The Hope of Healing

When people unexpectedly attack us, betray or reject us—overtly or subtly—our souls can become so discouraged that we’re tempted to give up. To withdraw. To hold back, fearful of opening up our hearts freely, unable to understand that just because someone in our past hurt us doesn’t mean everyone in our future will. But when we invite Jesus into our messy narrative, as we tell him about our story and about all our pain, as we extend forgiveness to,…

God made us for relationships—and he made relationships for us. He created us to be connected to him and to live our lives in community with others. Despite the fractures that can occur from differences of opinion or perspective, friendship is truly one of God’s greatest gifts to us. But this journey of following Jesus means that if we are going to keep our hearts open, soft, sensitive and connected to humanity, then we must realize that we are never going to be bullet…

Victory is God’s will for the life of the believer. But sometimes we can find ourselves repeatedly falling into the same sins. As a result, our lives are marked by broken promises to end wrongdoing. We tell the Lord that we yearn to do what's right, but often our desire wanes when virtue is no longer convenient, pleasurable, or profitable. Many times, believers become angry with God for withholding the victory, but sin is always our choice—not the Lord&rsquo.…

Mistreated, Disrespected, Abused, Locked up, Violated, Rejected, Abandoned, Attacked, and Disregarded are all actions that unfortunately describe the realities countless individuals have experienced by the mistreatment of others. Over time someone who has experienced the hurt and pain from a life-altering offense could believe that the incident is now a part of their identity. Although negative things happen to people, it is not an accurate representation of who they&rsquo…

Dismayed with the Berlin Wall, the physical split of the ongoing Cold War and the repressive East German regime, Christian Führer, Protestant pastor of St Nicholas church in Leipzig, started organising prayers for peace every Monday evening, beginning in 1982. It was a bold initiative, because the Communist government strongly discouraged its citizens from being involved in religious activities. Initially, fewer than a dozen people attended the prayer meetings. Still,…

Your wounds brought messages with them. Lots of messages. Somehow they all usually land in the same place. They had a similar theme. “You’re worthless.” “You’re not a woman.” “You’re too much ... and not enough.” “You’re a disappointment.” “You are repulsive.” On and on they go. Because they were delivered with such pain, they felt true. They pierced our hearts, and they seemed so true. So…

I recently found myself in the midst of a discouraging emotional funk.  It started as an "off day" and the next thing I knew two weeks passed, full of negativity and discouragement, lacking hope and faith for the future, and I will be honest - even moments of wondering whether God could salvage anything good from my life and circumstances.  Normally, I am rather even-keeled and not prone to bouts of negativity that last more than a day.  I tried…

No matter what our position in life may be, we all at times encounter disappointment—and that can quickly lead to discouragement. Disappointment is simply an emotional response to a failed expectation or hope, whether because plans went awry or someone didn’t measure up.  But discouragement is a state of mind in which we become faint-hearted and lose confidence in God, ourselves, or others. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, its inhabitants were discouraged&mdash…

God heals the earth, and he heals us. We are restored to one another. The earth waits for our healing, and we wait for the earth’s healing. I believe our healing brings about something of the healing of the earth, and I’m certain the healed earth helps to usher in our healing. Our Enemy is the Great Divider. His most poisonous work takes place at the level of fragmentation, dividing families, churches, and fomenting racial hatred. He uses pain and suffering to…