Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)
It's hard to stay focused when we are hurt or are in pain. We want it to go away instantly. We don't want to suffer. Sometimes we don't learn from our pain and suffering because we use alcohol or drugs to ease that pain. I get it. No one wants to hurt. No one enjoys pain. Healing takes time.
Whether we have a small grease burn from frying bacon, or a paper cut, a broken toe, a migraine headache, have multiple injures sustained in an accident, or a broken heart, we seek relief from the pain. It's natural. We all want relief.
A preacher told me once to just read and re-read Philippians. At first, I thought he was crazy. How is this going to help heal my heart? My thought was the only thing that would heal that broken heart was to put something in that hole that had been created by a broken relationship. In other words, another man. Someone to help me forget about the one who had dumped me. I could not have been more wrong.
Each relationship that ends, each broken heart (as with all other physical injuries) needs time to heal. We must experience the pain. I once broke my middle finger on my right hand playing softball. It was splinted. I was able to shape that splint to enable me to still hold and throw that soft ball because I was determined to play and not sit the season out. The finger eventually healed, but it didn't heal properly, because I refused to listen to the advice of the doctor. It's still crooked. The same holds true for any event that causes us pain. We need to heal from a broken heart before we start letting someone else in.
In all of this, we need to be mindful of these verses in Philippians. God will not dessert us, He will give us peace, He will heal our pain.
We have to take the time to allow that hurt to heal...
