We have all had pain in our lives that has been hard to let go, preventing us from being men and women after God’s own heart. The question is, “Are we going to trust God with this pain of our hearts or are we going to hold on to it for dear life?”
This question was one that lingered in my friend Sarah’s mind for many years. When she heard this song for the first time, she had been struggling to let go of a pain from the past. She had let it define her in many ways. When this incident happened in late 2010, she had tried to move past it through surrendering it to God. However it never seemed to go away, and she resigned herself to believing that it would always be a part of her.
When she heard this song 8 years later, God met her in a special way. Chills came over her, as she felt God was asking her to release this pain that had now become a part of her story. She doubted that it was possible and was afraid of what it would mean to be a part of her life no longer. Yet, God spoke to her and told her to trust Him, that He would fill the void of her heart.
Sarah’s story reminds me of a story in John 5. Jesus was in Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals and met a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. He was lying beside a pool called Bethsaida where many disabled people thought there were healing properties in the water. Jesus, upon learning of his condition, asked him: “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6 NIV).
It is a question that seems to have an obvious answer to us. We say to ourselves, “Of course, the man wanted to be made well.” However, Jesus knew he didn’t need just a healing of his body--but of his heart. Jesus knew his heart needed to be made right with God before his legs could be healed.
The man offered excuses about why he couldn’t be healed, when Jesus simply said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!” ( John 5: 9 NIV). He was healed, and he picked up his mat and walked. The healing of his legs were just an outward demonstration of the healing God did in his soul.
What pain are you holding onto that is hindering you from living life to the fullest? Will you give it over to Him so that you may be well, and grow closer to the God who wouldn’t let you go? If you give your pain over to him, you will find that God will fill the void of your heart. You will find healing and restoration in Him that you can’t find in the things of this world.
Let us move today to a place of deeper trust in Him, so that God can do his work of healing in us. We will then come to a place of fearlessness and trust in the One who wouldn’t let us go.
Prayer: God, we are in need of your transformative touch in our lives. We are caught in the pain of our past and don’t know if we will ever recover from it.. We want to trust You with our pain, but we think the pain will forever be a part of us and our story. Yet, if we are still enough we can hear God saying to us, “ I won’t let you go, my beloved child. You can trust me. I am big enough to handle your doubts and fears. I just want you to see that I am making the broken pieces of your life into something beautiful.” God, we receive your transformative touch today and in the days to come. We know you can use it to help others move from fear to trust in the One who wouldn’t let them go. In your glorious name, we pray, Amen!!
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