Seven Ways to Heal and Be Real
I’m anti-gossip and pro-Gospel. So I’ll share my story carefully: Recently, someone totally slapped my soul…for sharing Jesus and praying. And the person concluded it with a creepy smiling mask of love. My face burned with heartache and my stomach flipped with emotion. But Jesus soothed me. He even allowed me to love and extend kindness.
Think my situation sounds hurtful? Well, imagine forgiving a cruel Nazi who helped murder your family. That’s what Corrie ten Boom did – with the power of Jesus coursing through her.
“For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.” (Tramp for the Lord, 1974)
The answer to a hate encounter is not to question God’s love. Experience a love encounter with Jesus. He knows everything about us and loves us with unparalleled passion.
In the inspiring book He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen, God’s love leaps off the page:
He does love you more deeply than you’ve ever imagined; he has done so throughout your entire life. Once you embrace that truth, your troubles will never again drive you to question God’s affection for you or whether you’ve done enough to merit it. Instead of fearing he has turned his back on you, you will be able to trust his love at the moments you need him most. You will even see how that love can flow out of you in the strangest ways to touch a world starved for it.
Refresh Buttons to be Real and Heal
1. Download this into your heart: God boundlessly loves you. Feast on Jesus’ love.
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (I John 4:9-11)
2. Some Christians need to be put to sleep. Don’t fall off your chair! I’m not talking euthanasia. I’m talking about some good, old-fashioned sleep. A lot of problems result from physical neglect.
3. Jesus wants us to rest in Him and get away from crowds, yet stay connected with our local churches. I’m talking balance, friends. Balance. If the scale on your life suddenly appeared in 3-D in front of you, what would it look like? Would it point to “heavy burn-out” or “balanced and peaceful”?
4. Replace lust with love. Lust is “overwhelming desire” that counteracts and contradicts God’s calling on our lives. It’s like acid; it eats the soul. But love feeds the soul.
5. You can never overeat on Jesus’ all-you-can-eat buffet. Spend time feasting on His Word and chatting with Him. Alcohol won't make life better. Overeating won't do the trick. Today, let Jesus feed and water your soul with His love.... He alone grants supernatural strength, hope, joy, and so much more! (I know it: He’s done it for me in spite of tragedies.)
6. Remember: You’ll be rewarded in Heaven. Eternity in Heaven far surpasses the Earth factor. When people resist you, they resist Jesus in you. Consider it a good sign if you’ve gotten slapped by hypocrites. That means you’re really living like Jesus.
7. Raise the praise! Even if you feel like a total nutcase, stop what you’re doing right now. (Yes, right now.) We often forget blessings and focus on burdens. Could you name a blessing? Exclaim aloud Psalm 106:1:
"Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."
Hey, the more you learn about people, the more you love what you learn about Jesus. (I heard you say, “Totally!”) Often, we act like wounded puppies who snap at helping hands. We need to relax and allow Him to work in our hearts. How do we love the unlovables? Jesus. How do we love the unlovely? Jesus. How do we love the unloving? Jesus.
Like Corrie ten Boom, let’s keep up looking up. Let’s apply the Word to the world instead of the world to the Word. While loving on us, He uses a combo of time and His timeless truth to heal us. Let’s receive His love and love! (Meet the true-blue, loving Jesus.)
Wait a sec...Jesus has a message for you:
"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21)
Be real with Him. He’ll be real with you. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves you.
