Healing from Trauma - Part 2

We all finally reach the point in life where we totally surrender to the will of God (Ephesians 2:10). The fears of the future no longer etch away at our faith, because God proves Himself faithful by His intervention in our current issues.

During times of relocation and restoration, God hides us under the shadow of His wings. We heal physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally (Psalm 63:7). His love sustains us.

God encourages us through long time friendships, as well as new friends who love us unconditionally as He does. He makes His presence known within us and we flourish under His gentle care.

We start to notice the seeds for a miracle, which God places in every trial. We learn to look beyond the momentary afflictions to the promises, which God gives us through His Word and His world (2 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Peter 1:4).

He teaches us that negative emotions are arrows pointing to a wound in our soul, which needs healing ( www.theophostic.com ). God's Spirit continues replacing the negative aspects of our personality with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

He gives us the mind of Christ, which puts more emphasis on the eternal than the temporal, more fulfillment from the spiritual than from the carnal, and makes us appreciate that our identity comes from Christ in us , not from our own strengths and accomplishments (Colossians 1:27).

We realized for the first time, that we really are already crucified with Christ, even though we still physically live on this earth. We are never truly abandoned to survive the trials of this life alone, because Christ gives us His faith and actually lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20).

God teaches us to rejoice in every situation and to float with the ebb and flow of life, because He is the Lord of all (1 Timothy 6:15). He proves to us that He will never leave or forsake us, regardless of the circumstances (Hebrews 13:5).

Surrendering to the love of God is how we can enjoy the peace of God, which floods our soul and transcends any human reasoning, as it guards our thoughts and emotions through the presence of Christ Jesus abiding within us (Philippians 4:4-7).

Prayer:

Father God, I am amazed that for even one moment I thought that I could save myself. I learned at 18 that You were the Savior of my spirit, but it took me thirty more years to learn that You are also Savior of our body and soul.

There is nothing this world can throw at us that will ever knock me down again, because nothing can ever separate us from Your love (Romans 8:35-39). With Your mercy and grace in our life, we can look forward to the miracle, which comes from every trial which we will ever experience.

Thought for the Day:

Worry is the toll we pay for traversing the trials of life without trusting in the Lord.

Forgiveness is Our Most Powerful Weapon

 

  

The root of bitterness, which grows in our soul with each trauma we experience in life, causes trouble and defiles our life as well as many in our family, church and friendships (Hebrews 12:16).

However, once we are Born Again, we are able to commune with God through our spirit, which was originally dead is sin (Ephesians 2:1). We have the King of kings dwelling within us by His Spirit (Colossians 1:27).

The presence of the Trinity abiding in us helps us to forgive past hurts, and helps us to put our future hurts into proper perspective. Until we forgive our self and others, Satan gains the advantage over us (2 Corinthians 2:10-11).

If we refuse to forgive, we give Satan permission to control that part of our soul, and to inflict his demons on our body and spirit as well. Satan holds us captive as slaves to His lies through our thoughts and emotions.

( www.theophostic.com )

The fruit of the Holy Spirit cannot manifest in those areas of our soul, and we limit God's Spirit from using us according to God's will. Our human efforts, actions and self-righteousness gain us nothing. Once we forgive our self and others, all of this changes.

Although we continue to experience occasional oppression by the rulers, authorities, spiritual forces of evil and powers of darkness in this world, the blood of Jesus sets us free from the bondage of sin and death (Leviticus 17:11; Roman 8:2; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 21:4).

Forgiveness is the most powerful weapon in our arsenal against Satan's influence in our life. It takes the offender off our hook and puts that person squarely on God's hook, where He promises to deal with that person in His way and timing (Romans 12:19).

Prayer:

Father God, please help us to break Satan's bondage over our life by giving us the strength to forgive our self and others. Thank You for the blood of Christ, which paves our way to a victorious life. As we humble our self to You and resist the devil, he has to flee from our midst (James 4:7).

Then allow us to help those in our life who need love, acceptance, healing and restoration in their relationship with You. We present our self to You as a living sacrifice to do Your will for each moment of our day (Romans 12:1; Ephesians 2:10). Inspire and guide us by Your Spirit today and always.

Thought for the Day:

In Christ we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness for all of our sins, because of the riches of His mercy and grace toward us. - Ephesians 1:7

Rebounding Does Not Always Mean to Bounce Back

The practice of rebounding occurs during basketball, but also during dating relationships. It is used to describe a new relationship, which occurs by ricocheting from the door slamming on a past relationship. The person who is rebounding falls for one of the first people to give them attention after their divorce, and they quickly form a commitment without consulting the Lord.

This is tragic. In new relationships, we should take our time and seek the Lord's will in them. We need to pay attention to every red flag that pops up during our interaction with this new person. It is far better to live alone than to shackle oneself to someone, which is not God’s will for us (Proverbs 21:9, 25:24; Proverbs 17:1). We need to spend quality and quantity of time with any new person.

Carnal attraction is the main reason many people choose a mate; yet, this wanes with familiarity. If we do not develop a friendship and a genuine caring connection, our new relationship may not weather life’s storms either. We will end up in another bad situation and heading for divorce court all over again.

Instead, use your time as a single person to minister as the Lord directs, join group activities to cultivate new friendships and work in church ministries to meet people who share your common bond of faith. If God wants you married, He will bring along a new mate in His timing. He may take longer than you would like, because He wants to work out issues in your personality and soul, which need healing first.

Prayer:

Father God, sometimes divorce is inevitable, especially in cases of infidelity or if our partner is determined to leave us. Please help us to focus on our relationship with You in our times of grief and solitude. Remind us that watching romantic movies and reading novels will reinforce our feelings of loneliness. Keep us from rebounding or using addictions to fill the void in our life. The deeper we delve into Your Word, Your people and Your ministries, the less lonely we will feel and the more Your joy will fill our heart. Joy and contentment in You will ease our feelings of isolation and disappointment.

Thought for the Day:

Listening to Christian worship and hanging out with the Body of Christ, as we focus on God's will for our life, will help to fill our soul with God's peace, joy and love.

For further reading, check out:

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian_singles/being_single_and_faithful/reentering_the_dating_scene_after_divorce.aspx

Success in Life

 

We all have a different definition of the meaning of success. It can relate to everything from a multi-billion dollar bank account, a sports car, control of a company, good health, a loving family, a mansion home, a thriving career, a home in another country, building the largest church in the world, or a Christian heritage, as well as everything in between. We all want to feel good about our self and our lifetime achievements. We want immortality through our success. We use everything and everyone else to make us happy, but every relationship, accomplishment or possession simply disappoints us.

Some people will follow someone else’s aspirations for them. They want to attain the love, respect and pride of their parent or mentor and they strive toward objectives to achieve this goal, but it never really makes them feel happy or successful. They go to college to get a job to earn money, but they are miserable because they hate their work. They are not doing God’s will for them. There is an ache in the most successful life that can only be filled by a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, followed by doing only His will for our life.

When we come to the end of our self, we will either give up and wander homelessly, or commit suicide to end it all, or turn our life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Pursuing a sinful lifestyle can only bring us ultimate ruin and death, but allowing the Spirit of God to control our existence will bring us life and peace (Romans 8:6). We are all sinners. Our conduct may be better than our neighbor’s or a family member’s behavior, but we all fall short of the glory of God, which is the true standard for morality (Romans 3:23).

The wages of that sin is death, but God gives us the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). Once we admit our sinful lifestyle and make up our mind to turn our life over to God for redemption, He rescues us from the realm of darkness and gives us His life (John 8:12). We are a city set on a hill and His light in us shines out to draw everyone to Him (Matthew 5:14). All we need to do is to trim our lamp through Bible study and prayer, and then be a friend and neighbor to those God puts in our life.

God gives us supernatural joy and peace. We have no need to be afraid of what we should eat or drink or wear, because as we seek God first, He cares for us and supplies all of our needs (Matthew 6:33). Then, we live with gratitude in our heart as we give God all of our concerns through prayer. His peace, which surpasses all human reasoning, will keep our soul in health and will lead us through each moment of our day (John 14:27; Philippians 4:4-7; 3 John 1:2).

Prayer:

Father God, allow us to be a good example of a Believer in what we say, how we live and in our love, faith and holiness (1 Timothy 4:12). Help us to find success one minute at a time as Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). Let us share a smile, a kind word and a helping hand. Help us to be a diligent employee, a serving church member and a dedicated part of our family. Show us what true success is in this life; not as the world gives, but as You give it to us. Shed Your peace throughout our soul – our mind, will and emotions - and fill us with Your love now and for eternity (Philippians 4:7; Romans 5:5).

Thought for the Day:

Worldly success is temporal and fleeting, but spiritual success lasts for eternity.

What a Friend

Read: John 10: 27-28

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

John proclaims that every known breakthrough that mankind makes comes from God (John 1:3). Before God created the heavens and the earth, He had a plan for each one of us (Ephesians 1:4). We did not then, nor do we now deserve His love; but He delights in spending time with us. He looks forward to our daily chats with Him in prayer and He wants us to listen to Him without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17). He promises us through the words of James 4:8, that if we draw close to Him, He will also, most definitely, draw close to us.

What greater privilege can anyone experience than to have the Lord of the Universe loving us enough to spend time with us throughout the day. Do we go around with an unmet need, simply because we fail to trust Him to meet it? Do we pack our lives too full of trivial pursuits and fail to spend time praising Him, loving Him, enjoying His presence and listening to Him? The biggest question of all, however, is do we take the time to thank Him for everything He provides for us – for the air we breathe, for food and shelter, for soap, for a broom, for a comb or brush, for family and friends who cherish us and build us up, for twinkling stars at night and the sun to warm us all day long?

We show our love back to God by praising and listening to Him all though the day, by worshipping Him with other Believers, by living out the evidence of His love in our lives, by telling others the Gospel story, by sharing our resources with those in need and simply by inviting people to visit us at our local church. Let’s simplify our lives in order to make more room for loving God, listening to Him, worshipping Him and following His will for every moment of our day.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I love that you invited us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5: 17). You are a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), because You live inside of each and every one of us by Your Holy Spirit. I am amazed that though You are in me, you are also on Your throne in Heaven, interceding for us with the Father and protecting us from Satan’s wiles.

Thought for the Day:

Take some time to listen to God today. He is always within us and is only a prayer away.

Bearing More Fruit

Read: John 12:42-43 

"For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?" (1 Corinthians 4:7).

A friend told me she did not want to accept Christ in her life, because she was afraid of losing too many of her friends. I reminded her that she would gain even more and truer friends, but she was too fearful to give it a try. Another friend was afraid that God would require that he give up his self-important lifestyle and his excessive carnal desires.

All of our gifts and abilities come from God’s work in our life. He even prunes us, so that we can bear more fruit. God uses our trials to build into us the character of Christ (Romans 8:29). Our motivation in service to King Jesus comes from our love for God and not prompted by the praises of man or driven by our measure of success. God deserves all of the praise for who we are (Ephesians 2:10). When people praise our fruitfulness, we can thank them for their encouragement and give the glory to God.

Thought for the Day:

No criticism makes me less, just as no praise makes me more.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to keep You as our focus as we bear fruit for You and as You prune us to bear even more fruit.