Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life - a Daily DevotionalSample

Letting God's Love Overcome Past Hurt Early in our marriage, Dave and I had some rough years, and a lot of it was because I needed God to heal me from my past of being abused sexually, emotionally and verbally by my dad. Through a lot of tears and difficult moments of choosing to forgive instead of getting revenge, God brought me through, and He's also used my testimony to bring healing to the lives of others. When God heals you of past hurt, He not only wants to help you, but He also wants your experience to be a gateway through which others can experience the same healing. Eventually, I came to a point where God led me and Dave to move my parents to St. Louis and even buy them a home, which was very difficult for me. But my dad ended up apologizing to me for all he had done and even received Christ into his life. I experienced a whole new level of emotional health because I let God heal me through the power of forgiveness, and allowed Him to use my restoration to help heal my dad. You know, we can all hurt in a lot of different ways. Loneliness, disappointment, rejection, fear and insecurity all have the ability to hurt us deeply. I couldn't move beyond the hurt from my past until I received and experienced the love of God and allowed Him to turn it all around. Before you can move beyond your pain and learn to love and forgive others, you have to experience God's love. When dealing with your past, remember that God loves you deeply. The Bible says that we are only complete when we experience the love of Christ, which is so great you could never fully understand it. As you receive His love, healing will begin in your heart and you will be made complete with the fullness of His life. Prayer Starter: Lord, I believe You can help me overcome the hurt and pain of my past and use my healing to help others. Help me to experience the love of Christ and make me complete with all the fullness of Your life and power.