Dealing With Hurt

When it comes to dealing with hurt, this is an area we all can relate to whether it’s marital hurt, physical hurt, emotional hurt, church hurt, financial hurt, job hurt, friend hurt, family hurt, or just plain old life hurt. We all have dealt with some kind of hurt in life. Some of you are currently going through some hurt right now, and some of you are still trying to overcome your hurt from the past. Whatever the case may be, dealing with the hurts of our life and the past is something many of us aren’t trained to do. We are just learning on the fly and trying our best to deal with those hurts the best way we can. Nevertheless, how many of you know that there is someone who knows a great deal about dealing with hurt…? Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ who was betrayed by one of his very own disciples. Think about the hurt Jesus had to endure from his own disciples, from his own countrymen, from his own agony, from his own trial before Pilate, from when the Jews demanded a murderer in Barbaras over himself, and from the pain of those nails entering his hands and feet for the sin of the world.... So, when it comes to dealing with hurt, Jesus knew, experienced, and dealt with a great amount of hurt.  It’s important that when we deal with our hurts to look up to the One who was pierced for our iniquities and wounded for our transgressions. Hebrews 2:18 says, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” 

Believe it or not, there are four  things the people of God can do that Jesus did to help us deal with our hurts. In Matthew 26:48-50, “the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: the one I kiss is the man; arrest him. Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, Greetings, Rabbi! And kissed him. Jesus replied, Do what you came for friend.” The fact that Jesus called his betrayer friend is amazing in itself, but the question that remains to be answered is, “how was Jesus so prepared to deal with his own betrayal and hurt?” 

First, Jesus recognized and acknowledged the hurt and the agony he was experiencing in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said in Matthew 26:41, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” In other words, Jesus recognized what his flesh was experiencing. He knew and understood his own feelings and hurts, and it is important for the people of God to know when the flesh is hurt by the trials that come with life. 

Secondly, Jesus dealt with his own hurt and betrayal by praying three times in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Luke 22:44 it says that Jesus “prayed more earnestly.” How important is it for the people of God to pray more earnestly when it comes to dealing with hurt…? Many times we try to deal with the hurts of life on our own strength and on our own power, and then wonder why the hurt still affects us later on in life just as bad as when the hurt happened. When it comes to dealing with hurt we have to pray more earnestly for the Holy Spirit to heal our hearts, and when we do that, the Lord will strengthen us just like he strengthened Jesus in the Garden. Praying to the Lord is the vehicle God gives us to release our hurt and pain to Him. The more we hurt, the more we should be praying!  

Another aspect that doesn’t get touch on as much is the fact that Jesus dealt with his hurts by verbalizing them to his disciples. During the Lord’s Supper right before he was betrayed in Matthew 26:20, Jesus not only verbalized his betrayal, but he dealt with Judas face-to-face. When it comes to dealing with hurt, it is imperative that the people of God have an outlet or someone they can confide in to verbalize whatever hurt they are dealing with. Having a confidant to verbalize your hurts will allow you to deal with them in a manner that’s healthy and effective. Without an external outlet to verbalize your pain and hurt, it remains bottled up inside. But whatever you do, DO NOT allow your hurt, DO NOT allow your pain, and DO NOT allow your emotions to bottle up inside of you without a point of exit, because if you don’t give your hurts an outlet, you will become like a shaken bottle of soda and eventually explode whenever someone or something triggers your hurt. For the men out there dealing with hurt, remember, DO NOT let your pride get in the way of praying to God more earnestly about whatever it is your dealing with, and DO NOT let your pride prevent you from verbalizing your hurts to someone you can confide in.

Lastly, when it comes to dealing with hurt, we need to have the mindset of Christ, especially when someone that is truly close to you hurts you. In a sense, we have to be like the Lord Jesus Christ and say, “Do what you came for friend.” Sometimes we have to let go and let God, and let people do what they are going to do intentionally or unintentionally. The same applies to our circumstances. All you can do is brace yourself by being prayed up, by fixing your eyes on the Lord, by being mentally resilient, and by knowing that life will beat you up sometimes. But most importantly, we must always remember to forgive our brothers and sisters seventy times seven just as the Lord commanded in Matthew 18:22!

Therefore, when it comes to dealing with hurt, remember these points:

1). Be aware of your own hurt and acknowledge them.

2). Pray more earnestly to the Father about your hurt.

3). Verbalize your hurt to someone you confide in; someone who can just listen to you.

4). Have the mindset of Christ and forgive.

5). *Bonus: Expect the unexpected! In life it’s not if you get hurt, it’s when you get hurt are you prepared to deal with the hurts that come in life just like the Lord Jesus Christ did. Remember, Jesus is the only bandaid to our broken hearts!

May the Lord comfort each of you today, and that you will know that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!