She said God wanted to heal my past hurts and use my pain to comfort others with the same hope He’d give me. But I didn’t want anyone to know about the pain of my past. I didn’t want to talk about it or deal with it. I was ashamed of it and wanted it to go away.
There were obviously things I needed to deal with, but I was afraid I’d fall apart or slip back into a depression if I let it all surface. I also feared people would feel sorry for me or judge me.
What about you? Where has your heart been and what you have been through? Are there things you’ve done or things done to you that have left you feeling hopeless?
Although we can’t go back and change the circumstances or relationships that have wounded us, we can go back and process the pain with Jesus. In fact, we won’t move forward with God until we do.
Left unresolved, the pain from yesterday will keep us from having confident hope for tomorrow. Yet, with Jesus, we can find the fullness of Healing — the restoration of Hope. But it’s not something we can hurry through. It’s a journey. Here is part of the process God used in my life (that I share in Chapter 4). I’m praying it will help be the same for you:
- First, ask God to show you the broken places in your past you have carried into your future.
- Then, make a time line of your life with key events, and write down any painful emotions and memories.
- Next, ask the Holy Spirit to remind you where you have been, what those experiences and relationships have caused, how far from God they took you, and how they hurt you and others.
One of the first places God showed me that needed healing and hope was my marriage. Sadly, after about seven years, I started feeling a lot of anger and developing a critical spirit towards my husband. As I went through this process, the Holy Spirit showed me that years of disappointment as a child who in a broken home with a broken heart had led to loss. I had never grieved the happily-ever-after I longed for but didn’t have. My broken dreams had become bitter expectations and I basically wanted expected my husband to make up for all my dad had never been as a father to me, or as a husband to my mom.
Bound and determined to create my own version of a happily-ever-after, I became critical and controlling in my marriage. I had anger and fear festering in my heart which led to unrealistic expectations that erupted in the form of critical words toward JJ, telling him how to be the husband and dad I wanted him to be. You see I thought he could provide the security and shelter for the little-girl-heart that was still crushed inside my adult body. And in doing so, put my broken dreams back together.
God showed me that wasn’t the answer. Instead, I needed to forgive my father and release my feelings of bitterness, abandonment, disappointment, and hurt. I also needed to confess the sin of my unrealistic expectations and let go of what I thought was my right to a “happily-ever-after.”
And I needed to find my security and hope in God alone by letting Him be the Father I longed for. I needed to grieve some of the things I wanted that I would never have. I also needed to invite God into those hurting places so He could bind up my broken heart and set me free from captivity to my fear that I would never have a happy ending.
- Once you’ve written your timeline and asked the Holy Spirit to remind you where you have been, what those experiences and relationships have caused, how far from God they took you, and how they hurt you and others, invite God to enter into those memories.
- Give yourself time to grieve your losses. Ask Jesus to heal them with the power of His Holy Spirit as you focus your thoughts on transforming truths in His Word. It’s the Living Word and the written word that has the power to heal and change us.
- As God shows you broken places, ask Him to bind up every wound with His healing touch and set you free from captivity that has held you until now.
- Find promises to claim, to memorize and to pray out loud over your heart. Cry if you need. And take time to heal so you can find hope again.
Sweet friend, I know this isn’t easy but I know it’s true and worth what it takes. God’s power is perfected in the broken places we consider to be our greatest weaknesses—our most vulnerable emotions we don’t want anyone to know about. In those hiding places, God calls us out of captivity. When we’re willing to let Him, He brings hope for our future despite the pain of our past.
____________________
Is there one area of your life that you can see pain from the past needs to be processed with Jesus in this way? Click on “Share Your Thoughts” below and do just that. I love hearing from you and praying for you.
Also, your little note will also be a way for me to enter you to win a copy of my new book, A Confident Heart and the conference call series that is part of Melissa Taylor’s online study of A Confident Heart.
PS. Have you joined Melissa Taylor’s online study of A Confident Heart yet? It just got started and there is plenty of room for you!! Share your thoughts below to enter to win, and then go here to find out more.
Your words hit home. I had a fairy tale childhood but made a very poor choice in my first husband. He was verbally abusive and tore my confidence to shreds in the 15 years we were married. I have your book and am in Melissa’s online study. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story with us. I look forward to the freedom that only God can provide. You have given me the tools to get started. Thank you again.
Hmm, I have been wondering why it is so important to bring up the past. It seems to me maybe the past just needs to be the past…What you have said brought a feeling in my heart that I have not had in a long time. I think it was a feeling of maybe, sadness and tears. I don’t know because I have numbed myself from being hurt. It seems easier to build a wall around your heart than letting it get broken over and over and over again. You open yourself up only to be let down or disappointed. I really need to get my eyes off of others and onto God. Reading my own post it is just disturbing..I carry hurt from moving and moving moving, relocating because of my husbands job. He was well don’t want to go there(.but it was never his fault)..we have now been in this place for five years and I have a beautiful home, beautiful yard, precious children, okay church, husband that loves me but I just feel blahhh. It would appear on the outside that I had it all..but I don’t. I want to be healed from these stupid memories, anger from disappointment and frustration that continually surfaces on a daily basis. I started the journal of stuff now let’s see what happens.
Dear Renee,
I don’t have the book yet but I know I am in the right place for what the Lord has already been doing in my life by travelling this journey through joining the study Melissa will share through your book. I so appreciate this post.
Love you,
Marla
Depression and painful childhood experiences still plaque me today. I had a therapist ask me why I didn’t believe God’s promises were meant for me? I didn’t understand how I could believe God’s promises but not provlaim them for myself but that’s what I was doing! I do not feel worthy of anything. I have a healthy fa,ily, a husband who loves me, all the creature comforts of the world and the love of Christ in my heart and yet I am joyless. It’s crazy which further exacerbates my feelings of worthlessness.This study is just what I need and I am prayerful that I will finish it with a confident heart!
It is an exciting journey to learn your identity in Christ. It will trasform you from the inside out. It is something only the Spirit of God can do. How lovely are the feet of them who bring good news. God bless your time with the Holy Spirit, Renee, Melissa and all those who have joined in.
Marla
Bonjour Sara, moi aussi je suis une petite Sara (portuguaise), qui a un petit blog dans un petit pays à côté de la France. J’admire enormément ton blog..il est tellement beau. Je suis enchanté. Merci pour tout tes bons coonSils.xsxoeara
I support the Idaho stop law. It is sort of already written into WI law. “except that would not be applicable to bicyclists,” allows for an Idaho stop. If one were to ever get a ticket and was able to fight it, we could get it changed through legal precedent. The issue is that motorists feel that bicyclists are scofflaws so having this approach doesn’t help the image.Derek ParrEau Claire Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Commission
My husband had an affair in 2005.. It killed me, my walk with god was very casual and I became depressed and went on medication.
My 2nd daughter was born on Feb 18th and on Feb 21th (still in the hospital due to vaginal bleeding and 2 major surgeries) the OW (Other women) emailed me that my husband of 9 years had a 3 1/2 years affair w/ her. He was very remorse with a repentant heart for 7 weeks (since he was home on medical leave of absence to care for me, our 8 years old and our newborn). Once he went back to work, he was conformed to the wordy environment and continued the affair. he NEVER stopped the affair. Because of his shame and guilt, he takes it out on me w/ rage, cursing, anger, etc.. he has NO empathy, or compassion to my hurt feelings.
I have been praying that he god would convict his heart and see the pain he has caused me and how he’s destroying this beautiful family.
I am living day by day in darkness. It’s been 7 months, god has given me peace and I live on this saying:
“HAPPINESS COMES FROM ME AND GOD.
I AM NOT RESPONDS FOR SOMEONE’S BAD DECISION / BEHAVIOR.”
i read a lot of devotions, bible studies, focus on my girls, etc. to keep my mind busy.
I came across Renee’s blogged and I like it a lot. I read it quit often because I know I am not the only one going thru what I am going thru.
Only my close friends know about my husband’s addictions to ladies, temptation, his weakness, porno, affairs, etc.. you name it, he has it.
So sometimes we think we have it bad, there are others who have it worse. So I count my blessings that my daughters are healthy, he hasn’t left this marriage (god knows why NOT??? with his selfishness and emotional abuse to me), he claims he working on it etc…
But ultimately it’s OURSELF that makes us happy NOT him, not material things, not our kids BUT ourself and god! If we are happy, we can be a better mom, wife, daughter, friend etc..
Renee, Thank you for your transparent, open, honesty…I remember during the Beth Moore Bible Study, “Believing God,” one of our assignments was to do a timeline of our life in 10 year segments, asking God to reveal to us all the spiritual mile markers in our lives…broken places…hurts…and joyful times…to help us see that God had been there all along…His grace is sufficient. During this Bible study, I discovered a very helpful tool for a “Timeline Template” through Microsoft. It’s free, and it’s very easy to use, the text boxes expand to whatever size you need, and the arrows on the boxes can be moved to any location on the timeline. I have copied the link for this “Timeline Template” ….it really helped me to get my thoughts on paper, and God has used it to heal me in so many ways 🙂 Here’s the link…
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/timeline-TC001016265.aspx
Wow, that is a great resource, thank you so much for sharing it Beth. Blessings!
Renee
I have been doing this since May, in a less retrogressive way. I had a massive stroke in Sept 24, 1986, almost exactly half my life ago. It changed my entire life, personality, marriage, EVERYTHING. My husband is a good ole preachers kid and out of love and responsibility he remained dutifully at my side. My parents stayed with me to nurse me to health so he could work. I tried to become the woman I used to be, but that was not what God wanted of me….very long story short…at 50 years old I feel God is calling me to be a grief counselor or geriatric counselor or some thing like that….After the stroke He gifted me with the gift of Compassion. Wonderful, Marvelous gift! But at times it is overwhelming and my family feels they are taking a back seat, this is cause for many conflicts. I have so many irons in the fire, my family tends to cut my confidence, while others and OUR Lord build me up. My daddy was my biggest cheerleader, as it were. When I was learning to walk again after the stroke, I was still legally blind from the stroke, drooling and couldn’t swallow food without choaking…I can remember my daddy saying, “My Suzy will get better! If you put that girl in a concrete pasture with a concrete wall 50 feet high…she will find grass to eat OR she will get out, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!” I can see that wonderful smile too! Anyway, in April I was ready to leave my husband, then the tornado hit Tuscaloosa, AL. I am a Disaster Relief Chaplain, and volunteer in almost all other areas too. I was deployed to Tuscaloosa and lodged with a lady from the Texas Baptist Men who had been through a divorce. She told me to ask God to reveal to me the way HE sees me. Low and Behold! HE DID THAT VERY WEEK! It has been an amazing turn around for me! He comes to us in the most unique of circumstances and situation! Thank you so much for your book! I am loving it….Have you considered using it for teens? I am a youth sponsor and we really have some frail, angry and confused youth. Some are AMAZING and filled with the SPRIT with parents who bring them with them to church. But most come without parents. Our youth leader is the age of my son and he needs help, I thought if I could do this, it would be great! Love you Renee…IICorn 1:3-4 you live it!
Hey Renee, I feel a lot of what you’re saying. I too have been earnestly seeking God to transform my heart. I want it all now because I feel like I’ve been on this journay for so long but I know everything works best in God’s timing not Eve’s. I look forward to your study and how God is going to speak to me through it. God bless you for sharing it with us.
For the past number of years I have heard often from others around me that God must have some pretty big plans for me with everything He’s brought me through. Thank you for sharing your heart here as it was a reminder to me of what God has in store. My hope has been renewed through your sharing of God. Thanks for being a light for me today that has redirected me where God wants me.
Thank you for this. It’s helpful to be given specific steps in how to deal with pain in our lives. I still have your book on my list to purchase and read.:)
Dear Renee, Thank you for sharing your your story today and your wonderful book.. I come from a similar background as yours. I sometimes can’t believe any one came from a broken home like I did. I made so many bad mistakes. I am so happy for you that your marriage is working. My husband left me homeless after 32yrs. together last summer. His divorce was final 3 days after our 30th wedding anniversary, 2 months ago. I am still shocked and brokenhearted, he had his girlfriend move in with him a few months after he left me That just hurts me so bad. It’s like I never was a part of his life. I wanted so bad to rebuild our marriage. He doesn’t care that I was even alive. I’m having a difficult time getting over him. I pray the bible study will give me the confidence. I am so sorry about your loss. God bless you, Love, Donna Purdy
Hi Donna…
I’m so sorry, and wish I could give you a really long big hug. I stand in similar shoes right now, and wonder where God is in all of this. I try to put myself in God’s hands, try to “shake the devil off” and stand strong, but one wave after another of disappointments or broken promises just remind me that I live broken dreams. I am having the same “difficult time getting over him” as you. We were together for 28 years, and have 2 children together. As I read yours, and other notes, I see that we are not alone with troubles. But, as I read other notes, I hear that others can claim the Lord’s presence in their circumstance. My 90yr old Mom keeps saying “put yourself in God’s hands”, but what does that mean exactly with each decision and step you must make. I need to hear which direction to go, and more than anything, I need to feel His arms around me and feel His love. I pray this bible study illuminates that for me. And you as well. My son once told me not to tell my God how big my problem was, but instead to tell my problem how big my God was. I think that might sorta be like telling the enemy to go to………. and isn’t that where he belongs? Not in our marriages and families. I stand with you girl…and will pray for you Donna. Please do the same for me. We are sisters you know!
Thanks for sharing; praying for you in your loss. I would love to have your book. Have moved to the “country” and have not found the right chuch yet. I am truly blessed by your blog/ministry.
Thank you for your Confident Heart posting for today, It was encouraging.
I so relate to dealing with someone with drug/alcohol addition, not only did it affect him but also me and it has taken me a long time to heal from it and somedays it still comes up, that thorn! Thank you for sharing, you are wonderful inspiration!
May He comfort you during this time of loss. I read about your book a few months back, had been waiting on it to be released and I am so thankful for the BS Melissa is doing. There are so many things that sounds like you are writing directly to me or about me. Thank you for what you do!
Renee,
Your words re pain from yesterday robbing us resonated so deeply in me! I am in the midst of working through childhood sexual abuse that happened for many years 35 years ago. It has caused me to doubt myself, God’s love for me – my confidence. I have signed up for the bible study of A Confident Heart. I hope some day my healing allows faith and hope back. Thanks for your inspiration!
Wendy
I too came from a broken home. There was no divorce but it was broken by violence. I married my childhood sweetheart also expecting “happy everafter” to follow! Our home was broken by multiple infidelities across many years. Finally my husband let God control his life and our marriage remains intact. Our marriage, not me. I’ve been in counseling for 1 1/2 years thinking I was still angry at my husband but have discovered that I’m actually angry at God!! He didn’t give me what I thought I needed. I thought I needed a “happy everafter” with a man, thus my husband, when actually I needed a “happy everafter” with God!! HE is my father and husband!!! In the last few weeks I have begun to understand Jeremiah 29:11! I am still a work in progress as I am working on Trusting God for my past, present AND future!!
Thank you so much for this devotion. My husband left me ten years ago for another woman. I have been waiting for God to restore my life, and I know that he will, BUT I have to be healed first. Actually, I have been telling myself I was healed, but deep down, I knew otherwise. I have dealt with insecurity for what seems like forever. I so needed this bible study; I can see that I have to deal with some issues — they aren’t going to go away. I thank God for his guidance. We serve a great God!
Thank you for your inspiration. I am in the midst of a major depressive episode and am having trouble truly believing that God and Jesus are there to help me through this. I am seeing a psychiatrist and we are working to get my “chemicals” straightened out so that I can see the sunshine of the holy spirit. I’M SO SCARED, THOUGH!!!!! Will someone who has gone through depression give me hope that there is hope on the other side? I seem to surrender and then take it back as quickly as I do. I need encouragement and would REALLY appreciate any and all comments!
Yes there is hope when one is feeling depressed. God is bigger than anything. I was depressed after my first child 7 years old now and went through a lot and had a psychiatrist, dealing with past hurts….. I came of my medication and even though I keep getting evaluated as on border line I am not depressed! I know why I feel low,which we all get and I keep trusting in God that I can have the faith to trust him and believe for complete breakthrough.
My marriage is on tender hooks but It has coarsed me to grow close to God and renew my prayer time and bible times despite the busyness of life. The lack of sleep,looking after 4 children 1yrs-7yrs, keeping on top of house and feeding kids decent meals(most of the time), and then trying my best to continue to show love and respect for my husband who is hardly there.
I believe God can change us and bring us back together and use this time to help us help others in the future. Renee’s writings have been not just challenging or encouraging but practical and full of quality content which I’ve been able to get my teeth into and inspires me to want to read more. A confident heart sounds like the way forward for me and that’s impressive as I’m not a great reader!
Well the whole mindset thing has hit home to me, and not reacting to others but learning to be positive and change the way I think is so important. To not be negative,critical,or putting others down but building others up.
I am glad I have found usefull sights that encourage and give me hope.
I have joined Melissa’s group and from reading and this article I find our lives are very similar. I want to thank you so much for allowing the Holy Spirit to heal you and lead you to encourage and help heal so many women. God bless you:)
Thanks Renee for your encouraging words. I am part of this bible study and I’m looking forward to how God will use it to change and heal me.
My childhood was no where near “normal” and I have excepted that there is nothing I can do about it now or change what happened but I do know that I can allow God to heal my broken heart and remove the hurt of the memories.
Thanks, Renee, for sharing your heart so openly with all of us. “And I needed to find my security and hope in God alone by letting Him be the Father I longed for.” I’ll be resting here for awhile. Thanks for the nudge.
Though I didn’t come from a broken home, my dad wasn’t a hands-on kind when it came to me. It was in large part due to the way he was brought up, which I understand but still struggle with. I sometimes envy the relationship our daughter has with her daddy, wishing I had been blessed as she is. But I’ve grown to see that while my dad wasn’t the hands-on kind, he did the best he knew how based on what he had been shown by his own father. I’ve moving from the envy to thankfulness that my daughter has what I didn’t, and I while i wouldn’t consider my father and I close, I do know that he’ll be there for me if and when I need him. All that is to say that while our circumstances were different, I can soooo relate to what you shared in this piece. Thanks so much for being so open and transparent so that others can learn to be the same.
How do you heal when someone continually hurts you day after day? For every hurt I forgive another one takes it place.
Hi Dot,
I am in the same boat. How do you HEAL when you are continually hurt day after day! We, the bigger person has to give grace and more grace!
Long story short. My husband had an affair in 2005.. It killed me, my walk with god was very casual and I became depressed and went on medication.
My 2nd daughter was born on Feb 18th and on Feb 21th (still in the hospital due to vaginal bleeding and 2 major surgeries) the OW (Other women) emailed me that my husband of 9 years had a 3 1/2 years affair w/ her. He was very remorse with a repentant heart for 7 weeks (since he was home on medical leave of absence to care for me, our 8 years old and our newborn). Once he went back to work, he was conformed to the wordy environment and continued the affair. he NEVER stopped the affair. Because of his shame and guilt, he takes it out on me w/ rage, cursing, anger, etc.. he has NO empathy, or compassion to my hurt feelings.
I have been praying that he god would convict his heart and see the pain he has caused me and how he’s destroying this beautiful family.
I am living day by day in darkness. It’s been 7 months, god has given me peace and I live on this saying:
“HAPPINESS COMES FROM ME AND GOD.
I AM NOT RESPONDS FOR SOMEONE’S BAD DECISION / BEHAVIOR.”
i read a lot of devotions, bible studies, focus on my girls, etc. to keep my mind busy.
I came across Renee’s blogged and I like it a lot. I read it quit often because I know I am not the only one going thru what I am going thru.
Only my close friends know about my husband’s addictions to ladies, temptation, his weakness, porno, affairs, etc.. you name it, he has it.
So sometimes we think we have it bad, there are others who have it worse. So I count my blessings that my daughters are healthy, he hasn’t left this marriage (god knows why NOT??? with his selfishness and emotional abuse to me), he claims he working on it etc…
But ultimately it’s OURSELF that makes us happy NOT him, not material things, not our kids BUT ourself and god! If we are happy, we can be a better mom, wife, daughter, friend etc..
Your story sounds a lot like mine. I long to be free of disappointments and wrong expectations…free to freely love without thought of return. I feel so trapped/bound. God is faithful…that is my hope as I turn to him.
Thank you, God, for Renee. Thank you, Renee, for sharing. I am in the pit of self-doubt trying to breakthrough to blessings God is trying to give me. He’s leading me, and I can see them in front of me, but my self-doubt has me paralyzed. He led me to A Confident Heart and Melissa Taylor’s study just in time! My hope is being restored. I know this will be a process, and I’m anxious to heal those painful memories that paralyze me 40 years later. Thank you, God, and thank you, Renee!
Wow..this devotion was a huge eyeopener. I am going through the pain of the past and it doesn’t seem like I can heal from it or get over it. I’m glad now that there is hope and that it does take time. I have thought for the longest time that I’m stuck and it’s not going to get any better. I really needed this today..thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for your message this morning. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and He still does. Cast all your cares on Him, He cares for you!
Renee, thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement. I always find them hitting so closet to home everytime I read them. I am participating in Melissa’s online study of your new book and can’t wait to learn more about myself and how to become the confident woman God meant for me to be! I have so many friends who I know would also benefit from this study my prayers are that they soon join me on this journey.
Renee, the part where you talk about your marriage and controlling your husband to be the husband and dad so you could have your happily ever after – did you take that from MY journal…..I wrote those words years ago, I have caused a lot of hurt in my 20 year marriage but thank God every day for a loving, patient man and a loving, patient God who is healing me and my mistakes.
“There were obviously things I needed to deal with, but I was afraid I’d fall apart or slip back into a depression if I let it all surface. I also feared people would feel sorry for me or judge me.”
I did slip back into a depression when I began to deal with my ‘stuff.’ But, I also soon slipped into a better place; thanks to the Lord. He is the healer; but not without pain. The pools of tears I have cried have helped to relieve that pain and to heal me. It was a terrible place to go, but has been a necessary part of my journey. I still need to heal, and that is why I have joined this study; but I am in a much better place than I used to be.
My fear of being judged by people became a reality. I want to say I am sorry that I exposed the dirty truths of my past to them, but I cannot. The Lord wanted me to share and I did. He also wants me to know that their judgement is their problem and not mine. I couldn’t understand at first why He would have me share this, only to feel judged and consequently, shamed once again. And now to know others knew and would likely pass it on. But, again, my focus needs to be on Him, and I know that now. None of us has any right to judge anyone. Each of us need to catch ourselves when we do this and ask for forgiveness.
I must walk ahead in what the Lord has for me; His word tells me that his plans are not to harm me, but are for good. I know His word is true. I must put my faith in Him and continue to move forward, even though sometimes it is difficult. I can hold my head high because He is my father and I am His child.
My public testimony has helped to heal me and to bring forth pain in my young life that I had totally denied. Without this public testimony, this would not have happened. I thank the Lord for His unfailing love. I only hope that I can continue to grow so that I can love others the way He loves me.
Just said a prayer for you Judi.
I sometimes think humorously that I do not struggle with judging people as much as others because I have made just about every mistake that can be made! 🙂 I still catch myself doing it sometimes though, and although I have come a long way in my walk with God I still have SO far to go.
I always enjoy reading your comments, and I also thank the Lord for your courage to share your testimony, and His unfailing love. 🙂
Hi, I can relate to your story ,although I feel Ive worked through some of the issues , I know Imnot done with it .I really would like to dothe Bible study.Thanks for all you do! God is good!
Thank you, Renee, for your devotional. I know from experience that your words are true. At one time I asked why I had to endure some things but in hindsight I know I would not be where I am today spiriturally if I had not endured some of the things I did. If everything always goes great we forget to live close to God but begin to feel we can do it on our own. He does take our difficult times and our hurts and helps us learn so much more about Him. He does love us unconditionally and with an everlasting, unchanging love. It didn’t happen overnight for me; it is an ongoing journey but one I am thankful He has been walking me through. There are times I have taken very baby steps but He has been faithful and never has left me alone.
Hi, Thank u so much for sharing that message on Proverbs 31, it was so encouraging…
i have been going though so much pain continuously and struggling to find God,like u hv mentioned i wondered why He is letting me go through all these pain if He loves me, He says He loves me unconditionally more than a mother who has given birth to a child, then how come i am going through all this pain.. i was so lost.. so discouraged and i felt as if God disappointed me not once but over and over again… every time i try to rise something happens and i fall right back… i cry to God and ask Him to help me declare His promises every day.. but nothing seemed to work. many of them told me to listen to His voice and not my emotions, they gave me so many advice but that only confused me more.. i felt like giving up.. going back to my old life.. but i couldn’t i didn’t have anyone now apart from God even though He disappointed me i had only Him.
But now i realize that He does love me, He talks to me through these messages and He’s trying to teach me and make me stronger.. I know I have to hold on somehow and lean on Him and on Him alone. i feel so much relived now. Thanks again for that wonderful message.
God Bless.
The past few years literally turned me inside out emotionally. You never really understand how a nervous system works until your stress levels go off the radar. I bought anxiety books, delved scripture, and begged God to make everything disappear and make me whole again, with no worries. Death, trauma, heart disease, new baby, demanding job w/unrealistic deadlines….and the list goes ON! All in the span of two years. A confident heart is the opposite of what I felt and feel. It is true, we have to grieve our hurts. Women tend to shove them down and say we’ll deal with them later…..but they’re still there. They have to surface and you have to figure out a way to mentally process and handle your hurt and move past the feelings and bitterness that can manifest. Your husband and children deserve a whole you, healed by God and once again confident in the Master’s plan for your life, that he has everything worked out for our good 🙂 Please pick me for the winner of the “A Confident Heart” giveaway!!
This hit home..I broke down. thank u Jesus.
I am in the most impossibly painful place and my heart has been broken. An anointed ministry has been wrecked and unreasonable demands have been put on me yet I haven’ t done anything wrong, I live a clean and upright life. I so need to feel the presence and power of God, not just believe and trust He has already accomplished all that is necessary for my wholeness.
I have read chapter 1 of the book and this. All of it has so hit home in my life. everything you have written is exactly what my Pastor has said asking me to do . I have been talking to him for awhile now bout some areas in my life that I have been trying to work on and give over to the Lord. your studies are really hitting home and are gonna help me to become a better person that God wants me to be. The woman of God he wants. I’m glad I’m doing this study. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bravo Jo! Si un joueur français mérite bien d&8;#172être là , c’est lui. Il a réussi à sortir de la poule la plus relevée et semble avoir bien maîtrisé ce match.Finale demain vs Fed. Grosse affiche en perspective entre les 2 hommes forts de cette fin de saison.Roger a intérêt à prendre Tsonga très au sérieux car en indoor, c’est vraiment pas un cadeau. Pour moi, c’est du 60/40 en faveur du suisse.
I wouldn’t have been able to say it so eloquently, but so many of the details you just shared, I could have written myself. I pray also that the Lord helps me thru the past and guides me thru this study. I am HOPING to lean on Him, rather than self…I want to DISCOVER Him as my Lord, not just my Savior…I am going to BELIEVE in His promises, and hold on to them.
It’s never easy going back through the past and bringing up all the pain.
My three best friends also thought that God wanted to heal my past hurts and use what I went through to help others. I figured that God wanted to do something in my life and that was why I never succeeded in ending my life.
I was afraid and had trouble telling my best friend about my past and what had happened to me. I was ashamed of it and of myself. Now my three friends think I could write a book. I don’t think I could do that.
Beautifully written. Thanks.
I enjoyed what you said here today. It ministered to my heart. I started the Bible study too and I know this is going to be a great study. Thank you for your encouragement in God’s Word.
Renee,
Your devotions always seem to speak right to me. I have had disappointments in my past and people saying negative things about me that still cause hurt after many years. I need to once and for all forgive them and never turn back, but those words just always seem to sneak back into my mind, bringing me down. I would love to win a copy of your book, I did the 7 day doubt diet and am signed up for Melissa’s bible study, I just keep praying I will win a copy! Thank you Renee and my prayers have been with you during this tough time you’ve been going through.
God bless,
Emily
I have written one of your sentences in my Bible cover to remind me to give every detail to my Lord.” We find God’s plans when we surrender ours to Him each day.” This just lept off the page to me, and as always, God provided the words I needed for this time of uncertainty. Thank you for this devotion!
Thank you for this message today, Renee. I married a non-Christian man from another country, and when we faced difficulties, I kept all the disappointment to myself, until I almost burst, and so they came out at inappropriate times. My marriage unraveled through the broken promises and losses we struggled through. We originally married secretly because it was against the rules of his military (and dangerous for his family) and our divorce was just as secretive, but then due to my shame. It was six months before I told anyone and before it got back to my family. I was still living overseas at the time. But this chapter also helped to reinforce what I already knew; I always wanted people to like me, and yet I never felt I measured up – even in elementary school! I am going through the questions and trying to sort through my thoughts….
Thank you so much Renee. I am in the Bible Study and can’t wait. I love how you are showing us how to start the process. I am determined to be free and to live with a Confident Heart. Sweet Blessings to you for sharing your heart with us. Our God is so good and He wants ALL His promises fulfilled in each of our lives.
This is what I needed…I find myself doing those exact things to my husband…my wonderful husband, but because how I let guys treat me in my past…my heart hardens over things I expect and don’t get. I’m printing this for reminders of how to work on these issues. Thank you!
Your comments on your marriage really spoke to my heart. I am married to the most tolerant man on the earth, yet I constantly harp at him. Your words allowed me to see why it is I do this. Thanking for sharing these deeply personal thoughts and most especially, how you worked through them. God bless, Renee
You are so right that He is the Hope of our lives. I know I would never have survived – and thrived in life without Him. He has held me together through child abuse, abandonment, and brutal rape as an adult. It was only Him – and I just got out of His way and let Him be my strength, my hope. and my joy. It is so difficult, yet so simple. Just let Him – just let Him care for you and love you. Crawl in His lap and let Him hug you close and clothe you in His Love.
Thank you for sharing your insight. I have been sweeping under the rug the disappointments and hurts for a long time now. Every fall they come up but I stuff them down. In August, I decided I would participate in the online Bible study. I hadn’t anticipated on how hard I would find it to be. I know I need to work on these painful issues to be be able to be free and confident….yet the familiarity of the pain is easier than the work that lies ahead of me. Today I felt like giving up and the Proverbs 31 devotional was what I needed to hear to keep on working on this process. I also called a friend to keep me accountable on my study. I am hopeful that with God’s help I can follow His plan to completion.
This was such a blessing and I will be making my timeline. I have (and continue) to have many disappoingments. This past year has been such a challenge, and I am finding the study of the Confident Heart helpful. I am going through a divorce that has had extreme emotional abuse over the years, finally got the courage to leave. The affects of the years of abuse and the impact to myself and my children with the divorce has been crushing. God has been so good through it all, but the failures of the past do haunt me. I look foward to the excercise.