How do we deal with being hurt by someone in the church body? When someone close to us in the Body of Christ betrays our trust how do we cope. When someone hurts you, it's never easy to recover, it takes time to recover and depending on the severity and the type of hurt the recovery process could take years or never. The hard truth is the fact, most people never recover, or the recovery is partial and trust is lost forever. I'm not a counsellor, however I am one who has experienced hurt and disappointment by people inside the house of (Church) God. I advise anyone who has ever been hurt, disappointed, or abused to seek counselling from a trusted source. This is not an easy thing to do, especially when your trust has already been betrayed. Pray and seek God's guidance in your selection of a counsellors and let your first counselling session be between you and the Lord Jesus Christ. Find some alone time and talk to God about everything that has happen, just as you would during a counselling session. Tell the Lord, how you're feeling inside, how you're feeling towards the person that hurt you, even how you feel towards God. Please know and understand, that it's alright to be angry, it's alright to cry, God understands what you've experienced and what you're going through. Please remember, your healing process starts when you turn to God in prayer. We all know that hurt comes in many forms and from numerous sources, it's not always physical. More often than not, the hurt we experience comes in the form of poorly chosen words spoken at the wrong time and the wrong place. However, the pain experienced when someone is hurt can be both physical and emotional.
In the word of God, more specifically in Psalms 42. The writer shares his pain with us and paints a vivid picture of his emotional state of being. If you read it you can feel the depression, you can feel the hurt and the pain experienced by the Psalmist. This is what he writes: "As the deer panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" (From the time this hurtful event happened, I've been crying every day and every night.) "When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept Holy Day." (I remember the way I felt before I was hurt, I was happy I once, I enjoyed going to church) "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God:" (Why am I feeling like this, I didn't do anything to deserve this) "for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." (I'm going to give God the praise, because He alone can heal me, my hope is in Jesus alone.)
If you've every been hurt and have the time, please read the Psalm 42 in its entirety, it will bless you and let you know you're not alone. True Love should never hurt. In Psalm 55:12-16 the writer does not mix words, telling us about how he feels when he's hurt by a friend. Read this scripture and you'll understand what I'm writing about. "For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him" (I could understand it, if an enemy had done this to me, but it was not my enemy) But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. (We went to confiding in each other, we went to church together) Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: (Kill em Lord!! I pray they go to hell with gasoline underwear on! ) for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me." Being hurt by someone can impact a person for life and should be taken seriously. If you are the offended, go to God first in prayer and ask Him to heal you and to help you forgive the offender. If you are the offender, go to the person first and ask them to forgive you (they might, they might not), then go to God in prayer and ask God for, forgiveness.
Your Healing begins now!!
Photos Courtesy of Sydney Sims and Yana Hurskaya
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