Stop Blaming the Slide
I am glad to see my teens still running to my wife or I when they have a scrap, cut, or what they used to call, “a boo boo”. I guess even with older children it sparks something inside me to be able to comfort them, ease their pain, and apply some sort of a band-aid or protection. Call it the parenting instinct, love, or whatever you want, I believe it is something built into each of us with children.
Just as we are glad to see our children come to us with their “boo boos”, I am confident God feels the same compassion for us when we take our scraps and pains to Him. I believe He welcomes us, requests us to come to Him, and is waiting to embrace us, but we are many times reluctant to enter into this healing grace.
Why? I think most times because we want to figure out how we got hurt, why we got hurt, or we want revenge and retribution in the situation. This is like a child falling off the slide wanting to know why he fell, how he fell, and then wanting the slide disassembled… really, the best thing for the child is to accept the injury, attend to the injury, and move on.
What does this tell us?
Stop trying to figure out how and why you got hurt. In spite of what you might believe, your pain is not unique at all. You may not like this, but in what you believe to be a unique situation to your life and something you may be the only one to endure, it really does not matter if you were right or wrong or even did anything at all.
Ouch! How careless of me to make such a statement? I’m just sharing my own revelation. I think it is time to put on my big boy pants and stop whining about the big bad slide that hurt me. How I got hurt no longer matters; what matters is my willingness to move on in God and trust His grace in my life.
God even tells us we should not be surprised that we must endure some pain. Hello! Whether you know God or not, you are still going to encounter situations and trials in life – it is part of living. Nowhere in Scripture is there a promise for believers that we will be free from hurts, pains, or sufferings. In fact, we are told in 1 Peter 4:12-13 not to be surprised when it happens.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
In many cases, we are hurt because we tried to be honest in a situation and it was turned against us. I mean, whenever I have been hurt by my own dishonesty (aka. justifying a wrong decision or reacting wrong), it seemed I learned from the experience, recognized I deserved the outcome no matter how I tried to justify it, and dealing with the results was not a long lasting pain or injury. In those situations, I learned to make better decisions and move on.
The problem is dealing with the instances when I was hurt doing something right, something honest, something sincere, serving what I believed to be the will of God, or serving out of love. Now, we are talking pain and I want the slide disassembled! (Big boy pants, Glenn… big boy pants.)
I think we are called to lay off the guilt trips and the whole holding grudges attitude, which only waste our time, causing the pain to linger, and exhausts us. We can stop condemning ourselves or trying to figure out someone else to blame… neither will bring healing to the situation, and the slide will never get disassembled.
Just as my children still come to my wife and I when they are hurt, the Lord calls us to run to Him when we are hurt, as He calls us in Matthew 11:28-30.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Isn’t it time to stop whining? Isn’t it time for you to stop looking at the slide or thinking about the situation that hurt you and instead focus on the One who can bring you healing? I know I am tired and ready to focus on Him.
Pray with me: “Lord, I am sorry for waiting so long to bring You my pain and hurt. I am sorry for holding a grudge for so long or thinking I am so unique You could never understand my situation. I am tired of whining about it. I am tired of the hurt and unforgiveness. I am tired of the pain. Forgive me. I ask You for Your healing and restoration. I give You this pain. I give You this hurt. I give You that situation weighing heavily on me. Now, I know I am going to be tempted to take it back from You, so I also ask You for the strength to leave it in Your hands. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.”
Contact me if you want help with this prayer or if you want to discuss this issue.
Glenn Sasscer
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