HAPPY FRIDAY!
Today’s scriptures are about the endurance through, and healing after, hard times. We all have had our share of hard times. Remember I wrote in yesterday’s devotional that "Life is just that—life"? You have to take the good with the bad, while magnifying God throughout. Jesus' sacrifice was to free us from the evil ways of the world. The difference between those of us who are in the Spirit and those who aren’t is that we have been given a Helper, as well as Jesus gives His "yoke" to help lighten our load. He said: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt 11:29).
When we're going though rough times in life, it seems like there’s no end to the suffering, but God promises that "this too shall pass". I can remember trials I've had in the past where I thought the pain would never end, but now I realize that all wounds heal. Looking at it from the inside out, sometimes it doesn’t seems that way. In my first class of Culinary school the instructor said, the one thing that’s for certain throughout this course, and your career, is that you will cut and burn yourself (some people even ended up with broken bones), but don’t allow that to discourage you, because all wounds heal. The Instructor also pointed out that if we take what we learn in school, and apply it when we’re in the kitchen, we’ll be just fine. I got through about 8 months of school with no major cuts, because I choose to drop that fear, and follow the instructors lead. They were very thorough in teaching us the proper way to hold a knife, how to tuck our fingers when cutting, and how to take precautions with hot items and while around the stoves. I saw people rushed to the emergency room with cuts and burns, mainly because they failed to follow the instructions properly.
It finally happened, my first big cut—I almost sliced the tip of my thumb off, because I wasn’t chopping my onion correctly. The strange thing was that it didn’t initially hurt, because I was already mentally prepared for it. I knew, when I went to cut the onion that way, that there was a very good chance that I might cut myself, and I took that chance. After I was cut, I simply stopped what I was doing, cleaned up and bandaged my womb, put on a plastic glove, and finished working, because I still had a job that needed to be done. We can take this same attitude with life—yes we’re going to be burned or cut with heartbreak, the death of loved one, disappointments, failures, mistakes, sickness, etc. Nonetheless, we can’t live our lives in fear, hoping to avoid these things, because they’re guaranteed to happen. The great News is God has given us the ultimate “text book” for life, which teaches us how to properly live. When we live each day in Christ, and the cuts happen, we’ll be able to bandage them with prayer, meditation on the Word of God, and by seeking Godly counsel, until the cuts heal.
When I saw that deep cut on my thumb I thought, how is this ever going to heal. After the initial day, the pain became a bit more sever, because it had started the healing process. As each day passed, the pain was less and less, I gave it the proper care, making sure I had clean bandages daily, and one day it was completely healed. Now when I look at my thumb, I have a scar, but it’s barely noticeable and I vaguely remember how the pain felt. God created us to be very resilient people, in mind, body, and Spirit. We can take a beating yet have the ability to heal to a point that we don’t remember. Before Jesus was crucified He told His disciples that He would soon die, and of course they didn’t take it too well. He told them: Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:20-22)
Jesus gave His life so that we can rejoice ALWAYS, not just when things are well. It’s important to allow the different seasons to happen in our life, including the time to allow wounds to heal. Some of us tend to pick at our scabs, which will only make the wounds worst, and leave an even larger scar. We must learn how to recognize the different wounds of life, the healing process, and most importantly how to leave it alone. The night before Jesus was killed He was being beaten badly; He had the power to stop it. He could’ve wiped everybody out, but He chose to endure it. He understood that He had to complete the will of God, and look at Him now. Jesus taught us how to see the light at the end of every dark moment, and to always hold on to that. It’s important that we practice forgiveness, and freely love without fear, just the way that He did. If you properly follow His instructions, sit back and watch Him work. One day you’ll be able to say, “Look at me now, I made it through”—that is the most awesome feeling in the world! Jesus is the way to be able to quickly heal from the bumps and bruises of life, so if you don’t know Him as Lord, please take a few moments and take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verse today is: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)
ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455611&dtype=Scripture
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I love you!
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