“Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
No one likes to face pain. When you live through suffering, your natural instinct is to bury the pain as deep as you can. But that is not God’s plan. What may be your natural instinct is not His. He never wastes your hurt or what you face, and He does not want you to just bury it. He longs to use the pain you experience—the things that you regret—the highs and the lows—the fears and the failures—the very things from which you want to hide—for His glory. Your pain is more than just being about you. He wants you to experience the incredible freedom that comes with the presence of His Spirit so that your healing will make a difference in the life of someone else.
Sometimes you want to hide and get away from what you face. You build a wall to protect yourself from the hurt, but building a wall doesn't protect you. It imprisons your heart. It imprisons your spirit. It imprisons healing of your own wounds and hinders God’s freedom to use you. That wall turns your heart into a heart of stone because, in closing yourself off, you have shut out His presence. But when you allow that wall of false protection to tumble down, He turns your pain into victory—not just for your benefit but so others have access to your life.
“I'll give you a new heart,” He promises, “and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). When your heart yields completely to Him it becomes one of tender spiritual flesh. It is a heart that is malleable, vulnerable, and not afraid of the pain that often accompanies healing. It is heart that is ready to face the hurt of the past or the present head-on, and allow Him freedom to do whatever is necessary. Willing to deal with whatever must be faced that heart trusts that if God has exposed the pain He is more than capable of handling all that has caused it.
What do you wish for your life? Do you wish for your life to be real, vulnerable, and willing? Do you which to experience healing of your mind—your body—your spirit so that He can use you to bring healing to someone else? The wall keeping your pain tightly in place keeps you from experiencing the freedom of His Spirit. Relinquish your wall. Open yourself to His purpose. Allow Him to heal, move, and use you as He desires. Pain you may experience in life is not meant to bury you. It is meant to make you soar.
Copyright 2017 Lynn Hampton Lacher
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