Many of us are carrying hurts and grievances over what has happened in our lives. The great thing is that as Christians, we have the best way to deal with all of it: We can simply cast them unto the Lord and surrender ourselves into His healing embrace. Isn't that a wonderful truth?
The Bible encourages us to cast every care unto the Lord because He cares for us (see 1 Peter 5:7). He knows what happens in our lives and watches closely as these events happen.
Yet because He wants us to grow closer to Him and in the likeness of Christ, God permits us to experience hurt. In fact, it is in these hurtful moments that we get a chance to fully experience His goodness, and come to realise how loving a Father He is.
Are you hurt right now and in need of comfort? Here are some reasons why you should let go of that hurt unto the Lord.
1. God can handle our hurts better than us
If there's somebody in the entire universe that can comfort us because he has been hurt to levels beyond our imagination, it's God Himself. He was betrayed by Lucifer (who took with him many in his rebellion – see Revelation 12:4), got physically separated from Adam and Eve after the fall (see Genesis 3), and has been trying to show all men that He loves them, ultimately doing it through sending His one and only Son to die for our sins (see John 3:16). Until now, God hasn't stopped reaching out to all men (see John 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:4).
All who've been reconciled to God will know that God is immeasurably able to handle all our hurts. It was our sin that nailed Christ to the cross (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). It was our iniquity that bruised Him, and it was for our healing that He sustained those stripes (see Isaiah 53:5). Until now, Christ intercedes for us (see Hebrews 7:25). Such love!
2. God wants to comfort us
God is the "God of all comfort" (see 2 Cor. 1:3-5). Being a loving Father, He rejoices over us. In fact, the Bible says that He quiets us with His singing (see Zephaniah 3:17). He restores and refreshes our soul (Psalm 23:3). He heals us (see Exodus 15:26). All of this, God wants to do for us, simply because He loves us.
3. God wants you to experience more of His goodness
You can never see new things if you keep looking at the old. If you keep holding onto your hurts (or worse, nurse them), you'll never see God's daily-renewed mercies work every day (see Lamentations 3:22-23).
Imagine a 90kg weight in your hand. Unless you let go of that weight, you'll never be able to hold an ice cream cone, and enjoy it like a kid does. In the same way, you've got to let go of that hurt so that you can enjoy God's healing and the things that He is currently doing in your life (see Isaiah 43:18-20).
