How many people suffer injustice, standing by powerlessly while others divvy up the good things of this life. Some give up fighting for real justice and opt to follow in the train of the winners. This has nothing to do with the hunger and thirst for justice that Jesus praises. Mercy has two aspects. It involves giving, helping and serving others, but it also includes forgiveness and understanding. Matthew sums it up in one golden rule: Luke then adds something not to be overlooked: The yardstick we use for understanding and forgiving others will measure the forgiveness we receive.
The yardstick we use for giving will measure what we receive. We should never forget this. We need to think of ourselves as an army of the forgiven. All of us have been looked upon with divine compassion. If we approach the Lord with sincerity and listen carefully, there may well be times when we hear his reproach: This Beatitude speaks of those whose hearts are simple, pure and undefiled, for a heart capable of love admits nothing that might harm, weaken or endanger that love.
The Bible uses the heart to describe our real intentions, the things we truly seek and desire, apart from all appearances. God wants to speak to our hearts cf. In a word, he wants to give us a new heart cf. Certainly there can be no love without works of love, but this Beatitude reminds us that the Lord expects a commitment to our brothers and sisters that comes from the heart.
A heart that loves God and neighbour cf. This Beatitude makes us think of the many endless situations of war in our world. Yet we ourselves are often a cause of conflict or at least of misunderstanding. For example, I may hear something about someone and I go off and repeat it.
I may even embellish it the second time around and keep spreading it… And the more harm it does, the more satisfaction I seem to derive from it. The world of gossip, inhabited by negative and destructive people, does not bring peace. To those who sow peace Jesus makes this magnificent promise: He told his disciples that, wherever they went, they were to say: Jesus himself warns us that the path he proposes goes against the flow, even making us challenge society by the way we live and, as a result, becoming a nuisance.
He reminds us how many people have been, and still are, persecuted simply because they struggle for justice, because they take seriously their commitment to God and to others.
- Das Böse ist immer und überall: Der Terror im Alltag am Beispiel von The Stepfather (German Edition).
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In living the Gospel, we cannot expect that everything will be easy, for the thirst for power and worldly interests often stands in our way. As a result, the Beatitudes are not easy to live out; any attempt to do so will be viewed negatively, regarded with suspicion, and met with ridicule. Whatever weariness and pain we may experience in living the commandment of love and following the way of justice, the cross remains the source of our growth and sanctification. Here we are speaking about inevitable persecution, not the kind of persecution we might bring upon ourselves by our mistreatment of others.
The saints are not odd and aloof, unbearable because of their vanity, negativity and bitterness. The Apostles of Christ were not like that. Persecutions are not a reality of the past, for today too we experience them, whether by the shedding of blood, as is the case with so many contemporary martyrs, or by more subtle means, by slander and lies. At other times, persecution can take the form of gibes that try to caricature our faith and make us seem ridiculous.
Holiness, then, is not about swooning in mystic rapture. Given these uncompromising demands of Jesus, it is my duty to ask Christians to acknowledge and accept them in a spirit of genuine openness, sine glossa.
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If I encounter a person sleeping outdoors on a cold night, I can view him or her as an annoyance, an idler, an obstacle in my path, a troubling sight, a problem for politicians to sort out, or even a piece of refuse cluttering a public space. Or I can respond with faith and charity, and see in this person a human being with a dignity identical to my own, a creature infinitely loved by the Father, an image of God, a brother or sister redeemed by Jesus Christ.
That is what it is to be a Christian! Can holiness somehow be understood apart from this lively recognition of the dignity of each human being? For Christians, this involves a constant and healthy unease. Even if helping one person alone could justify all our efforts, it would not be enough. The bishops of Canada made this clear when they noted, for example, that the biblical understanding of the jubilee year was about more than simply performing certain good works. It also meant seeking social change: Ideologies striking at the heart of the Gospel.
I regret that ideologies lead us at times to two harmful errors. On the one hand, there is the error of those Christians who separate these Gospel demands from their personal relationship with the Lord, from their interior union with him, from openness to his grace. For these great saints, mental prayer, the love of God and the reading of the Gospel in no way detracted from their passionate and effective commitment to their neighbours; quite the opposite.
The other harmful ideological error is found in those who find suspect the social engagement of others, seeing it as superficial, worldly, secular, materialist, communist or populist. Or they relativize it, as if there are other more important matters, or the only thing that counts is one particular ethical issue or cause that they themselves defend. Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development.
Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection. We often hear it said that, with respect to relativism and the flaws of our present world, the situation of migrants, for example, is a lesser issue.
That a politician looking for votes might say such a thing is understandable, but not a Christian, for whom the only proper attitude is to stand in the shoes of those brothers and sisters of ours who risk their lives to offer a future to their children. Can we not realize that this is exactly what Jesus demands of us, when he tells us that in welcoming the stranger we welcome him cf. A similar approach is found in the Old Testament: This is not a notion invented by some Pope, or a momentary fad. We may think that we give glory to God only by our worship and prayer, or simply by following certain ethical norms.
It is true that the primacy belongs to our relationship with God, but we cannot forget that the ultimate criterion on which our lives will be judged is what we have done for others. Prayer is most precious, for it nourishes a daily commitment to love. Similarly, the best way to discern if our prayer is authentic is to judge to what extent our life is being transformed in the light of mercy. Here I think of Saint Thomas Aquinas, who asked which actions of ours are noblest, which external works best show our love for God.
Thomas answered unhesitatingly that they are the works of mercy towards our neighbour, [92] even more than our acts of worship: For he does not need our sacrifices, but wishes them to be offered to him, in order to stir our devotion and to profit our neighbour.
Those who really wish to give glory to God by their lives, who truly long to grow in holiness, are called to be single-minded and tenacious in their practice of the works of mercy. Saint Teresa of Calcutta clearly realized this: He depends on us to love the world and to show how much he loves it. Hedonism and consumerism can prove our downfall, for when we are obsessed with our own pleasure, we end up being all too concerned about ourselves and our rights, and we feel a desperate need for free time to enjoy ourselves.
We will find it hard to feel and show any real concern for those in need, unless we are able to cultivate a certain simplicity of life, resisting the feverish demands of a consumer society, which leave us impoverished and unsatisfied, anxious to have it all now.
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Similarly, when we allow ourselves to be caught up in superficial information, instant communication and virtual reality, we can waste precious time and become indifferent to the suffering flesh of our brothers and sisters. Yet even amid this whirlwind of activity, the Gospel continues to resound, offering us the promise of a different life, a healthier and happier life. The powerful witness of the saints is revealed in their lives, shaped by the Beatitudes and the criterion of the final judgement.
It can also be an object of study and reflection, but only to help us better live the Gospel in our daily lives. I recommend rereading these great biblical texts frequently, referring back to them, praying with them, trying to embody them. They will benefit us; they will make us genuinely happy. Within the framework of holiness offered by the Beatitudes and Matthew I will not pause to explain the means of sanctification already known to us: Here I will speak only of certain aspects of the call to holiness that I hope will prove especially meaningful. There we see a sense of anxiety, sometimes violent, that distracts and debilitates; negativity and sullenness; the self-content bred by consumerism; individualism; and all those forms of ersatz spirituality — having nothing to do with God — that dominate the current religious marketplace.
The first of these great signs is solid grounding in the God who loves and sustains us. Such inner strength makes it possible for us, in our fast-paced, noisy and aggressive world, to give a witness of holiness through patience and constancy in doing good. They do not desert others in bad times; they accompany them in their anxiety and distress, even though doing so may not bring immediate satisfaction. Saint Paul bade the Romans not to repay evil for evil cf. We need to recognize and combat our aggressive and selfish inclinations, and not let them take root.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts Christians too can be caught up in networks of verbal violence through the internet and the various forums of digital communication. Even in Catholic media, limits can be overstepped, defamation and slander can become commonplace, and all ethical standards and respect for the good name of others can be abandoned.
The result is a dangerous dichotomy, since things can be said there that would be unacceptable in public discourse, and people look to compensate for their own discontent by lashing out at others. It is striking that at times, in claiming to uphold the other commandments, they completely ignore the eighth, which forbids bearing false witness or lying, and ruthlessly vilify others.
Here we see how the unguarded tongue, set on fire by hell, sets all things ablaze cf. Inner strength, as the work of grace, prevents us from becoming carried away by the violence that is so much a part of life today, because grace defuses vanity and makes possible meekness of heart. The saints do not waste energy complaining about the failings of others; they can hold their tongue before the faults of their brothers and sisters, and avoid the verbal violence that demeans and mistreats others. Saints hesitate to treat others harshly; they consider others better than themselves cf.
It is not good when we look down on others like heartless judges, lording it over them and always trying to teach them lessons. That is itself a subtle form of violence. You will thereby overcome evil with good, banish the devil, and possess a happy heart. Try to practise this all the more with those who least attract you. Humility can only take root in the heart through humiliations. Without them, there is no humility or holiness. If you are unable to suffer and offer up a few humiliations, you are not humble and you are not on the path to holiness.
The holiness that God bestows on his Church comes through the humiliation of his Son. He is the way. Humiliation makes you resemble Jesus; it is an unavoidable aspect of the imitation of Christ. In turn, he reveals the humility of the Father, who condescends to journey with his people, enduring their infidelities and complaints cf. Here I am not speaking only about stark situations of martyrdom, but about the daily humiliations of those who keep silent to save their families, who prefer to praise others rather than boast about themselves, or who choose the less welcome tasks, at times even choosing to bear an injustice so as to offer it to the Lord.
This does not mean walking around with eyes lowered, not saying a word and fleeing the company of others. At times, precisely because someone is free of selfishness, he or she can dare to disagree gently, to demand justice or to defend the weak before the powerful, even if it may harm his or her reputation. I am not saying that such humiliation is pleasant, for that would be masochism, but that it is a way of imitating Jesus and growing in union with him.
This is incomprehensible on a purely natural level, and the world mocks any such notion. Instead, it is a grace to be sought in prayer: To act in this way presumes a heart set at peace by Christ, freed from the aggressiveness born of overweening egotism. Standing firm in the Lord, the Rock, we can sing: Far from being timid, morose, acerbic or melancholy, or putting on a dreary face, the saints are joyful and full of good humour.
Though completely realistic, they radiate a positive and hopeful spirit. If we allow the Lord to draw us out of our shell and change our lives, then we can do as Saint Paul tells us: The prophets proclaimed the times of Jesus, in which we now live, as a revelation of joy. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Mary, recognizing the newness that Jesus brought, sang: Christian joy is usually accompanied by a sense of humour.
Ill humour is no sign of holiness. With the love of a father, God tells us: He wants us to be positive, grateful and uncomplicated: Whatever the case, we should remain resilient and imitate Saint Paul: Saint Francis of Assisi lived by this; he could be overwhelmed with gratitude before a piece of hard bread, or joyfully praise God simply for the breeze that caressed his face. Consumerism only bloats the heart. It can offer occasional and passing pleasures, but not joy.
Fraternal love increases our capacity for joy, since it makes us capable of rejoicing in the good of others: To allow us to do this, Jesus himself comes and tells us once more, serenely yet firmly: These words enable us to go forth and serve with the same courage that the Holy Spirit stirred up in the Apostles, impelling them to proclaim Jesus Christ.
The Bible also uses this word to describe the freedom of a life open to God and to others cf. Yet the Lord calls us to put out into the deep and let down our nets cf. He bids us spend our lives in his service.
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Clinging to him, we are inspired to put all our charisms at the service of others. May we always feel compelled by his love 2 Cor 5: His deep compassion reached out to others. It did not make him hesitant, timid or self-conscious, as often happens with us. His compassion made him go out actively to preach and to send others on a mission of healing and liberation. Let us acknowledge our weakness, but allow Jesus to lay hold of it and send us too on mission. We are weak, yet we hold a treasure that can enlarge us and make those who receive it better and happier.
Boldness and apostolic courage are an essential part of mission. It is a joyful assurance that leads us to glory in the Gospel we proclaim. Let us remember that closed spaces grow musty and unhealthy. Like the prophet Jonah, we are constantly tempted to flee to a safe haven. It can have many names: We can resist leaving behind a familiar and easy way of doing things. For us, as for him, they can serve to bring us back to the God of tenderness, who invites us to set out ever anew on our journey.
God is eternal newness. He impels us constantly to set out anew, to pass beyond what is familiar, to the fringes and beyond. God is not afraid! He is always greater than our plans and schemes. Unafraid of the fringes, he himself became a fringe cf. So if we dare to go to the fringes, we will find him there; indeed, he is already there. Jesus is already there, in the hearts of our brothers and sisters, in their wounded flesh, in their troubles and in their profound desolation. He is already there. True enough, we need to open the door of our hearts to Jesus, who stands and knocks cf.
Sometimes I wonder, though, if perhaps Jesus is already inside us and knocking on the door for us to let him escape from our stale self-centredness. After the resurrection, when the disciples went forth in all directions, the Lord accompanied them cf. This is what happens as the result of true encounter. Complacency is seductive; it tells us that there is no point in trying to change things, that there is nothing we can do, because this is the way things have always been and yet we always manage to survive.
By force of habit we no longer stand up to evil. Yet let us allow the Lord to rouse us from our torpor, to free us from our inertia. Let us rethink our usual way of doing things; let us open our eyes and ears, and above all our hearts, so as not to be complacent about things as they are, but unsettled by the living and effective word of the risen Lord. We are inspired to act by the example of all those priests, religious, and laity who devote themselves to proclamation and to serving others with great fidelity, often at the risk of their lives and certainly at the cost of their comfort.
Their testimony reminds us that, more than bureaucrats and functionaries, the Church needs passionate missionaries, enthusiastic about sharing true life. The saints surprise us, they confound us, because by their lives they urge us to abandon a dull and dreary mediocrity. Let us ask the Lord for the grace not to hesitate when the Spirit calls us to take a step forward. Let us ask for the apostolic courage to share the Gospel with others and to stop trying to make our Christian life a museum of memories.
In every situation, may the Holy Spirit cause us to contemplate history in the light of the risen Jesus. When we live apart from others, it is very difficult to fight against concupiscence, the snares and temptations of the devil and the selfishness of the world. Bombarded as we are by so many enticements, we can grow too isolated, lose our sense of reality and inner clarity, and easily succumb.
Growth in holiness is a journey in community, side by side with others. We see this in some holy communities. From time to time, the Church has canonized entire communities that lived the Gospel heroically or offered to God the lives of all their members. We should also remember the more recent witness borne by the Trappists of Tibhirine, Algeria, who prepared as a community for martyrdom.
In many holy marriages too, each spouse becomes a means used by Christ for the sanctification of the other. Living or working alongside others is surely a path of spiritual growth. Saint John of the Cross told one of his followers: It also gives rise to authentic and shared mystical experiences. Such was the case with Saints Benedict and Scholastica. We can also think of the sublime spiritual experience shared by Saint Augustine and his mother, Saint Monica.
40th World Day of Peace , The Human Person, the Heart of Peace | BENEDICT XVI
And as we spoke of that wisdom and strained after it, we touched it in some measure by the impetus of our hearts Such experiences, however, are neither the most frequent nor the most important. The common life, whether in the family, the parish, the religious community or any other, is made up of small everyday things. This was true of the holy community formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, which reflected in an exemplary way the beauty of the Trinitarian communion. It was also true of the life that Jesus shared with his disciples and with ordinary people. Let us not forget that Jesus asked his disciples to pay attention to details.
The little detail that wine was running out at a party. The little detail that one sheep was missing. The little detail of noticing the widow who offered her two small coins. The little detail of having spare oil for the lamps, should the bridegroom delay. The little detail of asking the disciples how many loaves of bread they had. The little detail of having a fire burning and a fish cooking as he waited for the disciples at daybreak. I then pictured a well-lighted drawing room, brilliantly gilded, filled with elegantly dressed young ladies conversing together and conferring upon each other all sorts of compliments and other worldly remarks.
Then my glance fell upon the poor invalid whom I was supporting. Finally, though it may seem obvious, we should remember that holiness consists in a habitual openness to the transcendent, expressed in prayer and adoration. The saints are distinguished by a spirit of prayer and a need for communion with God. They find an exclusive concern with this world to be narrow and stifling, and, amid their own concerns and commitments, they long for God, losing themselves in praise and contemplation of the Lord.
I do not believe in holiness without prayer, even though that prayer need not be lengthy or involve intense emotions. SaintJohn of the Cross tells us: For this to happen, however, some moments spent alone with God are also necessary. In that silence, we can discern, in the light of the Spirit, the paths of holiness to which the Lord is calling us. Similarly, inadequate consideration for the condition of women helps to create instability in the fabric of society.
I think of the exploitation of women who are treated as objects, and of the many ways that a lack of respect is shown for their dignity; I also think —in a different context—of the mindset persisting in some cultures, where women are still firmly subordinated to the arbitrary decisions of men, with grave consequences for their personal dignity and for the exercise of their fundamental freedoms. There can be no illusion of a secure peace until these forms of discrimination are also overcome, since they injure the personal dignity impressed by the Creator upon every human being 5.
He must therefore respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed 6. All this means that humanity, if it truly desires peace, must be increasingly conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence , and vice versa.
It becomes more and more evident that there is an inseparable link between peace with creation and peace among men. Both of these presuppose peace with God. The close connection between these two ecologies can be understood from the increasingly serious problem of energy supplies.
In recent years, new nations have entered enthusiastically into industrial production, thereby increasing their energy needs. This has led to an unprecedented race for available resources. Meanwhile, some parts of the planet remain backward and development is effectively blocked, partly because of the rise in energy prices. What will happen to those peoples? What kind of development or non-development will be imposed on them by the scarcity of energy supplies?
What injustices and conflicts will be provoked by the race for energy sources? And what will be the reaction of those who are excluded from this race? These are questions that show how respect for nature is closely linked to the need to establish, between individuals and between nations, relationships that are attentive to the dignity of the person and capable of satisfying his or her authentic needs.
The destruction of the environment, its improper or selfish use, and the violent hoarding of the earth's resources cause grievances, conflicts and wars, precisely because they are the consequences of an inhumane concept of development. Indeed, if development were limited to the technical-economic aspect, obscuring the moral-religious dimension, it would not be an integral human development, but a one-sided distortion which would end up by unleashing man's destructive capacities.
For this to happen, we must be guided by a vision of the person untainted by ideological and cultural prejudices or by political and economic interests which can instil hatred and violence. It is understandable that visions of man will vary from culture to culture. Yet what cannot be admitted is the cultivation of anthropological conceptions that contain the seeds of hostility and violence.
Equally unacceptable are conceptions of God that would encourage intolerance and recourse to violence against others. This is a point which must be clearly reaffirmed: When a certain notion of God is at the origin of criminal acts, it is a sign that that notion has already become an ideology. Today, however, peace is not only threatened by the conflict between reductive visions of man, in other words, between ideologies.
It is also threatened by indifference as to what constitutes man's true nature. Many of our contemporaries actually deny the existence of a specific human nature and thus open the door to the most extravagant interpretations of what essentially constitutes a human being. Here too clarity is necessary: In reality, it hinders authentic dialogue and opens the way to authoritarian impositions, ultimately leaving the person defenceless and, as a result, easy prey to oppression and violence.
A true and stable peace presupposes respect for human rights. Yet if these rights are grounded on a weak conception of the person, how can they fail to be themselves weakened? Here we can see how profoundly insufficient is a relativistic conception of the person when it comes to justifying and defending his rights. The difficulty in this case is clear: Only if they are grounded in the objective requirements of the nature bestowed on man by the Creator, can the rights attributed to him be affirmed without fear of contradiction.
It goes without saying, moreover, that human rights imply corresponding duties. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi said wisely: Perhaps they felt like no matter what they did, they could never please a parent or authority figure, and later on in life, that rejection wound causes the person to be a performer to the point where they are never satisfied and burned out by their efforts. I believe this is also a common result of unresolved inner wounds. Since the love of God is blocked in your life, it becomes hard to see why He would love or care for you, and therefore you become an easy target for feelings of hopelessness.
This could be in the form of college degrees, careers, financial success, etc. Instead of appreciating the person who God has made YOU! This is especially true with people who have bondages to self-hate, self-resentment, self-unforgiveness, etc. Hostility towards God, self, and others: This is usually rooted in a form of bitterness against God for not preventing something from happening to you, bitterness against somebody who has wronged or harmed you emotionally, or bitterness against yourself for failures that you've fallen into yourself.
If you had a headache, would you go to the doctor and tell him, "There's something wrong with me, but I don't want to think about it long enough to figure out what it is! I don't know what's wrong with me! I don't know if it's a headache, a stomachache, a runny nose, or an ingrown toenail! Then why do we so often do this very thing when we are seeking inner healing?
We know that there's a problem, a wound, but we don't want to even peek into our pasts to figure out what is really wrong! If you're going to receive healing for an emotional wound, you need to first be honest with yourself and what has happened. Let's get started by answering some basic questions:. Who is it that you hate or blame? Be honest with yourself; there's somebody in your past that you, or an alter within you, is holding something against.
Be specific, and go back as far as you can. If you can figure out when this wound began, and who is responsible, it is the first step to receiving healing for the wound. What did they do to you? Make a list of everything that was done to you, which you still hold against them in your heart. What might be a list of things which you still hold onto in your heart? What things can't you seem to easily forget? Don't try to cover up their mistake and say that it was alright.
If they did you wrong, then there's no getting around that. Being honest about what was done to you is very important. What things have you done, that you deeply regret? Make a list of things that you still, to this day, regret doing. If you have any feelings of self-hate, self-unforgiveness, etc. Is there anything in your past that you feel excessively embarrassed or ashamed of?
This is a common cause for self-hate. If there are things which you still haven't forgiven yourself of, then now is a good time to make a list of those things, so that you can effectively forgive and release the hate held secretly within your heart against yourself. It is vital that we get right down to the roots, and lay out the specific reasons why there are wounds that have not yet healed.
Spiritual infections, like natural infections, will fester and grow worse when in the dark; it is important to bring the issues to the light, so they can no longer fester, but receive the healing light of Christ into those areas of the mind and emotions. If you cannot be honest with yourself, and bring these things out into the light, then you're only hindering the healing power of the Holy Spirit from ministering to those wounds and bringing about healing in your mind and emotions.
The first thing that you want to settle, is any feelings of guilt and shame, especially any feelings that God is somehow disappointed or angry with you. When dealing with a physical wound, what is the first thing you do? Cleanse it from germs so that it can properly heal. When dealing with spiritual or emotional wounds, carrying around baggage guilt, shame, fear, etc. Getting yourself to the point where you know that God loves, forgives, and accepts you, is one of the foundations to receive inner healing. Knowing that God isn't angry or disappointed in you creates an atmosphere where you can freely turn your burdens over to Jesus, and trust Him to take care of them.
Carrying around a burden of shame is a sure way to hinder the inner healing process because it mentally separates us from the healing work of Jesus. If we want to freely receive healing for our damaged emotions, then we need to settle it in our minds that God is not angry with us, and stand on God's Word about our sins being forgiven and washed from us by the Blood of Christ. A couple good teachings I have on this include: Is God upset with me? One of the biggest keys to receive healing for damaged emotions, depends on your perception of God, and how He feels about you and your healing.
You must realize that he is the source of your healing, and deliverance Blaming God for your problems will put up an invisible wall, which will hinder His healing power from flowing into your mind and emotions. The Holy Spirit will not override our freewill, and when we blame Him, our freewill is putting our hand up in His face. It is important that our freewill allows His work and does not blame Him for the bad thing s that have happened to us. It is important to realize that God is for you, and not against you.
He desires to see you healed and restored to wholeness even more than you do! Open up those wounds, and give the pain to Jesus. What you want is to open up those wounds before the light Jesus , so that they can be healed. As long as you hold them in darkness, they will never fully heal. If you had a physical wound, and it turned into an infection, and you merely put a bandaid over the wound, would that solve the problem?
You need to take that mask off, expose it to the light, and apply the healing and germ-killing light of Christ into that wound so that it can heal. God's Word tells us to cast our cares upon Him, for He cares for us see 1 Peter 5: We need to realize that Christ has taken our pain on the cross, and if we will transfer it to Him, He is waiting to heal our wounds. The Holy Spirit has shown me this very important key to inner healing: Why should we carry something that Christ has carried for us on the cross?
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows [grief, pain, affliction]: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: The word "sorrows" in this passage, actually translates to grief, pain, or affliction. When Jesus shed His blood, He carried our inner pain and wounds, so that we don't have to! God's Word tells us that He cares for us, and because of this fact, we are told to cast all - not some, but ALL - of our cares upon Him see 1 Peter 5: Being thankful for Jesus carrying our sorrows is another key to break-through.
If you choose to carry your own sorrows, it is usually because a you don't really realize or believe that He carried your sorrows, or b you haven't taken the time to think about or understand what Jesus did. Anytime when we seriously look at what Christ did for us, it's impossible not to be thankful for such a gift that He's so lovingly purchased for us! Being thankful will make you eager to take advantage of what Christ has lovingly carried for you.
I want you to picture Jesus standing there beside you with tears in His eyes, feeling the hurt and suffering that you're going through. We are told to cast our cares and concerns upon Him - why? Picturing Jesus standing there beside a situation with tears in His eyes can be very powerful. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Developing a thankful attitude is another big key to receiving healing for our emotional wounds.
Thankfulness leads to trust - if you are thankful for what God's given you, then you will find it easy to trust Him in those areas of your life. Thankfulness is also a big key to overcoming rejection issues - how is that? Because when you begin to look at all that Christ has done for you, it is impossible to feel rejected by your heavenly Father, which is one of the big keys to healing rejection. God's Word actually commands us to be thankful:.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Not only are we commanded to be thankful, but the Bible also tells us what can happen when we are unthankful:. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. An unthankful heart is prone to unforgiving, unloving, resentful, and all sorts of hateful feelings against others. It is a poison to our emotional health and ability to receive the healing that God wants to bring to our wounds and hurts.
Those who are unforgiving and judgmental towards others have forgotten what God has done for them. Anybody who truly thankful for how God has treated them, would go about treating others the same way and He treated them. Begin to be thankful for the little things which God has created for you to enjoy. Little things such as the birds singing in the trees or your pet cat or dog - they were made for us to enjoy!
It is hard, if not impossible to be thankful and unforgiving at the same time. When we realize what Christ has done for us, and are thankful for such an expensive gift that has been purchased with Jesus' own blood for us, then we will naturally forgive those who wrong us - that love is contagious and will flow through us. We cannot honestly look at what Christ has done for us, and not overflow with thankfulness in our heart!
Becoming thankful is a huge key to breakthrough if you struggle with unforgiveness. Unforgiveness and unthankfulness are closely related. For more information on a thankful heart which is packed with Holy Ghost revelation! Fear is often a tool of Satan because when we puts our trust in God, tremendous amount of peace and healing can then take place. Fear will keep a person holding onto what must be released into Jesus' hands. This is another reason why we must come to know the true good and loving nature of God towards His children.
Knowing that God is a good God and has your best interest in mind, paves the way to being able to trust Him with the concerns in your life. You need to know that you can trust God with your needs, He understands them, and desires to help you! Another key to receive inner healing, especially from a background or root of rejection, is coming to a place where you know that God loves you dearly and has your best interest in mind.
If you have a hard time believing that God is good towards you and has your best interest in mind, then I highly recommend Gloria Copeland's book entitled, "Blessed Beyond Measure. It puts the person on the edge of their seat and makes them afraid of God, which causes them to feel discouraged in their relationship with Him, and tend to give up on spending time with Him and drawing near to Him the source of their healing! It's no wonder Satan wants us to feel like God is somehow angry or disappointed in us!
It will loosen up the tenseness on your whole system once you begin to see things as God wants you to see them. Once you can imagine it, then turn to God's Word, and learn of how He really does look upon you with favor and hope! He's always calling us back to repentance, so that He can restore our relationship with Him.