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Living, Thriving and Bearing Fruit Again
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
Life in a world where people are enslaved to sin is filled with pain and brokenness. Not a single human has lived without experiencing the devastating impact of sin. Some have endured massive trials, unspeakable pain, countless injustices and terrible oppression at the hands of sinful people.
Jesus himself suffered beyond what any human has ever suffered when he took upon himself all of the sins of all mankind for all time and bore the full punishment for them--the wrath of God poured out on him on the Cross. Thankfully, whoever personally accepts Jesus' sacrifice to cover his or her sins will be ransomed and eternally cleansed of them (past, present and future) and will enter into a restored and peaceful relationship with God both now on earth and throughout eternity in heaven .
"By oppression and judgment he [Jesus] was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken...and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering...the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:8,10-11)
Physically and emotionally, Jesus also suffered, arguably, more than any other human. The Scripture says, concerning his physical suffering and all of the flogging and abuse he received on his way to the Cross, "...his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness--" (Isaiah 52:14). The Scripture also records Jesus, just prior to his crucifixion, "And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44). (Jesus was in so much emotional and mental agony that he sweat drops of blood. Medically, this condition is called hematidrosis and can happen during times of extreme anguish and strain.)
Amazingly, the world's tender-hearted Saviour, Jesus, was not hardened at all by any of his sufferings on earth though the Scripture records, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows..." (Isaiah 53:3-4). Because he suffered as a man, Jesus, the Son of God, now has the ability to fully empathize with us. He draws near to us and helps us through our own suffering and sorrow as we draw near to him (James 4:8):
"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18)
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles..." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Therefore, we are encouraged to, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Many of us go through things that are so devastating that we feel like we will be broken forever and will never recover from it. It may be the death of a child or parent, long-term abuse, rape or incest or the betrayal of an adulterous spouse. There are also "smaller" things that some of us go through that have the same kind of devastating and long-lasting impact such as rejection from peers, not being loved by our parents, personal failures or a partner leaving us.
Many of us have felt like we were a tree that was growing large and tall until the unthinkable happened to us. It feels as if someone has brutally chopped us down at the roots and the only thing that's left of us is a jagged, dead stump. We can't imagine how life could possibly go on, and some of us remain broken and decimated all our lives because we've lost all hope and don't have a will to go on...
...but it doesn't have to be that way...
We have 2 choices. For the rest of our earthly lives we can either trust in ourselves and depend on our own strength in order to survive and try and recover from things, OR we can thrust ourselves upon God and trust in Him to heal us.
"This is what the LORD says: 'Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on his flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5-8)
I have certainly felt like that chopped down tree on several different occasions. I've also walked the road of depending on my own strength, trying to overcome, but it's only ever ended in failure. Life, for many of us, is far more painful than what we have the strength to endure. Friends, though they try to help, do not have the strength to carry us for very long. Psychiatrists, counselors and other professionals mean well but they do not ultimately possess the ability to heal. I have never benefited from them though I went to them during times of abuse, assault, depression, suicide and addiction. My problems did not get any better. At best they just mutated into different problems with ever-increasing intensity.
I was scared because my life seemed to be out of control and going in a downward spiral of pain and problems. I couldn't adequately deal with all of the things that were happening to me before more things were being heaped on me. Over time, all the vigor, strength and hope I had as well as the bright outlook I had on life during the days of my youth was being dashed to pieces on the rocks below. I was changing into a person I didn't want to be. I didn't want to be depressed. I didn't want to be suicidal. I didn't want to be hopeless and despairing. Though I wanted to be a kind person, my inward pain caused me to lash out in anger and inflict pain on others and on myself. The abuse done to me caused me to abuse others. Gradually, I lost all hope as well as my will to live, let alone thrive. Life for me was largely a tortured existence. I spent most of my time just trying to (unsuccessfully) distract myself from all the pain inside.
But through it all, Jesus loved me and desired to heal me and build me up again and make my life meaningful and count for something. He desired me to live, to thrive and to know him and to know his great love for me personally. (See "God's Unfailing Love For Me and For You")
Though I don't have time to tell the beautiful story here, I can honestly, honestly say that Jesus is the ONLY healer and the ONLY solution to ALL of our problems. "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). I don't say this because this is the "proper" answer a Christian is supposed to give. I say this because of my deep personal experience of having been truly healed by Jesus. I am not what I once used to be. Jesus is the only One who has the power and the strength to fully heal us. I am a walking miracle and testimony to that fact. He has healed me from the things my own strength, friends and counselors never could heal me of.
I have been that jagged, dead stump more than once, but God has done the impossible in my life every single time. Honestly, honestly he has. "For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). Even after becoming a Christian, I have still experienced the painful effects of other peoples' sin and have felt like that stump all over again, for people will keep on sinning. However, I have marveled at God's ability to resurrect the dead.
"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." (2 Corinthians 1:8-11)
For years I actually considered myself to be an old, junky car that was so run down and damaged that it would just be cheaper to scrap me (and get a new one) than to fix me. However, Jesus felt I was worth fixing, no matter how much damage had been done to me. To him, I was worth redeeming and healing even though I was a complete mess. Jesus miraculously healed me of quite a few deep emotional wounds instantaneously, but I've also found full healing is a process. I truly marvel that God values me enough to take all the painstaking time and effort to work on me, even though it was such a big job to do. I would've been inclined to just forget me altogether, but God isn't like other humans. Wow....even as I write this I marvel at how much he loves me and cares for me...and for every other hurting and damaged person.
Now I feel like that thriving sprig of new life. It doesn't matter what is in my past because I am healed and today I live and thrive and bear fruit. Jesus has truly, truly done this beautiful work in me, and he is glorified through it! Over time I will become an even bigger, thriving, stronger and more fruitful tree. I know God will do this in me.
He stands there waiting and longing for each of us to come to him so that he can redeem our lives from the slavery of sin and heal us from its devastating and painful affects. All we need to do is surrender our lives to his loving embrace.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me [Jesus], because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." (Isaiah 61:1-4)
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