The Confidence I Needed Had Been Restored I Never Suffered a Faint Heart Again

You lot Can't Experience His Healing if You've Never Been Injured

• Dena'south Devos
• 2016 15 Jul

The faithful love of theLordnever ends! His mercies never finish. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Lamentations 3:22-23

Accept you always awakened, your heart full of joy and anticipation of an amazing solar day? And those words just overflow from your middle and roll off your tongue?

There's zippo ameliorate than the joy of the Lord spilling out of your middle. Those days where my centre is overwhelmed with the goodness of the Lord are then precious, so beautiful.

But have you stopped to look at the context of this passage? Let's expect at some of the preceding verses:

I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come up from the rod of the Lord's anger. Lamentations 3:1

He has turned his hand against me again and over again, all mean solar day long. Lamentations three:iii

He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me with ache and distress. Lamentations 3:5

He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy bondage. And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers. Lamentations three:vii-viii

He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink. Lamentations iii:15

Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. Lamentations 3:17

Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!" The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. Lamentations iii:18-nineteen

I will never forget this awful time, every bit I grieve over my loss. Lamentations three:20

Most scholars hold that the volume of Lamentations was written past the prophet Jeremiah shortly later on the fall of Jerusalem. It was a dark menstruation in State of israel's history, a time of sadness and bang-up suffering.

And yet, Jeremiah still hoped, remembering the faithfulness of His God. His centre overflowed with God's mercies each twenty-four hour period. Despite his circumstances, He rejoiced in the goodness of God!

Doesn't that modify the way you lot see this famous passage? Then often we sing those words, proclaiming His goodness and faithfulness when life is practiced. But when life is hard? Can we still proclaim His mercies new each morn?

God has really been pounding these thoughts into my heed over the terminal 2 months. My life is hard right now. We have suffered an untimely death in our lives. And with this death, nosotros lost the hope of a beautiful future, a hereafter of relationships restored.

And notwithstanding, God was preparing me for what was coming. Just a week before this sudden death, I happened across Hosea 6. The words pierced my soul.

He has torn united states to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured u.s.; now he volition cast our wounds. Hosea six:1

God shouted at me, "You tin can't feel my healing if you have never been injured!"

It seems to be a recurring theme in my life right now. I find myself looking at the hurting around me, the darkness that engulfs our lives. And I rejoice! I have learned that if nosotros never experienced the pain and darkness, God would never have opportunity to show His bang-up love to us.

I accept seen it as I've walked this journey with my Savior. It'southward a wonderful feeling to wake upward with joy and expectation and to sing praises to God. But how much sweeter to observe joy and peace in the midst of my pain. How much more than precious is His love during those times of anguish and bitterness of soul. How much greater our testimony to the world around u.s.a. to walk through the hurting of this life proclaiming the goodness of our Father.

Every bit I look back over my life, I treasure the painful times. The time when I ran from Him in my anger and thwarting and He pursued me relentlessly until I surrendered. The time when I suffered through the painful rejection of my husband and He scooped me up and loved me when I felt unlovable. The fourth dimension when I suffered through financial devastation and He lovingly cared for my every need. The time when I thought my life was over and He restored me and gave me far more than I ever could take imagined.

Those are the times I knew the goodness of my Father, the times of immense pain. Those are the times when I saw my faith abound, through the painful trials of this life. Those are the times when I was forever changed, when I saw the goodness of my Male parent.

And those are the times that requite me the confidence in my Savior to proclaim, "The faithful beloved of theLordnever ends!His mercies never stop. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."

I accept learned that when life gets hard, I tin know His goodness and His grace.

Lord Jesus, I thanks for the trials of this life, for the hard times. I thank yous for allowing united states to exist broken so you tin can heal us. I thank yous for the injuries we experience so you can bandage our wounds. I cheers that even in the midst of our greatest pain, nosotros tin can know that your faithfulness never ends, that your mercies are new every morning. May your praise ever be on my lips for great is your faithfulness!

Dena Johnson is a busy single mom of three amazing kids. Her greatest desire is to use her darkest days—days marred by adultery and divorce—to encourage others to observe the joy of a life restored by Jesus Christ.

Dena is the founder of Dena Johnson Ministries, a not-profit arrangement with a mission of bringing hope to lives broken by the pain of this world. Her first book, Picking Up the Pieces: Rebuilding Your Life Later on the Storms of Adultery and Divorce, will be released later this twelvemonth.

In her spare time, Dena works as a Registered Nurse and is a regular correspondent at Crosswalk.com. If you would like to contact Dena, please experience free to interact with her on her blog Dena Johnson Ministries or e-mail her at Dena@denajohnson.com.

Publication appointment: July 15, 2016

caudlebegovere.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/you-cant-experience-his-healing-if-you-ve-never-been-injured.html