I’m caught off guard, getting sucked back into the past, trapped by my feelings and held fast by negativity. I don’t want to be here, not when Jesus offers us such a tantalising taste of freedom. How did I get here again, a beached boat when I long to sail free?

At times like this, our pain feels ever-present as we rehash and revisit hurt feelings, especially when we fail to move forward, embrace the Now and the New, lag behind the person God is gently shaping us to be. It’s like a spiritual blindness preventing us from seeing who we really are in His eyes, a fog of forgetfulness.

Then we fail to connect to the woman within. Fear temporarily holds us hostage: fear of never fully getting over a painful past, fear of standing still and fear of moving forward. Because childhood abuse memories still sit inside the adult we have become, scratching at the edges of our peace and making present-day relationships less than they could be.

I have days where I neglect to own passion within, resulting in a deadening of feelings. Then the mist clears, anguish gives way to acceptance, pain to peace and condemnation to compassion—toward myself and others. I become free to express myself more lovingly when my mind is not trapped in the past.

[bctt tweet=”We become more receptive to grace when we decide to embrace where we are”]

We become more receptive to grace when we decide to embrace where we are, and remember how God has brought us thus far, on the way to all we are still becoming in Christ. And as we allow God’s warming love and light to filter through, it helps push out the dark thoughts.

“Face your future by recalling God’s past victories” ~ Max Lucado ‘Glory Days’

Scales begin to fall away and we can see more clearly when not viewing life through a red mist of anger, frustration, shame and pain. We begin to inch toward a deeper understanding, reconciliation and forgiveness. We want to let ourselves be loved, instead of rejecting such advances from our loved ones.

A new-found peace and confidence arises out of seeing, accepting and believing just how much God loves us and places people in our lives who love us too. Instead of hiding away in our history and drowning in despair, our souls start to trust again and soar toward a better future in Christ.

[bctt tweet=”A new-found peace and confidence arises out of accepting and believing how much God loves us”]

There’s an inner yearning to be free, to live and love more openly, to yield to this day, this person and this moment because we choose to, not because we feel trapped into reacting and responding to their will.

So we hold onto hope as a life raft, cling to the courage only God can give us, feel our way into a less fraught future as we see those inner battles for what they really are —skirmishes in a war in which the enemy has already been mightily defeated by our Saviour, who sacrificed Himself lovingly and unconditionally on our behalf.

[bctt tweet=”So we hold onto hope as a life raft, cling to the courage only God can give us”]

“God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet” ~ Psalm 103:6 The Message

Friend, I pray you will see the Hope we have in Jesus is available to you, too. May you look to Him for the restoration, healing and deep inner peace only He can bring. Meanwhile, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Feel free to message me privately here.