Handling the Hurts

How do we handle the hurts of ministry?

This question arises so often when speaking with ministry wives. We feel hurt from the believers in our churches when they say or do things that hurt our husband or his ministry. We feel hurt when our children are not treated as they should be. We feel hurt when ministry seems to overshadow the family time. We feel hurt when we feel so much is taken for granted by the members in our church.

So how do we respond as Christ would have us to respond when these times of hurt come. Believe me, they come, and at times in heavier waves then we care to admit.

First of all- I am reminded of Ps. 6:9- The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. When I am dealing with hurt, the first thing I do is cry out to the Lord. He hears us and he wants us to share the burdens of our heart. Then, we are to leave it there and ask him to help us to return the same mercy to those who have hurt us.

Second- I must be willing to forgive others. Ps. 103:12 says that as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Just as Christ forgave us, so are we to forgive others.

Third- Ps. 103:8- The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
Ladies, this one is the hardest to learn. In the midst of great hurt, we must be slow to anger. There have been many times when I have had to pray for the Lord to put a lock on my tongue. We must respond in love to those who have hurt us. We are to abound in love toward them.

These three nuggets of truth have helped me to survive working in ministry. I have to remind myself that we are working with imperfect, forgiven people just as I am an imperfect forgiven person. God will give us the grace and the strength to heal from the hurts in our lives. Some hurts just take longer to heal then others. Don't let a root of bitterness enter your heart. Pray, pray, and pray some more for the Lord to heal you and help you to continue forgiving.

Remember the Lord will be there with you every step of the way. He will bring something good out of every situation that seems hopeless.

Cry out to him, Pray to him, Sing praise to Him and remember who He is. He is our Saviour, our faithful Father, our deliverer, our healer, our protector, our right hand, our shield, our lawyer, our provider, our faithful friend, the Lion of Judah, the Everlasting Father, the Great I Am.

Remember Who He Is. Trust Him. He will heal. He will restore. Praise His Holy Name.