Topic: Moving Forward [Joyce Meyer Devotional 11 February 2021]
Click HERE for Previous Devotionals
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way that you should go.— Isaiah 48:17 (AMPC)
An important aspect of the healing of our soul is finding the courage to move beyond our pain. We may not be able to avoid all the hurts we face in life, but we can decide that we won’t let them keep us from moving ahead. Sometimes when we’re deeply wounded, we are tempted for various reasons to stay stuck in the pain, even though we can see that life is moving forward all around us. We can join in and go with what’s happening now, or we can stay behind, stuck in bitterness, resentment, hard-heartedness, and pain.
There are countless reasons why people stay stuck in their pain. Maybe the wound has become their identity, or they use it to get attention. Maybe they fear they’ll fail if they try to do something new. Maybe they don’t feel strong enough to move forward, or maybe their self-image has been damaged to the point that they have no confidence in themselves and no confidence that God will take care of them if they move into something new. We can always choose to stay in our pain, but that will not lead to the good things God has for us. Jesus died to give us a life of abundance, but we can choose whether to embrace it or not. If we want what He has for us, we have to make the choice to move beyond our pain and risk following Him.
I once saw a movie about a very talented woman who suffered such deep wounds in her soul that she completely withdrew from life and from other people. After a stay in a mental health facility, she literally parked her van in someone’s driveway and lived in it for the rest of her life. The movie was a powerful picture of what can happen to people who either don’t know how to, or will not deal with their pain, leave the past behind, and move ahead.
God will never park us in our pain or leave us there, and I hope we never allow ourselves to park in it either. He is always calling us forward. He never leaves us alone to figure out how to move ahead on our own. He makes the path clear to us and leads us, as Isaiah 48:17 says, in the way that we should go. He promises to bring hope, healing, strength, and restoration to our lives if we’ll believe His Word and trust Him to lead us. Plenty of people in the Bible chose to leave their pasts behind and follow God into something new. And you can too!
Prayer Starter: Father, please help me not to park in a place of pain, but to work with You and let You heal my heart. Thank You for empowering me to move forward. In Jesus’ name, amen.