God's Response to Your Hurt

We tend to let the mirror and other people determine some of our value and self-worth. Some struggle with this more than others. God wants us to find ourselves in Jesus Christ. There are some very cruel people in this world. Some people don't even think twice about making fun of someone else on any number of things. We've all experienced it. And cruel comments about one's looks can hurt very bad. God alone knows just how you are effected by the ugly things others may say about you. The girl that lived across the street from me was just a year younger. She and I grew up together. We were great friends during our early childhood years. She was born on Halloween and was thin. When she and I would get into a fight, she would call me "fatty" and I would call her "toothpick witch". She was just as hurt by my comment as I was by hers. Of course we would always make up and life would return to normal. There are people who lash out when angry and say things they don't mean, that are hurtful, but there are also people out there who will make comments for no other reason than to be cruel because they see it as funny. I know a woman who, like so many of us, struggles with her weight. She has two dogs. She was out walking her dogs and a car full of guys drove by and stuck their heads out the window and started shouting very hurtful things to her. Not only did they say hurtful things about her but even made ugly comments about one of the dogs. When she told me, it broke my heart and made me angry. I know the pain because it has happened to me more times than I can count through the years. Can you relate? Is there something about you that people make fun of or that you are sensitive about? We all know of children who get made fun of in school just because they wear glasses. Kids get made fun of for their weight and even for how their hair looks or the clothes they wear. And kids get made fun of for being smarter than the average classmate. My niece, Casey, was talking recently about a girl from her school that was always considered the oddball. She was very good at Karate. She was also a child of God, a servant of Jesus Christ and not ashamed of it. Casey said that this girl was teased unmercifully and never lashed back. This precious girl stayed quiet about it, just like Jesus did when He was reviled. Casey is now 31. She recently talked to the girl and found out that this poor girl suffered terribly. As a child of God now herself, it broke Casey's heart, and she so lovingly reached out to this girl, just as her Lord would have her do. But don't you know that God was holding this girl so tight all through those years, and even still? In my junior high there was a faimily that was obviously poor. This boy, when asked where his mom shopped for his clothes, always told the truth and admitted that they were bought at a discount store that nobody else shopped at, or at least wouldn't admit to shopping at. And he was teased so bad. I never teased him myself but I laughed when someone else did. I never once stood up for him. I know he must have been so very hurt by this but he always kept such a sweet loving smile on his face. God cared about him. We didn't but God did. My son Joshua was always different from the other kids and never had many friends. He came home from school more times than I can count with a broken heart over how he was treated by others. He had so many terrible things done to him by other kids. He would come home and the pain in his eyes would tear me up. I went for years and years wanting to get my hands around every neck that hurt him. Remember I didn't get saved until he was 22. I wanted to hurt badly, every single one of them. He had the most degrading things done to him through the years. And even in adulthood it continued for him. On his 20th birthday he went to the house of someone he really didn't know because there was a party going on. He was sitting outside on the curb when the kid who lived at that house (this kid was a few years younger) came up behind Joshua and swung a baseball bat as hard as he could at my son's head. He busted Joshua's head wide open and Joshua spent his 20th birthday in the emergency room. As I stood by his bedside, the tears that were flowing from my son's eyes were not that of physical pain. There was no anger, and I don't remember there ever being anger. It was heartbreak. He couldn't for the life of him understand why. He didn't even know this boy. And when the boy was later questioned about it, he said that he really didn't know why he did it. That night I experienced tremendous grief for my son. And by the way, that family didn't even pay the hospital bill. The father refused and Joshua just dropped it. Another time when a boy hit Joshua in the face, he came home and through tears asked me how someone could have such an evil heart to want to ball up their fists and hit another human being in the face. I told him that it was something I would never understand.
There is so much pain and heartbreak that people suffer at the hands and mouths of others. No matter your age, you may be suffering even now from what others say about you or do to you. I know I have always been sensitive to other's opinions of me. And you may be also. No matter what the topic, it can be very hurtful to hear what others say about you. But I want you to know beloved, that you have to turn it over to God. He has an opinion about you. And that opinion comes from a perfect Person. He is good. He is all good. He is holy. He is truth. His truth is the only truth that matters. He wants you to bring every ounce of your pain, all of your hurt and confusion, and tell Him about it. You may have some wonderful person in your life to talk to and that is great. It's important to have someone to share your heart with. But know that if you're not sharing your heart with your Creator, you are missing the most wonderful relationship you could ever have. It is first and foremost the most important relationship you will have on this earth. Run to Jesus. He is waiting for you with arms wide open. He cares about every single thing that you are going through, no matter what your age. Pain in every form is something that will never be outgrown. It is a fact of life here in this fallen world. But pain is one of the catalysts God uses to draw us to Himself. He is calling you and He wants you to come to Him. He wants to save you from your sin. He wants you to confess your need for a Savior and ask Him to forgive you and to come into your life. He is faithful. He will save you. And once you belong to Him, you will never again be alone in anything this life throws at you. You will have a Savior who will hold you so close and will never leave you, never forsake you. And although being a child of God doesn't mean that the pain and troubles will go away, it means that He will be there with you through every single one of them. He will be your Rock and Strong Tower. He will be your Brother and your Friend. You will then be able to always and forever cry out to God and call to Him "Abba, Father"!! He loves you so very much. He's waiting for you even now. Come to the foot of the cross and give yourself to Him. Fall into His loving arms and He will hold you forevermore!