To The One Who Feels Hurt

You know that feeling when you’re starting to get a cold? Your body aches, and the best way to describe how you feel is…yucky. I’ve felt that way many times and not just physically. I’ve had that feeling after a cherished relationship ended or when I look back at old photos and reality hits me with the hard truth that the people in the photos are no longer a part of my life.

Now, there are some people who we’re glad aren’t in our lives anymore, but I’m talking about the other ones. The boyfriend, fiancé, or husband who you thought was the one. You thought he meant what he said. You trusted him and allowed some of your walls to come down only to discover he didn’t want you anymore. The feeling of betrayal when he chooses something else above you. You tell yourself once again that no one will ever care about you, and he’s proof.

The friend that you were super close with, your best friend in the whole world. Your person. The person that was supposed to be there through everything. The person that was supposed to support you in the good and the bad, to protect you from stupid boys, to tell you the truth even when it hurts. Maybe you didn’t part ways completely, but now you see her and don’t recognize her. You hardly ever talk because you feel the separation growing through every short text. Or maybe you never talk because of a fight, and you wonder why the friendship was ended instead of being worked out. Why did she leave? Why did she say such hurtful things? Why did you say hurtful things back? Too many whys and not enough answers.

Or maybe it’s the family member you were close to until suddenly you realize you never see them anymore. You used to look forward to seeing them at family gatherings because no matter how crazy or awkward your family got, you knew that you would have each other. But all of a sudden, that person isn’t there. They hurt you. They betrayed you. They left.

What hurts the most in some situations is that maybe you did nothing wrong. You can’t ask the person why things happened the way that they did. You’re just left to wonder.

It stings.
Like really bad.

You’re stuck between hating them and loving them. You miss their presence, their calls, their texts, but at the same time you’re so angry because they took advantage of the person you are. Maybe you feel like they only saw you as temporary, someone to use for the time being until someone else came along.

So how do we get rid of that feeling? Is it even possible?

Or will these feelings stick around forever?

Will we ever be able to trust again?

The truth is, there’s only one answer to all of these questions. His name is Jesus. Yes, Jesus. The Bible says in Proverbs 18:24 that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother meaning Jesus is there, at ALL times! I used to hate when people would say this because I thought, well duh. I know that. But He’s supposed to be the fixer of everything, and when I pray, apparently He doesn’t listen. He isn’t concerned about me. He will probably hurt me like everyone else.

But He is nothing like that. Jesus himself died just so we could spend eternity with Him. One of my all time favorite verses is in John 1:12-14 it says, Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. If we learn to put our hope, our trust, and our love in Him, He will never disappoint. I mean, He died for us. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He gave up everything. The Bible says if it had been just one person who needed it, He still would have come and died. So yes, the bad news is that it will hurt and that the hurt may never fully go away. The sting may be there for a while. But we learn through prayer and reading the Bible that we can forgive.

And on those days when it hurts a little more than usual, call out to Jesus and ask Him to wrap you in His arms of peace. You can make it through this. You will survive the pain, and as time goes on, it won’t hurt as bad. The best part is that one day you will be able to use it as a testimony and help another person who is hurting.

So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:24-29

Edited by Rebekah Pendergrast