You Are More Than You’ve Been Told: Unlock a Fresh Way to Live Through the Rhythms of JesusSample

DAY 7: Jesus in Your Story

Jesus wants to redeem your story and refresh your life. Still, for some of us, there are wounds that cut so deep, we’re not sure if we can ever be healed from them. For some of us, there are painful stories that have defined us and shaped the lens through which we see ourselves, and we’re not sure how to move past them.

The people that said those words to you that you will never forget.

The house that started to no longer feel like a home.

The moment you realized the people you loved and looked up to were not who you thought they were.

The day you realized your life wouldn’t be what you thought it would be.

The people you thought would stay, but didn’t.

The people you thought would defend you, but didn’t.

The words you longed to hear, but never did.

Do any stories like this come to mind? How can the deepest wounds be healed?

I have held onto some wounds in my life for far too long. Hurtful words from family members when I was young, lies from those I loved, deep pain from moments of betrayal, and consuming feelings of failure.

These wounds eventually became walls. When I set out to reconnect with myself, with God, and began a new structure of abiding–a new trellis, a new way of living–I learned something new. I want you to have the tool that has set me free from hurts I never thought I would be free from.

Put Jesus in the story.

In this painful memory, what details come to mind, what sounds surround you, and what feelings are stirred up in you? Give yourself the space and time needed to go back to that place.

Now where is Jesus? What does His face look like as He looks at you? What does He feel toward you at this moment? What words would He say to you?

You might not have known His words before you personally knew Him, before you got close to Him, before you engaged with His words and with His people. But now, with your new rhythms, you know more of what Jesus has said about you. How does what you know of Jesus now change how you see Jesus then?

Friend, perhaps now you can get from Jesus what no one else was able to give you.

Jesus does not only want to redeem you from what happened. He wants to redeem those painful moments, those painful memories, and give to you what no one else could.

He wants to tell you in that classroom where people told you that you’re not good enough, “You are loved and worthy. They have no right to name you.”

He wants to tell you in that bedroom where someone made you feel powerless and worthless, “You are loved and valuable. They have no right to take this from you.”

He wants to tell you in that living room where you felt like everyone was against you and no one was fighting for you, “You are loved and worth fighting for. They have no right to define you.”

Jesus was there when we were hurting. And the same words He says to us today, He was saying then.

You deserve to stop seeing yourself through the broken lens of others. When you see yourself through the lens of God and how He sees you, you will see yourself for who you really are and who you’ve always been.

It turns out, He’s not just giving you a new name. He’s telling you who you always were. You’ve always been: Chosen. Invited. Welcomed. And worth fighting for.

The truth is this: You were loved, valued, and wanted all along.

Prayer

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are and always have been in my story. I have never been alone. Please redeem those stories in my past that still need healing, and help me to walk confidently in faith with You at my side, into the next circumstance. I want to realign my life to rest in You more, know You more, and know the lens through which You see me. I commit my life to you, and I want to follow you forever. Amen.