At Gateway Church in Austin we continued our new series Momentum which is about overcoming our issues and struggles. This week John Burke shared. Here are some of his insights:
“Like toxic waste that is buried beneath the ground, the painful moments in our lives cannot be solved by hiding them. In time if not treated, unhealed wounds become toxic.
We all have wounds. We all wound others whether we mean it or not.
Types of wounds:
1. Relational Wounds
Often we may not even know we’ve been hurt until we begin to see the consequences. The rejection we may feel from someone close to us may be because of their issues not our own issues.
God desires to move us towards healing – even healing from our deepest wounds.
If we see character defects that keep popping up, then there is probably something toxic buried in our lives.
We go back to destructive patterns because of relational hurts.
Mark 11:25 Forgiveness brings healing. Bitterness and resentments hurt us more than the one that betrayed us. We may be unwilling to forgive thinking: “But they don’t deserve forgiveness!” Of course they don’t! None of us does.
Prayer of healing: “God help me to forgive others just as I need you to forgive me.”
“as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans
12:18 We cannot force others to make things right, but our willingness to do our part is enough to move us towards healing.
2. Moral wounds
Other times, our choices wound us. Sometimes we are fueled by a greed that comes from how we were raised or the materialistic culture in which we live.
God wants redemption for our lives. This takes a willingness to take a thorough moral inventory of our lives and involving at least one other person with us.
With God’s help and the help of others, we can find healing. 1 John 1:7-9, James 5:16, & Romans 15:1-7
We are not the sum total of our worst mistakes. We are so much more with the help of God & others!”
You can watch this message here in a couple of days and the rest of the series at http://www.gatewaychurch.com/podcast.
