“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5
“You need to stop trying to protect yourself,” a brother in the Lord essentially told me long ago. “You need to let God protect you.” I had been trying to protect myself from a loved one who was hurting me terribly and continually, but that was just the beginning. I was filled up with so much hurt from so many people from so many situations over the years that I had unconsciously formed a wall around my heart to protect myself from more hurt. Years later, when I had fully committed my life to Christ, God’s Spirit opened my eyes to the truth.
- For years, I held onto hurt until it built up into a mountain of hurt because I wasn’t forgiving the people who hurt me.
- I allowed the ever growing hurt turn into self-pity, anger, judgment, pride, bitterness, and so much more. All sin. All adding to that ever growing mountain that I used as the wall around my heart.
- I kept people at a distance from my heart to try to protect myself and ultimately came to realize in so doing I was keeping the Lord at a distance from my heart such that I wouldn’t allow Him to heal me nor would I allow near those He sent to minister to me.
- I was so selfishly consumed with trying to protect myself from more hurt I didn’t see I was hurting others as a result of the un-repented sin in my heart, of holding people at a distance, and of being too self-consumed to see I should be loving and ministering to others.
- I wrongly thought I could keep others from hurting me by trying to protect my heart and had to come to see that life is full of trials and hurts and that it’s inevitable we will be hurt but that we can choose to respond to hurt in a godly way by pouring out our hearts to the Lord, continually repenting of anything sinful in our hearts and actions so our walls are demolished, yielding to His healing us, and boldly and courageously in His strength instead of trying to protect ourselves go out into the world as His Spirit leads us to love and minister to a world in need in Christ’s name.
I am a sensitive woman who is easily hurt and who has had some tough trials, but today I place my trust in the Lord to love me, protect me, forgive me when I do wrong and repent, and use me to help a hurting world by helping people to find and follow the Lord Jesus Christ for eternity!