Recently I was scrolling through social media and I saw a post that reminded me of an offense that occurred in my recent past. Even though it wasn't a catastrophic, life altering event, it still hurt. Seeing this post re-triggered the pain.
For the next 24 hours I stewed silently about the post. (Okay, my brother would say ‘not so silently’, but I kept it inside of the house). Then finally the next day when I was talking to Jesus about it, He spoke to my heart and challenged me to do the things I teach others to do.
It was time for me to move beyond teaching the steps to healing and start walking them out.
That's what I did.
I asked Jesus to forgive me for being upset. (Because even though my feelings were valid, I didn't have to entertain them for a whole day).
Then I prayed for the ones who hurt me.
Finally, I did the right thing and made the encouraging comment on the post that I should have made the day before.
Truthfully, doing the right thing, following Gods plan and choosing to heal rather than wallow did make me feel better and move on.
Looking back on the situation, I'm reminded that Gods principles for healing apply no matter how large or small the offense.
Sometimes when we talk about dealing with the pain in our past we tend to gravitate toward the big things---childhood abuse or neglect, a major trauma, or an incident that shaped our lives. And while I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to heal these major events in our lives, I think we sometimes forget that some of the incidents we need to deal with are smaller and more recent.
If we bury these things, they will become the massive issues we're dealing with 20 years from now. However, if we follow the same Biblical principles of healing and cut off these issues at the root, we can prevent them from causing damage in our hearts, minds, and lives.
Just like with our physical bodies, detecting a problem and treating it early can keep us from suffering the full extent of bitterness, unforgiveness, hurt, and pain.
That's why it's so important that we know Gods principles for healing and choose to practice them in every area of our lives.
Because honestly, there will always be plenty of opportunity to be hurt and offended. Thankfully we can choose whether we linger there or progress toward healing.
Personally, I’m working toward dealing with issues as soon as they happen and not just finding healing, but also maintaining it.
