On Monday a dear friend texted us.  Well, actually, he dictated to his wife who texted us.  He told us that he had been in a car accident the week prior and was paralyzed from the neck down. He asked us to pray for him.  We were shocked and heartbroken.  Dear Husband texted back and asked if he could talk to his friend.  His wife facilitated the call, but our friend only had enough strength for a short three-minute conversation.  However, when Husband asked him if he knew Jesus loved him, he answered with a definite affirmation.  Then when Husband asked him if he knew Jesus died for him, he again clearly affirmed.

On Sunday, the day before this sad news, I had watched an episode of “The Chosen”, an online series on the life of Jesus.  It was the story of Jesus healing an invalid in the book of John in the New Testament. It shows us that God sees our suffering and calls us to move forward.  Although not every crippled person in Jerusalem that day was healed physically, nor is everyone today healed physically, God’s deeper-than-body healing is available for each heart that turns to him.

“One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”
 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”
 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” “ John 5:6-8

The paralytic had excuses and blamed others.  When asked if he wanted to get well, he responded with, “I can’t.” instead of, “I want to.”  But who could blame him for being hopeless after 38 years?   We can even understand why he blamed others for not helping him.  “I have no one…”. Where were his relatives?  Nor could we judge him for feeling like a victim.  “Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”  It must have been discouraging to say the least to see others get better, but never him.  Until Jesus intervened.  All our hopelessness, discouragement, blame, and victimhood melt away in the presence of Jesus.  He sees our situation, he cares, he raises us above it all.  “Stand up,” he tells us.  Take your stand in faith.  Carry your past as a testimony to others of your healing.  And walk forward without looking back.

Every one of us has been hurt.  But how we deal with the hurt affects how successfully we live today.  How can we remember the wrongs done to us or our sicknesses/ physical limitations without playing the victim?  Without anger and bitterness?  We should never deny the wrong or the illness/handicap.  Pretending it didn’t happen or didn’t affect us will never help us move past the hurt.  We have to face it and forgive or accept which is a topic for another time.  But let’s assume we’ve forgiven/accepted.  How do we not let the injury define us?  How do we get to the other side and become all we were meant to be?

The Bible is full of stories of brave men and women who didn’t allow past hurts to hinder them from being all God intended them to be.  We have a choice.  We can let our injuries become our identity, our story,  and keep us down.  Or we can move beyond the hurt and become strong and confident in God.

I love the Biblical story of a teenager who was mistreated yet he refused to be defined by being wronged and rose to become a leader of the one of the most powerful nations on earth at the time. He knew God was with him in the dark.  He continued to do the right thing no matter how bad things got.  He believed that God was in charge and had a reason for his pain.  He was convinced there would be a good outcome.

Joseph’s mother died when he was little.  Then while he was a teenager he was wronged by:
His father who played favorites
His brothers who were jealous and sold him into slavery in a foreign country
His employer’s wife who lied about him and had him sent to prison
His jail mate who promised to put in a good word when he was released, but forgot.

In spite of betrayal, he knew the closeness of God. He saw that God was with him and blessing him so he didn’t become bitter or discouraged.  His injuries didn’t define him or prevent him from rising to the top.  He never sought revenge.  He didn’t look back and lick his wounds.  

“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” Genesis 39:2
“But while Joseph was there in the prison,  the Lord was with him;”  Genesis 39:20
“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.”  Genesis 45:8. Joseph to his brothers who had sold him into slavery

We all have a story that includes hurt, but we don’t have to get stuck there.  We don’t have to replay the injuries.  We can walk forward in faith.  We can become all we’re meant to.  And along the way we can be an example to others of overcoming by God’s help.  Yesterday my brother-in-law told us the story of his friend who came to Jesus after a life of addictions and lawlessness.  He had been a gang member, alcoholic, abused drugs, and spent time in prison.  By God’s mercy, the man and his wife eventually chose a better path.  Now he delights in studying the Bible and helping others find a better life.  He is so grateful for his deliverance that he thanks Jesus every day for saving him.  When the man was bemoaning the wasted years of his life, my brother-in-law reminded him that he is especially equipped to help others fighting addictions as he helps to leads the addictions recovery group at his church.  This ministry would be impossible for someone like my brother-in-law to lead because he has no experience in common with addicts.  No matter what suffering we have experienced, whether caused by others, ourselves, or it just happened, we can leave it behind, walk forward in faith in a good God who has a good plan for us, and help others who are suffering.