Pain hurts. It’s a disturbance or unraveling on the inside that changes us and changes our perspective in life. 

Whether it’s physical, emotional, financial, or sexual abuse; or loss, grief, abandonment, rejection, loss of self, loss of value, or betrayal – It hurts.

Your pain is real and it has an effect on you. Your pain matters because you matter. You matter!  

It’s important for you to validate your pain and acknowledge what happened and how it affected you. Processing your feelings, allowing yourself to embrace what happened instead of stuffing it down on the inside or pretending like it never happened isn’t going to open your road to healing and rebuilding.

The enemy would love for your painful moments to hold you captive and leave you living in false or negative mindsets (self talk), or leave you isolated, or leave you feeling like you will never be enough, or leave you in a state of feeling rejected.

I am so happy to tell you, you don’t have to suffer in dealing with pain. The enemy’s plan isn’t for you. We fight back by giving our pain to God and including Him on our journey. You are not alone and you can experience healing and you can move forward with strength and purpose. 

Remember, Jesus joined us in pain. He was innocent but arrested, slapped, spit on, flogged, mocked, questioned about His identity to no end, falsely accused of things He never did, betrayed by some of His own people, crucified, and publicly humiliated. There’s no one who would understand your pain better than Jesus.

Jesus’s pain or abuse didn’t stop Him from completing His mission. It didn’t stop Him from knowing the truth and standing in the Truth. He defeated abuse and pain by rising from the tomb on the third day.

Your mission and purpose is still relevant – That’s a non-negotiable. The pain and abuse you experienced doesn’t stop you from moving forward, experiencing healing, growing, and completing your assignments or purpose. 

Start somewhere with intentions to heal. Keep growing, move forward, and trust the process.

Activity:

Validate your pain. The first step to healing is seeing what needs to be healed. Whether it was abuse, neglect, grief, rejection, abandonment, treated with little value, or loss of identity – something somewhere in life caused you pain. It affected you. See that. Own that. Acknowledge that. 

1. Write down what pain you experienced
2. Write down if it was caused by someone
3. Reflect with God, how did it affect you or change you?

Wherever it changed you, that’s the root. Whatever rooted in your life is a reaction from the pain. Is the root bitter or sweet? If the root is bitter, write down what makes it taste bitter when you think about that pain or how did it become bitter in your life (what evidence of the effect is in your life?)

4. Try to flip the script and replace the bitterness with sweetness. 

• Did you learn anything from the pain that you can apply to your life?
• Can you use it for good, and help others with it?
• How can the pain be used for strength, growth, and purpose in your life? 

Prayer Challenge:

Heavenly Father, thank You for every situation You brought me to. Thank You for not allowing me to be stuck or stay stuck. Thank You for allowing me to see I am created for a reason and with purpose and I can keep moving forward in my life and keep growing. Thank You for not leaving me. Thank You for Your comfort, provision, and hope. Help me. Please keep healing me mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Help me to understand and process what I have gone through. Open me up and give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so I can learn and see how to override that wrong or offense with healing and beauty so I can walk forward in strength and victory and be a help to others. In Your Name, Jesus. Amen. 

Scriptures:

Psalm 34:18 NASB 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

John 8:36 NASB 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.