Moving Beyond Hurts and Pain
Isaiah 40: 28-31 read responsively, Psalter #256 of the Psalm #148 and II Corinthians 1:1-11
Celebration of our Lord’s Supper
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ May 2, 2010
May is Mental Health Month
Our Theme this year is "Mental Health and Me" Unity of Spirit
In light of our fast-paced, work-driven, capitalistic society, divine mercy is surely what we need. Just to make ends meet, many people have to work multiple jobs, and because of this burnout is possible. They are fainting, because human strength is limited. But Isaiah reminds us that we do not have to rely only on our own strength. Thank God!
28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
30Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;
31but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
II Corinthians 1:1-11
As we so often discover in ourselves, the place where we give up, where we despair of it ever coming right, that is the place where God has the opportunity of working wonders in our lives. Paul realized that he had seen God work in places that were most challenging. So he is encouraging the church in Corinth not to become discouraged and give up but to move beyond hurt and pain into God’s will. He further affirms that in shared suffering we find greater consolation.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, 4who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. 6If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering.
7Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation. 8We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, 11as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
SERMON
Paul was a power house of the Holy Spirit to grow church through out the Roman Empire. The church in Corinth was conflicted over what was the best way to follow Jesus. Nothing new about churches fighting over who has the right theology. Paul could of just used his authority as a recognized apostle of Jesus, but instead he invites the church to share in his own vulnerability and see God’s grace given to him in which they share. We too share the redemption of Jesus Christ so that no hurt, no pain is greater than his love for us. But when we are suffering the terrors of life how do we claim God’s grace in the misted of our suffering?
Gladys Famoriyo, author, speaker and coach writes that there are three steps to moving beyond your pain:
- First: accept the fact that you are hurt.
- Second: get others involved
- Third: take action.
The truth is that without the love, acceptance and forgiveness of Jesus Christ many of us may never get past the first step of accepting that we are hurt. We are in denial or we feel guilty for being hurt and other times shock and anger take over our ability to face the fact that we have been hurt. Ultimately, until we accept the fact that we are hurt, we will become stuck. It is NOT a sin to feel hurt! The Bible tells us of the times God was hurt by the behavior of His beloved people and Jesus cried over Jerusalem. So we are not alone, but in very good company to face our hurts. Our sinfulness shows with our reactions of bitterness, malice, and resentment. These rarely hurt the one to whom they are aimed, but they can surely hurt us. The greatest pain must be faced as Jesus did on the cross with love, acceptance and forgiveness.
Remember Famoriyo’s second step is to get others involved. The first person we need to invite into our suffering has to be God. Tell God about it. For healing takes place when we bring our feelings before the Great “I Am.” In God’s presence, we will know comfort, clarity, and direction. God also places people in our lives to comfort us. So, find godly, supportive, wise and trustworthy people, who are willing to listen. Notice all the criteria? The persons you confide in must fit the bill! Have you ever been in an office setting where the whole staff is in constant complaint? There is no resolution because there is no one listening with God as their guide. They hear what they want to hear and then repeat that to others to generate the anxiety on which they are feeding their hurt. Seek people who listen without trying to fix you or tell others. Seek people who will pray with and for you; who have wise suggestions but never conditions to your relationship; who love you even when you fail to change. These are the people you need involved in your journey beyond hurt and pain.
Thirdly, take action. This depends on the issue at hand. However part of your action plan will include forgiveness i.e. releasing the person(s) from your heart. This has to be a conscious effort on your part. And the truth of the matter is it may take time, depending on the cause of your hurt. The trap many of us fall into is simply saying “I forgive you” from our heads when the forgiveness has not registered in our hearts. You can tell this is the case when you see the person(s) who hurt you and something happens on the inside of you. Let’s put it this way, you are not blessing them! Remember Jesus said, “…bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6:28)
So moving beyond our hurt is a process that God takes us through. And all God desires of us is to be willing to put ourselves into His hands, so He can heal our damaged hearts. Here at the table of the Lord we can find healing beyond measure. For instead of remembering and holding onto our hurts, in the bread broken and the cup poured out we remember how much we are loved, accepted and forgiven. Open your hands, your minds, your hearts and receive God’s good gifts. Amen.
SEE: Handling Hurt: Moving Beyond Pain, May. 14 2009 By Gladys Famoriyo, Christian Post Guest Columnist www.christianpost.com/article/20090514/handling-hurt-moving-beyond-pain
