Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Wounded hearts

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me (John 14:1).

Going through an awful experience can traumatize a person. I have known people who grew up during the Great Depression and were changed by it forever. One man could not throw anything away because he learned to never waste what little you have. A woman who had next to nothing as a child is now a power shopper, always buying new things. Another man is incredibly tight with his money; even though he retired wealthy, he always looks for free lodging with relatives when he travels and constantly grumbles over the price of food if you eat out with him.

Farmers can be traumatized after experiencing a bad harvest; businessmen can feel the same kind of soul-wrenching pain after losing a job due to company reorganization. Parents can be traumatized by the death of a child. Soldiers and police officers can be scarred emotionally from being attacked or by taking the life of another in the pursuit of their duties.

Being wounded emotionally can cripple how you live your life. Even if things are going well now, there is an assumption that disaster is just waiting to strike. Some are almost frantic in their desire to squeeze pleasure from every moment before the inevitable letdown occurs; others are so fixated on guarding against future problems that they cannot enjoy the good things they have today.

The devil wants us to be negative, to expect the worst, to constantly be defensive. When pessimism about your finances keeps you from supporting the church or giving to charity, you are thinking the way that Satan wants. When you refuse to reach out to others in friendship because you expect to be hurt or taken advantage of, the great Enemy of mankind is delighted.

If you are prone to thinking negatively, if you constantly expect the worst, you need the healing touch of Jesus. Only the Son of God has the power to reach into your heart and soften what is hard with defensiveness; only the Savior can replace pessimism with optimism. Jesus will work patiently with you; all He asks is your time—time together with Him in worship, time spent speaking to Him in prayer. If you let Him, Jesus will establish a relationship with you so that your suspicious heart can grow confident in His unfailing love.

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