hear that, girls? Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us both the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. Hold on to that.
Another translation of this verse says, “Love thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:5b). According to the Enduring Word Commentary, “Love will put away the hurts of the past instead of clinging to them.” Stop here. Did you hear that?
Oh girls, let’s camp out here for a minute because this is so important for us to understand because if we live on planet Earth, which we all do, we will all be hurt from time to time and some of those wounds are deep.
It is hard if not impossible to let go of hurt unless we invite God into those deep wounds and ask Him to heal our hurts. Look at the scriptures below. You can see that God wants us to invite Him into our hurt places so that He can heal, redeem, and restore those places in us.
“O people trust in Him at all times, pour out your hearts to him at all times. Pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:8)
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” (Psalm 34:18)
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
To be transparent, this hits home for me as God has been doing some deep healing work in me these past few years. I’ve invited the Holy Spirit in to heal both some old and new wounds that I had not healed from fully, and received God’s comfort and healing.
Now that He has healed these areas, I can move forward in freedom. I am no longer stuck there. However, here’s what I am realizing, I am often tempted to get stuck in my emotions and feelings again if an old wound is brought up in conversation and am tempted to hold onto hurts instead of releasing them again to Him and reminding myself that God has healed that area. There’s no need to go back.
This is especially true if I’m triggered by something that reminds me of the hurt or am hurt in a similar way. Instead of going back to the wound, I MUST remind myself God has healed that wound. He met me in that place of brokenness, now I can look forward and move forward into what God has for me right now to be His ambassador in His kingdom purposes.
This reminds of what Paul said in Philippians 4:12-14, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ already possessed me. No dear brothers and sister, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press onto reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us.”
Learning this, girls, has been huge for me and has helped me move forward in faith instead of falling into bitterness, resentment, or anger. Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Girls, I know this is hard. But sweet sister, this is what God calls us to. He calls us to Kingdom Living even in this broken foreign land we live in. The deeper I study His Word, the more I see that how He instructs us to live is ultimately for our good. Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and have life to the full.” (John 10:10)
Savor that sweet sisters, your Savior, your King died to give you abundant life both now and forever. Breathe that in. Breathe it deep into the core of who you are and ask Him to give the desire and power to live in a way that pleases Him, and daughters of the King, He will do it, and you can say goodbye grudge!
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