Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! Isn’t God good? He has given us another day to live and move and have purpose. Unless you started very early…the day ahead is like a blank sheet to fill with whatever words, pictures, or designs that capture your attention. What a challenge! I will be praying for you today, asking Father to infill you with his Spirit.
I have been aware of an insidious strategy of the enemy for a time, but he seems to be using the strategy with increasing regularity. The strategy is this: to prompt people who need love, understanding, and help from others to refuse to accept it as the gift of love it was meant to be. Sometimes this refusal is firm and gentle, sometimes it is belligerent and rude, and sometimes it is a proud indifference. Whenever this strategy is implemented people are hurt and disillusioned, both the giver and the receiver..
It is a very complicated issue. How do you love and serve someone who refuses it, denies their need of it? We certainly know what it feels like it when we are turned away, but I am not sure we consider what we are doing when we are the one turning away another. Part of the root cause comes from the ‘woundedness’ we carry from past experiences. As one person says, “we accept the love we think we deserve” Stephen Wesley. Could that be it? Somewhere in our past somebody said something, did something, or didn’t say/do something…and we decided we weren’t worthy and didn’t deserve. This created a memory that has been perpetuated over the years…and we won’t or can’t let somebody love us.
Another person writes: “you can’t reach for anything new if your hands are full of yesterday’s junk” Louise Smith. I understand that in the realm of emotional healing practices there is a growing awareness of the need for and the effectiveness of “Spirit” … that is the preferred way of saying we need the transformative power of God through the Holy Spirit. It seems the traditional methodology of rehashing the past and re-visiting those painful moments …again and again …does not do what is expected or anticipated. It does not build up, but rather, slowly erodes self-image and self-worth. In the Christian church we have been guilty, I think, of trying to empower people without building the foundation of interdependence. We need each other. We need to serve one another which means that there will be times when we need to allow someone to serve us. In the New Testament there are at least 39 verses that carry the “one another” message” and that means we will be ‘givers and takers’. I believe that is the way it is supposed to work
In the act of being a servant at one time and being the one served at others, I believe we will deal with the issue of personal value and worth. As we do that we will deal with the ‘woundedness’ that was introduced into our lives by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. Hear these words: Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 The Message. I have a belief that when Jesus said…you shall love your neighbour as you love yourself…he was making a definitive statement about emotional health…we can only love someone as much as we accept, we are worthy of love. Let me encourage you…accept love from the people around–for it is the invisible God using visible people. Don’t stop God from loving you! He says you are worthy and valuable!
Be blessed!