They Hurt Jesus Too
Have people hurt me? Yes. Were they people whom I deeply loved, sincerely trusted, and honestly believed in? Of course. Were they less loyal, less faithful and less loving than I had hoped? Sure.
But take a deep breath and stop to read these life-changing words: They hurt Jesus too. An amazing book I read tells me He experienced outright denial and betrayal from those closest to Him, and I wonder if when the rooster crowed or when the kiss from Judas came, if it happened in a moment when He most needed love and support. That night in the garden, I believe God's heart broke afresh.
We tend to take the disappointments personally, because we are all honestly human but also called to give and love on a deeper level. Our nights of frustration and disbelief must lead us back to our heavenly Father who not only cares, but really understands the pain of pouring into one who turns around to lead you to the most agonizing experience of your life.
As a leader few words can explain what it feels like to watch the amazing men and women of God you would willingly lay down your life for... sons and daughters you led to the Lord, turn and walk away leaving you with that cold sensation of loneliness and isolation. We may not always understand, but warding off depression and the opportunity to be resentful and hardened only comes knowing two things: ultimately the situation you face is a ploy from Satan himself and secondly, you are not alone, because they hurt Jesus too...
Have people hurt me? Yes. Were they people whom I deeply loved, sincerely trusted, and honestly believed in? Of course. Were they less loyal, less faithful and less loving than I had hoped? Sure.
But take a deep breath and stop to read these life-changing words: They hurt Jesus too. An amazing book I read tells me He experienced outright denial and betrayal from those closest to Him, and I wonder if when the rooster crowed or when the kiss from Judas came, if it happened in a moment when He most needed love and support. That night in the garden, I believe God's heart broke afresh.
We tend to take the disappointments personally, because we are all honestly human but also called to give and love on a deeper level. Our nights of frustration and disbelief must lead us back to our heavenly Father who not only cares, but really understands the pain of pouring into one who turns around to lead you to the most agonizing experience of your life.
As a leader few words can explain what it feels like to watch the amazing men and women of God you would willingly lay down your life for... sons and daughters you led to the Lord, turn and walk away leaving you with that cold sensation of loneliness and isolation. We may not always understand, but warding off depression and the opportunity to be resentful and hardened only comes knowing two things: ultimately the situation you face is a ploy from Satan himself and secondly, you are not alone, because they hurt Jesus too...
Related Items
Deep hurt in life is often hard to talk about. How do we relate to someone that we have no idea how they feel, even remotely? And we also, sometimes think no one will ever understand our levels of pain and heartache in life. We all know that pain makes us stronger...and that's great...but that doesn't always make it ok. Things like rape, divorce, accidents, sickness and death can leave us wondering, "Where were You, God?" If that question hasn't ever gone through your own head, I can guarantee it's gone through some of your students'. And, if we don't give them a safe place to process and disarm those thoughts, they can prove to be spiritually lethal. In fact, they are probably the reason for some of the empty chairs in our youth ministries today.
In this Source, I talk about how Jesus was the ultimate victim when He died for our sins. He was mistreated and abused, just as many of us were in our lives. So what do we do with that? Helping students to understand our God hurts when we hurt, He cries when we cry and is painfully aware of all that we are going through...well, that can help.
Bottom line, my heart's desire is for our students not to have an "If only things had been different" mindset, but choose instead to live "Even if..." lives. Even if I don't understand, the Christ inside of me is big enough to see me through. Even if I don't get it, I will follow Him.
Serving a God who collects my tears,
This message, "Tied To The Tormentors," deals with the area that trips up so many of us...forgiveness.
Life will present big challenges in this arena for even the most "sheltered" teenagers in your youth ministry...let alone the kids who come from more typical backgrounds. And even more honestly, the area of hurts and bitterness can be used strategically of the Enemy in the life of every youth leader and pastor. Doing ministry the "Jesus way" can be pretty painful at times.
So sit back, relax, and give me a few minutes to be your "long distance sis." It's my prayer that this message will minister to not only your students...BUT ALSO TO YOU.
Lovingly your "Cheerleader,"
When it comes to adversity, it's not a matter of "if," but "when" it will appear in our lives. Many of us know what it's like to have been hurt deeply by people we love, faced a hardship that seemed impossible to conquer, or perhaps had a tragedy happen to someone close to us. All of us have or will face adversity. The defining question is though, how will you respond in those crisis moments? How will you keep the times of adversity from paralyzing you from life and allow them to make you stronger instead?
In this Youth Leader's Coach I call, "Resilience: Surviving The Shark Attacks," I look at seven resilience tips for moving on after a trauma, from Laurence Gonzales' book, Surviving Survival: The Art and Science of Resilience. While I hope you will never experience any traumas as severe as the ones Gonzales outlines in his book, my simple prayer is that when times of adversity do come your way, this Youth Leader's Coach will help to prepare you to come through them victoriously resilient.
In Your Corner,
Don't simply look at the title and dismiss this one too quickly! Why would you want to listen to something called, "When you have been fired unfairly"? I hope you never have to live this one out, but the truth is that one day you, or someone you know will find they have been "let go" and it will feel pretty unfair.
Unfortunately, even my amazing husband, Sam and I have had to walk through this one. How you handle your hurt feelings and how you leave your position will greatly influence the friends and students you are leaving behind. It will also help as you transition into a new position. And when you fight to keep your spirit right, you will find that God's "Plan B" for your life is even more exciting than your "Plan A."
Lovingly,
One of the books, next to the Bible, that I read, re-read and has had a huge impact on my life is the short epic book by Gene Edwards called, A Tale of Three Kings. It's the story of how we all, as humans (and leaders) grasp for power, control and the "Kingship" in different ways in our lives.
We all know the story of King Saul in 1 Samuel, who defended his kingdom by throwing spears. Don't we all want to throw spears sometimes? When someone says or does something that hurts us, our human nature is to hurt them back. Young David had to wrestle with the question, "What do you do when someone throws spears at you?" and so do we all.
In this Youth Leader's Coach, I unpack that as we all privately answer this important question... "Am I a king after the ‘Order of Saul' or after the ‘Order of David'? There is an eternity of difference, you know.
Lovingly,
