Healing Through The Hurts In every relationship, there will be hurts. Our problem is that, instead of letting the Lord heal them, we hold on to them, revel in them, and keep rehearsing them in our minds. D.L. Moody said, “A great many people seem to embalm their troubles. I always feel like running away when I see them coming. They bring out their old mummy, and tell you in a sad voice, ‘You don’t know the troubles I have.’ … My friends, if you bring your troubles to the Lord, He will take them away. Would you not rather be with the Lord and rid of your troubles, than be with your troubles and without God?” Paul said, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13) The way of healing is the way of forgiveness. It’s not enough to merely put up with the other person. It’s not enough to refuse to retaliate. We must truly forgive them, and if that seems too difficult, recall what Jesus did for all of us when He died on the cross to forgive our sins. Thanks for your posting. I appreciate. Take care and God bless.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 NKJV) Although this deals with the parent/child relationship, it also speaks to our relationship with God as our heavenly Father and how He disciplines us to keep us on the straight and narrow. As parents, we discipline our children not out of hate or anger, but because we love them and want to protect them from future wrong and dangerous behavior. But our discipline needs to be measured with the spirit of compassion. Once the discipline is over, we should take them in our arms, restore them, and let them know we love them. Our children need compassion as much as they need discipline. In other words, we need to discipline our children as God disciplines us, because God’s discipline includes mercy and compassion (Isaiah 60:10b). God had to discipline Israel for her constant idolatry, but in His discipline, He showed mercy by bringing them back into the land and into fellowship with Him. In His love, God disciplines us, so we shouldn’t despise His discipline, but we should always know that, in His love, He will have mercy on us. The Lord said, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” (Revelation 3:19) And again, the Lord says, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:11-12) Although discipline may not feel pleasant at the time, it ultimately produces a harvest of righteousness and peace (Hebrews 12:11). And while weeping may endure for a season because of our sin, joy will come in the end because of God’s favor toward us. We see this in Psalm 30:5: “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Thanks for posting this verse; it is a great reminder.

The Devil’s All About Opportunity The Bible tells us to make the most of every opportunity. “Walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) The reason we need to be careful in how we live, i.e., “walk circumspectly,” and to redeem the time, or take advantage of every opportunity, is that Satan, our adversary, is taking advantage of every opportunity to mess us up. After Satan was defeated by Jesus in the wilderness, it says: “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) Put more succinctly, the devil is all about opportunity. He will do whatever it takes, whenever he can, to get us to stumble and fall. When Satan smells blood, he pounces and devours. With that in mind, the Apostle Peter offers this advice. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9a) Jesus called Satan a thief, saying, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Let’s therefore trust in Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and fully surrender to Him, standing firm in our faith, resisting the devil’s advances, and never giving him an opportunity to attack. “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) We need to stay alert and at the ready because Satan will stay away only until he finds a more opportune moment to attack.

The Goodness Quotient The Bible says God grows tired of our meaningless sacrifices when we ignore those in need. We often think of these people as those who need basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, and housing. But these also include those who are emotionally, physically (illness and disease), and spiritually in need. Through the prophet Isaiah, God questions the people’s sacrifices and declares He’s had enough of their hypocrisy. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:16-17) If our faith is only found in religious trappings and not in meeting and caring for others’ needs, then it’s meaningless to God, and He’ll hide His eyes and no longer hear our prayers. The reason is that God takes on the role of father and protector for those in need. God is “A father to the fatherless, (and) a defender of widows.” (Psalm 68:5) This quality of goodness has brought more people to repentance than all the teachings, doctrines, and evangelical messages combined. People don’t care as much about how much we know; they want to know how much we care. John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”