In a recent video, I discussed the difficulty of dealing with and overcoming church hurt. Check it out here:
I was blown away by the number of people who reached out to me and told me that they experienced church hurt too. This reminded me of how we're all faced with obstacles that we will need God's help to overcome. In life, you will face hardships— there is no way around it. Maybe you lost your job and you are not sure how you will provide for your family. Or perhaps you said yes to a few too many things and you can not figure out how you are going to do them all. Or maybe you lost the person that you shared everything with and you begin to think; what do I do now?
Thankfully, as believers, overcoming obstacles is a part of our spiritual DNA in Christ Jesus. There is no way that I would have been able to overcome the church hurt that I experienced without God's overcoming power.
The Bible reminds us in 1 John 4:4 that we are overcomers and that greater is He that is within us than he who is in this world. This means that no matter what life throws at us, we can make it through it. What a powerful revelation! This is the same revelation that:
Daniel had when he overcame the lion's den ( Daniel 6:23)
The three Hebrew boys had when they overcame the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:25)
Joseph had when he overcame been thrown in the pit by his brothers (Genesis 37:24)
Jesus had when he overcame the cross ( Luke 24:6-7)
We can overcome because Jesus overcame. This is our hope and confidence — that we have a God that not only cares, but we have a God who also understands exactly what we are going through. So the next time you are feeling discouraged, remember these comforting words of Jesus, " Lo I am with you always even to the end of the earth." (Matthew 28:20b)
As always, stay rooted in God.
Powerful!!!