Hannahs Heartbeat Blog

Overcoming FEAR!

The Word of God says that “we overcome by the blood of The Lamb and the word of our testimony” …what are we declaring over our lives?  Are we speaking life or death?

Walking through abuse as a child there were many times that fear would grip me.  I was terribly afraid of the dark and was always afraid someone was watching me.  It was to the point that I would sometimes run from one part of the house to the other because I was afraid to walk in the dark and had to run to the room that had light.

Even as I type this, my spirit remembered how it felt when I felt compelled to run to the light.  I felt “safe” in the light.  The other is that I was terrified of something that wasn’t even there but in my mind and spirit, FEAR gripped me and caused me to believe something or someone was there that was not.  I believe this FEAR was strong in my life due to several things: 1) the abuse I experienced 2) the influences through scary movies or TV shows 3) other people’s fears.  As I grew older, these FEARS and experiences with the dark followed me into my adult years.  I felt silly but I truly struggled to overcome the fear that would come upon me.

Skip ahead a few years…after I gave my life to The Lord, He started speaking truth to me and I heard the teaching that FEAR is nothing but False Evidence Appearing Real.    I felt led to start speaking the truth of The Word of God over myself.  When those feelings would try to come over me, I would make myself stand still where I was and not run BUT begin telling the devil that I would not fear.  As I would take each step I actually would speak out loud and say things like, “I am not afraid.  I will not fear because God You are with me.  I do not have a spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind.  I bind the spirit of fear in the name of Jesus.” I said these things over and over, as much as I needed to.  I was protected by the strongest man I knew, Jesus Christ and He assured me I had nothing to fear as I remained in Him.  I began to take hold of fear and no longer allowed it to have dominion in my life and little by little the fear went away.

This is one way fear manifested itself in my life.  Over the years fear has tried to find its way back in through any crevice it could find…especially in the area of my thought life.  The enemy loves to control our thoughts because our thoughts determine our actions.  I had to tear down every negative thought and insecurity I faced and continually visualize myself being in God’s hands and as I did this, I was able to let go of the lies of the enemy and God poured His truth into me.

Walking out of abuse and abandonment, the lies often came in like a flood…BUT God always came to my aid.  As I met with Him daily and renewed my mind in His Word and began to learn about who He said I was, the old thought patterns grew weaker and weaker and His Spirit in my life grew stronger and stronger.  This is still the most effective thing in my life – my daily time with the LORD.  It is in these times that God provides me with His peace, love and grace for the day.

Whatever fears you are facing today, Christ wants to bring you the same freedom & truth that I experienced.  He will meet you right in the center of your circumstance and pour His liquid love into your heart & mind if you will let Him in.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says,  “therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”. As you allow His truth to fill your soul, the fears of the future and what it may hold will also begin to fade.

What fears do you need to face with Christ today?

Where has the enemy kept you captive too long?

Join me in this prayer as we invite Christ to come in and bring His truth, light and life to every area of our souls:

Father I thank you that we are new creations in Christ Jesus.  I thank you that You are for us and no one can stand against You Lord.  Father help us to open our hearts to Your truth and cause us to hunger and thirst for Your righteousness.  Help us Lord to face our fears knowing that You rise on our behalf against the enemy of our souls.  That You fight for us Lord!  Wash over my mind and bring the light of Christ.  Help us to hear what Your Spirit is saying and “shut the mouths of the lions” in our lives Lord.  Help us to stand upon Your Word Lord that we would see Your glory revealed in us and through us.  In Jesus name. Amen.

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It’s a Trap

Are you caught in the trap of bitterness and resentment?  The enemy walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  One of his best tactics is to get us to fall into the trap of bitterness and resentment.  So my questions is …are you caught in his trap?

Bitterness means: accompanied by severe pain or suffering, exhibiting intense animosity, expressive of sever pain, grief or regret.

Resentment means: a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as wrong, insult or injury

You may have been deeply wounded by someone and the pain of the wound led you down the road of bitterness and resentment.  What they did was wrong.  Let me say that again, what they did was wrong….BUT you are actually continuing to hurt yourself over and over again by holding onto the anger, resentment and bitterness.  Imagine a hot air balloon trying to take off the ground but it’s held down by the ropes on the ground and these ropes cannot be removed because they are rooted in bitterness.  Now imagine yourself as the hot air balloon and you are the one being held down in life and held back by the roots (ropes) of bitterness.  God is wanting to take you higher and wants you to have all the good things that He has planned ahead for you but you cannot reach them because you are bound by these roots.  Will it also hurt to choose to let go of the bitterness…yes maybe temporarily because you will have to work through the painful memories but I can tell you from experience that when you choose to let go of past hurts, bitterness or resentment and choose the path of forgiveness that freedom and joy truly do come in the morning as the Bible promises.

When we choose forgiveness, the Lord will come in and cut the roots (ropes) that have been holding us back.  He will enable us to soar on wings like eagles!  What soaring on wings likes eagles means to me: God helps us rise again and before you know it you are above the problems and trials that arise and you will begin to see things differently.  All the itty bitty details as well as the BIG things in your life will begin to align.  You will start to notice the blessings of God begin to open up upon your life.  You will start to hear God in a new and fresh way.  Not that all these things will happen all at once but God is true to His promises to work all things together for good in our lives and I have seen it time and time again that God loves to show up and show Himself faithful.  Will you let Him do this work of healing in your heart?

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I Believe

As I watched Polar Express before Christmas this past year I was reminded of how often our faith is challenged in every area of our lives.  In this movie, the little boy had lost his faith or “belief” in Santa.  But this principle and concept got me to thinking.  Why did this boy struggle to believe?   Was their something that crushed his belief?

As he rode on the train and he watched all the other kids so excited to go see Santa, his faith “belief” was not what theirs was.  I started thinking about our hearts and how we can start to doubt the Lord as we journey through life sometimes.  How the things that we witness or experience can wound us and at that moment how the enemy will try to come in to cause us to lose faith in Christ.  When I think back before I knew the Lord, I can relate to how this boy must have felt on the train.  I saw a joy that others had and I wanted that for myself, but I didn’t know how to get it.  In this movie, he encountered Santa before he truly “believed” or had faith that Santa existed.  But once he encountered Santa, he had no problem believing.  Have any of you ever felt that way?  That you truly needed to experience Jesus before you could believe.  I have felt that way before.  As I think back to those times in my life, it makes me think of the story in John chapter 20: 24-29.  Jesus appeared to His disciples but Thomas had not seen him.  The disciples came to Thomas and tried to tell him that Jesus had risen from the dead but Thomas replied, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”  In verse 27 Jesus reveals Himself to Thomas and says, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into my side.  Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

Is someone in your life trying to tell you that Jesus is there and willing to help you but you struggle to believe?  Maybe your going through a difficult trial in your life and the enemy is trying to wear down your faith with his lies.  Is your heart crying out to “see” Jesus before you can believe that He is with you in your current situation?

I can tell you that all the times that my heart cried out to “see” the Lord in my situations, He extended His amazing grace, love and hope to me just as He did Thomas in this story.  He will not turn you away.  He understands right where you are at and has His arms open wide to you.

Going back to the movie, after the little boy encounters Santa, he begins to experience the joy and magic of Christmas again.  Something also changes in his countenance as he experiences this wonderful connection in his spirit.  All of the children go back to board the train that will then take them home.  Before they get on the train Tom Hanks punches a special word onto each child’s ticket.

In his ticket the word “BELIEVE” was punched as a reminder for him to continue believing.   Is there a part of your heart and spirit that God may be trying to awaken that the trials of life have crushed them or made it difficult for you to believe in the Lord or in the great plans He has for you?  Call out to Him and ask Him to help you to have the faith to believe.  Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit (those who are crushed in spirit).”    I am attaching a link to a clip from the movie and as you watch it, may you open your mind to the words and the heart behind the video.  About “if you just believe” what could be possible.  May it awaken your heart to have a renewed faith in the God that you serve.  May it bring a warmth to your spirit that Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  That even when the enemy lies to you that He is not with you, that you are alone, that He has left you, that faith would rise up within you and help you to turn away from the lies of the enemy and choose to hold fast to your faith until you see the glory of the Lord in your situation.

Polar Express “Believe”

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Take His Hand

As I sat in church last Sunday, the Pastor made a very valid and important point!  He said, “you won’t recognize the things God will do unless you can recognize what He’s done in the past.”  As I sat there thinking about this past year of my life, there were some difficult things I had to work through this past year and then all the great steps that I have taken this year started coming to my mind.  With that being said, as I look back over my life there were so many times when I could have accepted defeat, when I could have given up, when I could have believed the lie that God did not love me.  Maybe that’s where you are today.  I can tell you that overcoming a life that was built on a foundation that was not stable has not been easy.  Each day I have to ask God to continue to renew my mind and my heart to become the woman of God He wants me to be.  I mess up.  I fall down.  But God has always …..ALWAYS been there with His grace and His loving arms and helped me continue to move forward as I have chosen to accept His hand that is outstretched to me.

Think back to when you were a child and you were running or riding your bike and you fell down and scraped your knee(s).  If you were like me, you probably had one of two responses: 1) cried out for your parents to come help you 2) or you brushed the dirt off your knees and got back up to play again.  So you either had to choose to believe that your parents would come to your aid or you had to choose to believe in yourself, that you had the strength to get back up and “get back in the game”.

Close your eyes again and imagine that God your heavenly Father was there with you when you fell.  He has never left your side.  Now apply that to the circumstances you are facing today.  When we experience pain, we often revert back to former knowledge or experiences that we went through in the past.  So if we felt alone when we went through a difficult time then, until that part of us is healed, when we go through difficult experiences now we will often have a flood of the old feelings and emotions that we felt in that previous experience.

My heart for all of us in this new year is two fold:

1. That we would allow the Lord to come into our difficult experiences and create new memories in place of the bad ones (that ones that bring us pain).  To bring His truth and light into the areas of that pain in order that we may be healed in those areas.

• Psalm 27:10 says, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me.”  For some of us this will ring true to the core regarding our parents. This scripture has often been a comfort to me as I have struggled regarding the relationship with my parents.  But I also know that this can apply to any relationship any of us experience where it’s not fully what we want it to be.  I believe the Lord will come in and “take care of us” in these areas where we have “fallen down and scraped our knees” if we will choose to believe that He is there and wants to help us.  If we choose to reach out and take His hand.

2. That we would take the time to reflect on this past year of our lives to see the areas that we want to improve and see the areas where we have overcome.  That we would celebrate the areas where we have taken steps to “get back up” or to move forward in our lives.  Let this reflection time be the fuel to encourage you in this next year.

• Do you believe that God is for you?  Well the Word of God says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31  You may have challenges and trials in this next year but you have a God that WILL arise on your behalf.  Do you believe it?  Will you receive it?  It’s easy to say a quick yes to both of those questions.  But let’s take some time with them.  Really go to the Lord with them.  Do you believe that the God of heaven and earth has His eyes on you all the time and that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for you?   As we allow the Lord to take us through our hurts as well as our victories of this past year and speak His truth into EVERY area, I believe it will catapult us into a deeper relationship with Him in this next year.

Heavenly Father you see every area that we have a deep need of you.  I pray that you would help us to open our hearts completely to you.  That you would help us to let you in, even in the areas we are afraid to let you see.  Lord that you would bring healing to every wound, to every scar, to the fears and doubts that we carry.  Help us to celebrate our victories and continue to grow in our ability to trust You Lord in this next year.  I pray that you would tear down all the lies of the enemy and help our ears to hear what Your Spirit is saying to us and about us.  Thank you Lord that your mercies are new every morning.  I thank you Lord that you have great plans for all of Your children.  Help us to receive Your blessings and love in Jesus Name.  Amen.

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iChoose2 Love My Life Book Changes Lives

iChoose2 Love My Life Book

Do you believe that God can ordain even the small things in your life?  That He cares about everything you care about?  Early last year I was praying and asking God to help me find more balance and really learn how to love my life more.  I prayed about this fervently and truly wanted this and in early March, God answered!  The Bible says that He speaks to us with a still small voice and on this day in March, He definitely did that.  A dear friend of mine posted a link to iBloom’s iChoose2 Love My Life book.  My friend was my first Christian Mentor in the Lord and I look up to her a great deal and so when she posted a link to the book I had to check it out.  In reviewing the book and iBloom’s mission and heart behind their ministry I instantly had to buy the book and a few extras to share with my friends.  That next day I got on my first monthly group call and God immediately began daily changing some very important things in my life.

The weekly readings and concepts are broken down in a way that I could apply them to my life and start seeing and experiencing change instantly.  I loved being on the calls and participating in the iBloom online Facebook parties because I started growing again in Christian community.  God knew I needed other godly women to grown and learn with and He sent me iBloom.  I am SO thankful every day that I saw the post my friend posted and that He helped me respond.

iChoose2 to Love My Life helped me to begin to lay out my dreams on paper and begin to truly LIVE again.  It gave me the tools and steps I needed to start leaning into my dreams and priorities in a way that would completely transform my heart and mind so that I could truly begin to flourish in every area of my life.

This book impacted me so much that when Kelly Thorne Gore and the iBloom Team put out a call for iBloom Ambassadors, I was HONORED to a be a part of spreading the message of living the life you love to women in my circle of influence. Kelly has an awesome vision and heart and I am excited to be a part of telling others about the iBloom team.

The iBloom team is having a New Year’s party http://ibloom.co/2013party like no other and this is my special invitation just for you! Kelly and the ladies at iBloom want YOU to be a part of a party where you will be inspired and equipped to begin living a life you love in 2013!

You are invited to grab a copy of the book iChoose2 to Love My Life for $10 or join without the book. The goal is to SIMPLY BE THERE http://ibloom.co/2013party– book or no book- because it will be a blast! But I can tell you having the book in hand will be beneficial and you can’t beat that cost for entrance to a party that could literally help you begin to change your tomorrows and help you begin to flourish in all areas of your life as well

I hope you can join all of us because I value you and your presence in my life – online and offline! I want you to experience what I have being a part of the iBloom community! So come on…

JOIN THE FUN! http://ibloom.co/2013party

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And then His Light Entered

“The LORD is my portion”, says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”

Where are you in your heart and emotions as this year starts to come to a close?  What areas of your life would you like to change in this next year?  Do you believe that these things are possible for you?  Do you believe you are worth it?

The Lord desires to be our “portion” our fullness…our EVERYTHING in this next year.  What areas of your life right now are you struggling to place your hope (your trust and ability to patiently wait for Him) in Him?  Do you believe that He has good things in store for you?   The below quote made me think today about why some of us struggle so much to believe that He has good things in store for us.

“Stop hating yourself for everything you are not.  Start loving yourself for everything that you are.”

How many of us struggle with this?  We don’t believe the Lord has good things for us because we often don’t even see our own value/worth.  I have often heard others putting themselves down over and over again.  I have caught the enemy trying to take me down this path when things were tough.  When we do this, we are speaking death over ourselves.  What would happen if we would change the words that we speak over ourselves?  Lately the Lord has checked my spirit when I start following the lies of the enemy down the negative path.  He shows me how when I start “thinking on the things above and not beneath” how quickly my whole mindset and attitudes about myself and about life change.  I too have to work at ”changing the record playing in my mind”.  When I stop and ask the Lord for His truth, His light enters and things in my mind, spirit and heart begin to change.  I know it can be tough, but it is possible.

Past hurts in our lives can often be an area of weakness because we know pain, suffering, isolation, etc. The enemy will come to these wounds and try to spread His lies and that’s where it’s up to us to shut Him down.  So what we have to do is take steps daily to begin to reprogram our minds.   As you begin this new year, I encourage you find scriptures that encourage you and speak life over the areas that you are struggling with.  Speak these over yourself daily and watch the light enter into your spirit as well.  Areas that were dead, when the Lord breathes life over them, will come to life.

Maybe you don’t realize areas where you are currently speaking negative things over yourself, your life and your future.  Maybe you don’t realize areas that you are believing the lies of the enemy (in darkness).

Micah 7:8 says, “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness the LORD will be a light to me.”

What area of your life is currently in darkness (where are you experiencing misery, destruction, death or sorrow)?  Do you believe that your heavenly Father is waiting for you to call out to Him in your brokenness?  As this scripture says, when we are in darkness HE will be a LIGHT to us.  Light here means illumination literally a luminary in every sense.  Illumination means the act of illuminating (brightened with a light; spiritually enlightened).  He desires to bring us truth and brighten up our dark areas and is waiting for the call for His help.

No matter where you are at in your life, the LORD can be your fullness…He can brighten up your life.  Every area that we struggle, feel lonely, inadequate, broken, fearful, etc. the Father can come in and in one instant change the scene.  When His light enters ALL darkness must flee.  The darkness cannot remain when His light enters.  You are NOT alone in your misery, destruction, heart ache, pain, sorrow, death (whether physically, spiritually, emotionally or financially).

So with this truth, I also know that He desires to show us areas that we need more of His truth and life.  So again, I ask you as you begin to prepare for 2013, will you ask Him to come in and shine His light into any dark areas of your mind, heart and soul?  I’m doing this and I challenge you to do it as well.  God bless you and may this next year be full of His goodness.  May you experience His revelations in a fresh new way.  May you sense the presence of His Holy Spirit surrounding you and guiding you with each step you take.

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Shedding Light on the Darkness of Abuse

When I think about all that I’ve gone through in my life, I realize how blessed I am that God has walked with me arm in arm the whole way.  As a little girl I often felt alone and afraid but somehow I knew I could “cry out for help”.  I remember often sitting at the back end of our yard behind this big pile of yard brush crying and asking for help.  At the time I really didn’t know that I was crying out to God.  I had gone to church for years with my Grandparents but really don’t remember actually saying, “Jesus I need Your help”.  But looking back now, I asked The Father for help the only way I knew how.

Today I sit here as a woman who has traveled over hills and through deep valleys and I know all of these experiences have made me who I am today and they have helped me to have a heart for the abused, broken, ashamed, hopeless, fearful, etc.  I have a heart more today to shed light on the darkness of abuse and it’s effects on the lives of those that have been abused.  I truly believe that the things that are in darkness, when they are brought to the light, they can be healed, restored, and new life can begin to grow.  If they are left in the darkness just like mold on a piece of fruit, they will only continue to grow and overtake that which they “grow on”.

Imagine a household where the secret is kept quiet even when exposed….even when one cries out for help.  Why would one keep something like this quiet?  Is it because those in the household are also ashamed, broken, afraid, etc to face the “secret”, the abuse, the darkness?  What do you think will happen in this household?  The darkness, death and destruction will continue to grow because the enemy has been given a foothold.  He has been given an open door to come in and bring more destruction, pain and hurt.

So today, I write to you and ask you to join me in raising awareness regarding abuse (whether it be emotional, financial, mental, physical or sexual).  I ask you to join me to begin to end the destruction and darkness of abuse.  I ask you to be a “city set on a hill”.  I ask you to join with me so that we can grow in strength together to OVERCOME evil with good…to “shed light on this darkness”.  Imagine walking into a dark room and turning the light on.  Immediately darkness disappears….darkness has to flee in the presence of light.

If you know someone that has been abused in any form, I implore you to pray for them, encourage them, support them the best you can and most importantly love them.  Walking out of abuse myself it was often tough for me to put into words what I needed and I often felt so ashamed and fearful all the time that I really was never able to fully open up to my friends and those I loved.  As I have allowed the Lord to come into my heart day after day, year after year He has continued to heal all my wounds as He promised and this still continues today.  I don’t say any of these things because I have arrived but because I HAVE OVERCOME and I want to take others with me.  My hearts desire is for people to gain courage to talk about the hard things so that we will turn a light on in this area of darkness more and more every day.  As I open up my life and heart in my blog I do so in hopes that it would help someone else who has been struggling and give them a glimmer of hope and that they would know that Christ’s love can heal any wound.

Even when we feel alone in this big world, the truth is, we are never alone.  God is waiting with open arms for His sons and daughters to run into.

So how can you help raise awareness on abuse?

• Most importantly talk about it with your kids.  Educate them on their level and create a “safe place” for them to know they can come to.  (If you need resources to do this, let me know I have some great information from a local Child Abuse Prevention Agency)
• Become educated on public services, resources and websites to get help if you or a friend should ever need help in any area regarding abuse
• If a friend comes to and says they have been abused, be there as much as you can.  Listen to them and encourage them to get counseling, find a group at a church that helps individuals that have been abused or any other local organizations that have classes to teach about healthy relationships.
• Don’t be afraid to admit that you also need help so that you can better help or support any friends or family that have been abused or may encounter “inappropriate touches”.

As I close, keep in mind that where there is unity there is strength.  Unity grows and flourishes in an environment of love.  When the enemy is able to isolate someone he will have a stronger chance as trying to defeat that person.  Look around you in your life currently and ask God to open your eyes to the hurting and abused around you.  I strongly believe that the Lord will reveal those that need help to us when we ask Him to reveal them.

Everyone of us can make an impact every day…the question is, which impact will we make.  Today I choose to rise up against every fear and say “no more” to abuse, violence and destruction in our homes all over the world.  Today I choose to say that abuse does not have the last word in my life.  Joy does come in the morning!  Will you rise with me in this vital battle against abuse?  Will you ask God how you can “SHED LIGHT” on abuse this day in your world?

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Rejection is at the Root

Reading this quote tonight “Rejection lies at the root of all human ills”…boy does this ring true in my spirit!  I truly believe there are often struggles that we have personally in our view of ourselves and how we relate to others that are affected by the root of rejection in our souls.  As an overcomer of abuse and abandonment I know there were times that my eyes had “scales” on them because of the wounds of the past and I had to pray for God to remove these so that I could see myself and others more clearly.  I’ve often prayed that God would give me His heart in these areas.  The more that I seek His heart the more He brings healing to my soul and helps me to love those around me with His love and not through the old wounds of rejection that used to often be in the way.

The enemy will often come in as a wolf in sheep’s clothing…by that I mean he will come in subtly and whisper lies to get us to doubt God and His plans in our lives or that we are worthy of love.  We often believe these lies due to unresolved wounds in our hearts and lives.  God is calling us out of the darkness and wants to bring complete healing and wholeness ….will we allow Him to come in?

That leads me to think of a few other questions…

“Have you pushed someone away today that was trying to love you because you felt unlovable”

“Did something good come  your way today but you had a hard time receiving it because the lies of the past were louder in your spirit than God’s voice?”

“Have the wounds caused by others in your life caused you to self-protect and put up walls that keep others out?”

“Do you often feel surrounded by darkness, sadness or resentment?”

If you answered yes to any of the above, God may be trying to show you tonight that “Rejection is at the Root” of what’s holding you back.  You can pray now and ask Him to help you let go and let Him come in to bring His healing balm of Gilead.

As you read the truth of His Word and meet with Him in prayer the lies of rejection will begin to be revealed and the light of day will begin to arise in your spirit.  Will you reach out to Him….He is waiting with open arms.  His love for you is GREAT!

Luke 4:18 says, “He was has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed”.

His desire is for you to be FREE!  COMPLETELY FREE!  No longer pressed down or held back… but all the chains, fetters and shackles COMPLETELY dismantled and shattered!  He died on the cross and shed His blood for your healing this night.  The work has already been finished in the spirit and now you just have to align yourself with that work in Jesus name.

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Ouch…Rejection Hurts

It’s been a few weeks and I have been praying about what to write and tonight this topic keeps coming up in my spirit.  May the truth that comes forth bless you, encourage you and set you free.  Tonight I want to journey into a hurt that has touched my life closely for years….REJECTION.  The sound of that word actually makes me cringe.  From a young age I grew up in a fatherless home and faced abuse at an early age.  The pain I felt on a daily basis knowing that I didn’t “fit in” with all my other friends caused me to feel rejected by others even when they were not rejecting me.  I was always outgoing and enjoyed being with my friends but even in the midst of the crowd I felt alone.  It wasn’t anything my friends did, it was me and the inner pain I was dealing with.

The truth of Psalm 68:5-6 comes to my mind “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. (6) God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;”

The God of heaven is our defender and desires to bring healing to every area that we struggle with…including the wounds of rejection.

Tonight I read the following comment in a book I’m reading, “One result of our fear of rejection is that we become unable to give and receive love.” This was so true for me for so many years in certain areas of my life.  I was able to give love to my grandparents but I felt “safe” with them but often struggled to give love to others “freely”. I could give love but I would always deep down feel like they would want something from me in return.  Because as a young girl I learned that “love” came with a price…a very HIGH price.  Then there’s the receiving of love.  That has always been tough for me.  I learned how to take care of myself pretty young (or at least I felt that way) and because I was always afraid that anyone that did something nice for me wanted something from me, it was tough to “fully” receive from them.  This even affected my walk with Christ.  On my journey, there have been many times that God has reminded me of His great love for me but I struggled to trust Him, His love and His plan. I know His Word is true but the broken parts of my heart often would deceive me.  As God has continued to heal and restore all the broken and fallen places I have been able to open up more and more to Him as well as allowing myself to receive love and gifts from others without feeling guilty.

What does rejection mean? Rejection means to be rejected: refuse to accept, consider, refuse to hear, or receive

I know many of us at some point have felt the pain on all different levels of not being accepted by someone else or received by someone we loved.  We longed for them to “want” us and to love us the way we were created to be loved.  Tonight I want you to think about how the “glasses of rejection” are clouding your vision to see the future and what’s ahead for you as well as clouding your mind from the truth of who you ARE.  The lies of the enemy want to hold you down and squash you.  But God is the God of power who can shut the mouths of the lions, protect us and heal the old scars and wounds of rejection that we have experienced that may still be holding us back today.

Where is the enemy whispering lies to you today?  Often, when we struggle with rejection, we can also struggle with approval addiction and because we want other people’s approval we strive for that and often experience rejection as we strive for their approval.  They may not respond the way we want them to and we feel rejected.  Maybe it’s a parenting situation and you are trying to be the best parent we can be but it never seems to measure up to what someone else is doing or what someone else thinks we should be doing.  Maybe it’s our boss and we are constantly trying to become more and show them we are worthy of that promotion. Or maybe it’s our spouse and we are doing all the things that the books and leaders in the church tell us to do but it just doesn’t bring the change that they said it would.  What do we do with the pain and ashes of rejection?  Do we continue to carry them as extra weight into the next chapter of our lives?  I think tonight God is asking us to let go of some of our past wounds of rejection.  I sense the Holy Spirit gently knocking on the door of our hearts, asking if He can come in and bring the healing rain that we have so needed.  The question is, will we open up our heart to receive it? It is being poured out if we can believe it.  Can you imagine it…close your eyes and imagine the rain pouring over you.

So why do we fear rejection so much?  I know I feared rejection because I felt less of myself…I felt less value…that I didn’t matter….that someone else got to decide my worth.  Do you know what fear is?  False Evidence Appearing Real.  So all that I used to believe that kept me bound was FALSE.  The lies often come from the enemy coated in some form of truth.  Remember that as you journey the rest of this week.  Even as satan came to Jesus he tried to twist the truth.  But Jesus spoke the word and truth in power and satan had to flee.  The lies we have believed that have given others power over us can be crushed in one moment….in one encounter with the Lord.  His truth will burn up the lies and truth and life will prevail.

I’m going to be talking about rejection more over the next few weeks ….tonight know that the Father sees you and He wants FREEDOM for you.  COMPLETE FREEDOM!!  Freedom from every bondage and every chain and shackle that has ever held you back.  The winds of change are coming.  Tonight pray this prayer with me and open your heart to receive His truth, love and healing rain.

Father, I thank you that You see every pain and wound of rejection we have experienced and that Father you weep when we weep.  Thank you Lord that you are always at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.  I thank you Lord that we are never alone, that you never leave us nor forsake us.  Lord help us this night to cry out to you in our woundedness and lift up our wounds of rejection to you so that we can receive the depth of the love that you have for us that is pure and unconditional.  I thank you Father that you give Your love freely and that you don’t require a price for your love and grace.  Lord send your healing rain over the hearts and minds of all those that read this post.  Holy Spirit I invite you and ask you to have your way through the words that have been written and minister truth and healing to hearts all over this world.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

He is holding your heart tonight.  His love for you is GREAT!  Will you let Him come in and heal…

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