But It Need Not End There.
For many it is hard to pick up the pieces and move on. Many carry so much baggage from years of neglect and abuse they do not know how to let go. Counseling, self-help, and other aids never seem quite enough. There is always something just out of reach to make the pain and hurt go away.
“What more do I need?”
“Where can I find the answer to make all the hurt go away?”
These are the questions that plague the ever waking hours of these lives.
When I talk with people who have suffered traumas, whether great or small, I remind them of two promises God has given us that He will never break. They are promises based on His character. These promises are:
1. God will never abandon you.
2. God created you for a purpose.
The second seems farfetched to some — created for a purpose. “Right, I was created to suffer and be a door mat,” they say. That might seem to be the truth right now, but to God it is never the truth. God loves you and has promised He will never forsake you.
Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
Joshua 1:5
God does not want you to live a life of hopelessness and despair. God wants you to have a life of peace no matter what the world does to you. The devil knows how to turn the world against you and he is good at it.
Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8b
However, God has promised to help you overcome what the world and the devil throws at you.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.
1 Peter 5:6-8a
However, as the passage says, it does take effort on your side — that is free-will. If you wish to stay as you are, God will allow it. Yet, if you follow God’s plan and humble yourself by recognizing God as the controller of your life, then turning all your troubles over to Him — and trusting Him to do the best for you — you will have peace. The devil will not be able to get a foot-hold in your life. Remember, God is not a genie-in-the-bottle. You cannot rub the Bible and make everything go away. You are partners with God and He will walk with you through the fires.
Second God has a purpose for you and He has given you a dream. However, contrary to what motivational books and self-help seminars you cannot fulfill your dream by starting with self.
I know this is not what you wanted to hear. I know the answer we all look for is some type of formula or steps to make life better, but it doesn’t work that way. Self-help books and seminars start with you and what you can do in seven or twelve steps to make your life better. Yet, you have tried those steps and programs many times and have discovered they don’t work. Why? Simple, because we fail to ask the one question that will give us our purpose and dream, “God, what do you want me to do for You?”
God wants you to live out the dream He has placed in your heart. Even so, the way your dreams are to come about might be different than you think. God did not give you a dream so that you will fail. He gave you a dream for you to fulfill in His kingdom. It is a dream that echos the words of Paul,
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6
It is God who has given you your dream. Notice the verse says God began the work. Then it continues with “in you.” God works through us giving our life purpose and meaning. Apart from God we are listless without purpose, wondering through life, always asking the question, “Why am I here?” or “What is the purpose of my life?” But God says,
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
These are not hollow words scratched out on a piece of paper. They are words of promise given by a God who has not forgotten us. They start with the plans of God in our lives and finish with a future of hope. Isn’t that what we seek?
When I discovered God desired me to have a future and a hope I was skeptical. Growing up as a reject and an outcast I could not believe anyone wanted me to have a future with hope — much less God. When I left home and was out on my own I tried to find purpose. I did all the Bible studies, self-promoting seminars, and whatever else came down the pike, both secular and religious. I tried to find purpose in family, money, service, career, etc. I was always depressed and found fault with everything. I waited for people to hurt me and I caused every relationship I had to self destruct.
Trust no one.
Protect self.
Everyone is out to get you.
These are the thoughts I stomached each and every day.
I remember when I was graduating high school my mother gave me a picture of Ziggy standing on his dresser looking into the mirror. The caption read,
It’s you and me against the world, and personally I think we are going to get creamed.
I was devastated. My mom thought it was a humorous cartoon saying simply, “Go get them.” I saw it differently. So I did what every young person does — I found self-worth in activities. I became my own worse enemy.
I lost my family, my career, and every dream I ever had. But God had a plan for me and He gave me a future of peace through tragedy. How is that possible? It is not complicated and it only takes one simple act.
The Challenge
I don’t mean to cause suspense. I never want a person to hang on my words. However, the answer is simple, but to get you to except it and do it, that is the challenge.
Why do we live in the shattered dreams and destroyed lives these three trees represent? It is because of trust. To put it simply, we don’t trust. That is what held me down for decades and I would say it is what is holding you down today.
“Everyone has let me down,” you say. Your life is riddled with anger, bitterness, and rage. You expect to be let down again and again so you don’t trust anyone — especially someone whom you cannot see. But Jesus is waiting for you. Waiting to hold you and to give you the peace you so long for. All you have to do is trust Him.
“But what if my circumstance doesn’t change, then what?”
That is not the promise. The promise is not to change your circumstance. The promise is to change you and to help you through the circumstance. The promise is to heal all the hurt and pain. To let you see the scars, but not let them control your future. That is the promise — to change you.
There is a story in Mark that I always like to read when I am hurting. It is not elaborate or complicated. There isn’t any deep meaning that has to be understood. It simply tells the story of Jesus going town to town.
Wherever [Jesus] entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.
Mark 6:56
No matter what the world has done to your dreams, no matter what pain and scars you bear, Jesus is willing to heal you and give you peace. He wants to show you the fulfillment of your dreams through His eyes. He is ready to heal you. I believe, right now, He is passing through the city of your life and wants you to come out into the street and touch the fringe of His cloak. It is what Jesus wishes. It is what He seeks. The question and challenge still remains, will you let go of the hurt today and touch the fringe of His cloak and be healed?
Will you trust Jesus today and do what He says, no matter what? It is your choice — it always has been. Give your life fully to Jesus or don’t. It is in your hand. .
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About the author
Richard D. McCormack is a noted freelance writer, speaker, and pastor in Rush Springs, Oklahoma. He is married to Ka
ye and they have two daughters: Tara and Cecilia. Richard's heart is in helping people overcome and to find new beginnings in life.
Richard has published several books including It is Well, a story about one family's testimony of God's sovereignty. To find out more about Richard and his ministry go to www.LivingTheCross.com
If you would like to book Richard for a service or a conference email or call him at:
[email protected] 1-800-766-4571
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