One of the ways the Holy Spirit moves is by using stories that we can relate to. Stories in the Word. Stories in the lives of others. Stories we hear from others. I guess God loves a good story. He understands that life is a story and it is one worth telling.

When I read about the crucifixion of Christ in the Word I can hardly get through it. I can read and try to imagine the physical pain and anguish he consumed, but I haven’t had a lot of physical pain in my life so it’s harder for me to understand it in the core of my soul. I am actually pretty grateful for this. But when I read of his death and the road to Calvary I can hardly contain how his emotional anguish pierces me. The scorn, the ridicule, the rejection.

When you experience abuse at a young age it sort of sticks with you a bit and serves as a filter for every relationship and experience. When you’ve had a fair amount of abuse you shut down on the inside. I did that one for a lot of years. Shutting down. You wouldn’t have known I was shut down outwardly. I was a nice person (maybe a little more cynical and sarcastic back then), I seemed to be well liked by many, but on the inside I was petrified of people. I didn’t dare let them into my heart. I had no idea I was doing this, it was all subconscious. I did not give myself permission to bond.

But God is so good and so kind. He began to speak to my soul and tell me how much I was adored and He took His time with it. He understood I wasn’t going to change overnight. He knew He would have to walk with me a bit in order for me to grasp and understand that He was in it with me—for the long haul. I guess it’s like watering a field of hard soil and tiling it until it becomes soft, workable, playable, ready. The human heart is so much the same. When a person has been hurt, especially at a young age, it hardens them a bit for preservation purposes. The remarkable thing God taught me through all of His tender mercies and attention, is that I was not only deeply loved and wanted, but I wanted to love others as Christ had loved me. Because I am extremely/sensitive tender hearted, that’s how God speaks to me. So, in turn, that’s how I speak to others. That’s how I want to speak to others so they can feel a measure of what great love God wants to speak to them, too.

Satan will always attack you hardest in the areas of your greatest vulnerability and ability. He will hit your Calling hard. The very thing that gives you the most heartache and pain is probably linked to the area God wants to cultivate and use you for.

Have you struggled with emotional pain? Have you been abused? Did you think it was all your fault? Well, it’s not. Abuse is abuse and it comes from a hurting world. The abuser hurts just as much as the abused. God loves us all regardless of our past, our present our circumstances. He is a Mighty Healer. He is Mighty to save. He is able to deliver. Take a moment today to thank Him for your trials. I know that sounds outrageous. Thank God for pain? Grab hold of a “It is well with my soul” mindset. We may not ever know why bad things happen to good people or why we walk through the difficulties we do. But God knows the greater inside us all. He is ready and able and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Prayer:

“Dear Lord, It is well with my soul. Whatever the Lord wills to be will be. It was never up to me. I trust you completely. Amen”

God says to you now, “I will be the greatest cheerleader of your life, even when you put me on the sidelines.”

God is with you friends, even when it hurts. Even when you cannot see Him. Even when....even when....

Be blessed today. God’s got good, good things to say about you.

~Nicole

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18