Bring Your Pain to God

Have you ever heard someone say, “I can forgive them, but I will never forget what they did to me”? This is a common sentiment among people in an attempt to feel strong or in control, but in reality, not forgetting the pain you have gone through is torture. 

Why would we want to hold on to our pain and think about it instead of bringing it to the Healer, the Counselor, Comforter, Redeemer, and Restorer, allowing Him to heal it? Not only does the Lord want to heal your pain, He wants to cause you to forget it. To be so healed that you do not even remember the pain.

In Genesis we see the story of Joseph. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers because of their jealousy of the way their father, Jacob, treated him. He was enslaved and then imprisoned for something he did not do. Joseph walked through impossibly hard situations, but the Lord had a plan and a purpose through it all. Eventually he became the second in command to Pharaoh and essentially ruled Egypt. 

In Genesis 41:51-52 it says, "51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget), for he said, 'God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship and all [the sorrow of the loss of] my father’s household.' 52 He named the second [son] Ephraim (fruitfulness), for 'God has caused me to be fruitful and very successful in the land of my suffering.'"

Not only does the Lord want to heal your pain, but he wants to cause you to forget your pain, and then bear good fruit out of that affliction. What a good God we serve! This is true freedom; to be able to forget the pain and then produce fruit out of it.

Joseph’s first born is Manasseh (to forget), followed by Ephraim (fruitfulness). You can’t have the fruitfulness before the healing and forgetting. Before you can bear fruit out of the affliction, you have to be able to let go of the pain.

Pastor Mike said in a teaching this week that we won’t see the fruit until we find the joy. How can we find the joy if we can’t even forget about the hurt and pain in our lives? 

Praise God we are made new in Him and we have the privilege of laying it all down and forgetting. He wants us walking in that freedom, full of His joy. 

Philippians 3:13-14 says, "13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Paul wrote this while in prison. He was in the middle of the pain and struggle, but declares He will press on, looking ahead, focusing on the upward call of Jesus. 

We can forget what is behind us, we can forget the pain of past mistakes or hurts, and live in the full abundance of the joy of the Lord. He makes all things new. 

So if there is a pain that plagues your heart, if you carry heartache from something that was done to you, it is time to release it to the Lord. Allow Him to heal the hurt, cause you to forget the pain, and see the fruit that comes from it.