How to Get Free When Someone Hurts YouНамуна

Hurt by the Church

Sometimes we are tempted to hold onto hurt when it’s cause by someone in church.

I think we expect church people to behave well, act nice, and be a blessing. But in reality, of course, even church people have a way of acting however they want to (just like you and I do)!

I’ve met a lot of Christians who are carrying wounds of something that happened to them in church. Recently I read a wonderful article, written by one of my former students and she gave me permission to share it with you:

“Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I love the church. But I’ve seen people hop from one church to another (or completely abandon church, or even the Lord) because they’ve been ‘hurt by the church.’

I believe we need the Lord’s help to bring healing and truth to our hearts when it comes to this. Because WE are the church! It’s not an inanimate object, organization, business, or group; the church is its people, all doing their best to follow God and help others. They aren’t perfect -- sometimes they make mistakes in their pursuit to look more like Jesus.

Yes, my family and I have been hurt by people who say they love Jesus. Through the years, the Lord has walked me through the forgiveness process to release people who hurt us. The kicker is, these people weren’t the least bit sorry about the pain they had caused—yet, I needed to forgive them.

The Bible tells us what to do when we’ve been hurt, and we have a responsibility to handle our offenses God’s way. When we say, ‘I’ve been hurt by the church,’ we put a blanket over the real issues we are having with people, so we walk around with a wounded spirit and drag others into the hurts we haven’t dealt with.

If you’ve been ‘hurt by the church’ I hope you can see there’s really an offense or conflict that God wants to help you resolve. I encourage you to ask Him for help. Let’s not allow the enemy to divide us —instead, let’s what Colossians 3:13-14 says, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”