Hello everyone! Today’s blog is going to be full-on encouragement! I can’t help but share with you what Jesus has done for me and what He wants to do for you too! Be blessed!
I have been thinking about all the healing the Lord has done in my life, from after my marriage ended, through grief and up to this point. He has healed me from so much pain and the effects of many lies I took on as a teen. My heart was weighted down for many years. Over these past few weeks, I have written many blogs about my healing journey. *I wrote a book about my marriage experience as it relates to abuse, mental illness, suicide, healing and the power of God’s love called The Road Less Traveled: A Story of Love, Pain, Hope and Everything In-Between. I have tried to relate my healing journey to you as best I can in these last few years. Looking back, I can tell you one thing I have not emphasized enough and it is most important: no matter what you have been through or what you are going through now and no matter what you have done: Jesus is not mad at you! He wants to heal you too! He is not afraid or your pain or the ugliness in your heart. He can handle it far better than you!
I can tell you from experience that pain and the lies we believe are sent to do two things: steal time, money and resources from our lives, and kill us. If you don't think pain or the lies you have believed can affect you for years or even kill you, think again. Lies and pain are subtle. They don’t advertise themselves, not even in other people. I lived most of my life with a few lies that shaped many of my decisions and attracted certain types of people, particularly men. Additional pain from a bad marriage (I chose b/c of lies) did not help this, in fact it reinforced the lies. I am just now free of those lies and that pain. It took over 20 years because I did not know those lies were there! The heart is a deep place where we can hide and tuck away many things, things that are not good for us. You must get to a place where you want to be free and you want Jesus to search the most hidden and frightening places of your heart. Once you are there, it's going to hurt and it's going to be hard, but you won't be alone. Once you are free you will never want to go back to that type of ignorance within yourself. Do the hard work, do the heart work with Jesus. Do you want to run and hide for the rest of your life? I’ve practiced a lot of running and hiding, it doesn’t work! It just hurt me more and hurt others too. Do you want to be angry for the rest of your life? Do you want to be afraid for the rest of your life? Do you want to be on this pain merry-go-round the rest of your life? That is not abundant living my friends! That is just existing! We were made for better than just existing!
It’s time for you to try something different. It’s time for you to look up! It’s time to let go! It’s time to find out who you really are and take off all the masks. I’ve worn phony masks, they don’t last. I’ve held onto things, ideas, and people I needed to let go of before they killed me spiritually or even physically. All the mask wearing and holding on just wore me out! I could not do it anymore and I wasn’t going to try. I finally let go in my own life and I am so glad I did! Jesus caught me and He healed my heart, even to its very depths. I am completely free! It’s time for you to be free too! He died so you can be free! It does not get better than the Person who made you also died for you so He could live again and heal you! Jesus wants to make you fully alive as He is alive!
John 10:10; the Passion translation: A thief (lies, pain, people used to bring those things into our lives) has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I (Jesus) have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!
Abundant life is for you and me! This is the life I wanted and have now! This is the only life I will accept. This is the only life that matters. This is the life He will give to you if you will but ask and let Him heal you.
Living in freedom,
Elizabeth
P.S. I’m going to say it again. Jesus is not mad you. He loves you! He already knows about the pain and lies in your heart anyway. He is the only one who can fix your heart and make it whole. No person, substance, job, amount of money, social media accounts, accolades, rewards or titles can do that for you. He is the only One!
*You can find my book The Road Less Traveled: A Story of Love, Pain, Hope and Everything In-Between on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes and Audible.com