“Always a fighter.
Never a victim.”
Last
Saturday I was having another itch for a tattoo. Obviously, this comes as no
surprise to many that truly know me. Instead this tattoo was different the
meaning was a little bit more intense it’s one that I have been wanting for
about a year or two, but I couldn’t grab the confidence to believe that I was a
fighter so Instead I played the victim role. Well, not anymore!
Sometimes, well, maybe a lot of the
time, I allowed my wounds to define me. What has been done to me in the past,
circumstances, or what I did to myself that has led to such an incredible amount
of pain. So often, I fell into this trap not even realizing it. I go through
pain in my life, and I hold on to it- keeping it for a rainy day.
I had come to love my little collection of
hurts and wounds so I can feel like a special case because of the injustice
that has been done to me.
Lately, I have realized that there
a two different kinds of people in the world. There are those who instinctively
look for every chance to be a “Victim”
and those who look for every chance to rise above- regardless of where they are
in life and what’s happening around them.
I am
about to tell you something that I have been constantly learning
You can NOT be defined by Jesus AND your
past.
There is nothing wrong with
learning a good life lesson from your past. That is part of your life it is what
makes you who you are. Honestly, your past may have made you better, wiser or a
stronger person. However, if you are still holding onto that pain, then it has
defined you. People tend to hold onto their past so hard that their hands start
to bleed from the grip- I know was! I think one of the most hardest thing in
the world to do is to forgive people who have hurt you the most. Some people
would rather die than truly forgive another. Seriously, if they had a choice
between forgiving someone who has wronged them and death, they would go ahead
and order their casket right then and there. Why? Well, that’s a good question.
I believe it is because they have let it come to define them. They have let it
sit at the very core of who they are.
Even
the smallest amount of bitterness in our lives hold us back from having a
vibrant relationship with Jesus.
We all know people who are bitter, and who have held on to
certain injustices for years and years, and it is not pretty, and let me tell
you it is definitely not a picture of who Christ is. Please let me be clear
with whoever is reading this; I am not oversimplifying your pain. I know so
many of us carry around baggage from the past, and it affects the way we view
ourselves on a daily basis. The world tells us that we need to “take some time
for you… focus on you.. Do what you need to do. Satisfy your own needs and
wants.” While that sounds good and let me tell you I have done that so many
times. I have also realized that focusing on ourselves will never lead us to a
place of true healing or freedom from the pain that controls us.
Matthew 11:28 “Come
to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
From experience, when we focus on ourselves, our problems
only grow larger, and we are left with nothing to defend against them. And just rotting in our own self pity
I could recall some many stories of friends, mentor and
leaders who have been wounded, but chose not to focus on themselves, but rather
than the prize that awaited them in eternity. My favorite hymn is the Old
Rugged Cross. There, the sinless, spotless Son of God was tortured and murdered
for sin He did not commit. There, the greatest injustice of all time was served
up to a Savior who simply said, “father, forgive them.” There, love was given
in the place of judgment, and mercy instead of justice
That’ll preach forever.
I feel like that makes any injustice I have been served and
even you have been served just seem so freaking small. Jesus was served the
greatest injustice of all by our own two freaking hands. He paid the price and penalty
of our sin and took our very pain so that we can be defined by His
righteousness, and yet, he still allows us to come to Him and lay our burdens
at His feet.
I
encourage you tonight if you are carrying wounds that have yet to be mended,
come to Christ and allow Him to heal your heart and make you new. If there are
people you need to forgive, ask Him daily for the grace and strength needed to
do just that. If you are under a persecution, let today be the day you shake
off your self-obsessive, self-defeating. Self-inflicted drama and embrace your
God-given power to be a “more than conquer.” Receive His ability to recover and
achieve and move forward to the Kingdom of God.
Because, guess what….. it’s not about you
I am thanking the Lord for every blessing and every trial!
Because, once we walked away from our pain, He is always there to
supply everything we need to walk the narrow path.
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