Christian Living
Have you ever noticed that when you cry it is hard to see anything clearly? You may know what you are looking at, but what you see is blurry and distorted. Much the same way, the pains of our pasts blur our ability to see Christ. You know He’s there, and you see a familiar blur, but not the Truth of who He is.
The solution to the problem is to work through the pains of your past and claim God’s promises to you in Christ. That sounds simple, but it can be among the hardest things you will ever do.
When I first began to work through some of the pain of my childhood, Jesus was a blur in my vision. I recognized Him, but I couldn’t really see all that He is.
The only examples I had as a child were an abusive father and a passive mother. While I knew the love God had for me, I continued to put Him and His love for me into the box that had defined every relationship I had ever known.
It wasn’t until after Christ claimed my heart in my late 20s that I began to understand the depth of the pain I had harbored in my soul. God began to reveal more of Himself to me, but the pain distorted who He was in my mind. Until the veil that kept me from seeing myself through His eyes was lifted, I was unable to see the truth of who God is.
I understood grace, but it was only meant for my salvation. I was meant to be content in my salvation and not ask for anything more from God in my life. That is what I told myself, but I wasn’t content. Things were blurry and distorted, and I didn’t understand why Scripture talked so much about the fulfillment of God’s promises to us, but they didn’t apply to me.
As I asked God to reveal more and more of Himself to me, He began to reveal more of my heart to me as well.
He taught me that the distance between us was due to the fact that I was holding on to the pains of my past. He brought me to my knees to show me how much He loved me. He showed me how desperately I had been attempting to push Him away because what I could see of Him was not the reality of who He is.
Recently, during a particularly stressful time in my life, my pastor sat me down and challenged me to claim God’s promises. I’ve been a believer for 10 years, and I knew of many promises, but claiming them and living in them was something foreign and blurry to me.
I gathered a collection of verses that told of God’s promises. The first promise that grabbed my attention was that God promises to be my deliverer.
I had definitely never claimed that promise before, and I wanted to know if it really could be applied to me. John 8:32 says, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (NKJV) That brought questions to my mind. Does the word “truth” here mean that I shall know the truth of the things that have hurt me and shall be set free from that, or does it only mean that I shall know the truth of who Christ is and that is what shall set me free? I have been certain of my freedom in Christ for many years, but I have not clung to it. I have not claimed it as a promise made to me and lived my life in the freedom it provides.
In pondering that question, God revealed to me that the answer to both of my questions is “Yes!” Not only am I free in Christ and assured of the salvation He purchased for me, but realizing the truth of my past, which I had ignored and minimized for years, will allow me to be free. Too many times we hide from the things that hurt in order to avoid the pain. That pain and hiding keep us from seeing the whole reality of God.
The prophetic words of Isaiah say this of the coming Christ: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” (Isaiah 61:1, NKJV). Believer, He came to heal your broken heart and to set you free from the bondage in your life. Sometimes the bondage and broken hearts are created by circumstances beyond your control, but many times the breaking of the bonds and the healing of the broken hearts are things you refuse to do because you feel unworthy. Christ thought you were worthy enough to die for. Why do you argue with the one who purchased you?
Like many other believers, I lived far too many years seeing God through the blur of the tears caused by my past. I was not seeing who He really is-my deliverer. The God whom I had always known only as my Savior removed the blurring tears to show me that He is also my deliverer from the pains of the world, and that not even the depths of the pains of my past are deep enough to keep me away from the love of my God. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:38, 39, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NKJV) Look at these words afresh and claim God’s promise to deliver you from everything that attempts to keep you from Him. If you ask, He will. But be prepared for a struggle that will cause you to depend solely on Him. In your weakness, you will be made strong.
The next time you find yourself seeing God through tear-filled eyes, take a moment to immerse yourself in the promises in His Word, and let Him dry the tears that keep you from seeing the Truth of who He really is.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
Congratulations! This has been chosen to be highlighted on the Message Boards in the Cheering Section. You can see it by clicking here: FaithWriters Jewel Chest
Very, VERY powerful, and such an important, Spirit-filled message for all of us. Thank you.
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 755 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Betty Hanks or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 755 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.