“If we become more self-aware of how we are processing our thoughts and perceptions and redirect those in more life-giving ways, then inside every loss, a more wise, empathetic, understanding, discerning, compassionate person of strength and humility has the potential to arise within us.”- Lysa TerKeurst
“I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all, but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”- Martin Luther
Lysa TerKeurst concludes Chapter 6 of Forgiving What You Can’t Forget with the following assertion. When you place each and every loss in God’s hands, it can be redeemed. Certainly, your past hasn’t changed. However, what you believe is possible for you can change for the better.
Past losses and hurts we’ve experienced feed wrong beliefs and habits. And that holds us back in the present. So, loss certainly forms part of what shapes us. Yet, we must not describe all loss as detrimental. Instead, if we let it, loss shapes us in wonderful ways.
Because we don’t want to forever process loss through the lens of perceptions formed in our most hurtful or traumatic seasons. Also, it’s a slow process to revisit our belief systems. But, we must not fear starting the healing process. And that healing process begins with finding the connections. As Lysa astutely observes: “We can’t change what we have experienced, but we can choose how the experience changes us.”
In conclusion, Lysa talks about what builds faith and trust:
“My trust gets built when I see God’s work with my human eyes. But what builds my faith is when I can’t see or understand what He does. Instead, I choose to place my trust in who He is and declare Him good in the midst of all the unknowns. . . . And yet God’s redemption is there over it all. It’s a mystery so painful and so beautiful all at the very same time.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you redirect the processing of your thoughts and perceptions? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “A gateway leading to growth, discovery”
