“To overcome past injustices, starve the bad and feed the good.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 24, 2022
Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24
I have often contemplated why some people successfully and joyously overcome injustices and hurts that have been committed against them, and other people stay stuck—sometimes for years—in resentment, regret, or self-hatred.
The Word says that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17) and Jesus said that He came to set us free with truth. Therefore, if we are stuck in emotional pain for an extended period of time after we have been hurt or mistreated, we may need to reevaluate if we have received God’s truth and if we have truly forgiven. We may also need to take an honest look at the following practice that can keep anyone stuck in the past and prevent them from experiencing emotional freedom in Christ.
If you want to stay stuck in the past, you want to make sure that you rehearse how you have been wronged by often sharing the story of injustice with others.
There is a difference between sharing about a wrong that has been committed against you in an effort to process what happened and receive good counsel, and sharing out of hatred or a desire to see someone suffer.
It’s not that you shouldn’t ever share about the wrong that was done against you. There are times when sharing can be healing and sometimes it’s even necessary to move on in life. That said, only you know the motive of your heart when you share. Are your words coming from a hateful, sinful place or a place of forgiveness?
Sharing for the wrong reasons can stir up greater feelings of hatred or revenge. The words you speak—and the manner in which you speak them—with love and forgiveness or disdain and hatred, will come rolling back to you. They will come out of your mouth and roll back into your heart, further solidifying your heart condition. Your character will become more like Christ’s or more like the devil’s by the words that you use.
To overcome past injustices, starve the bad and feed the good. You want to—as Jesus said—”overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
This begins by guarding your words. Are you sharing for godly—or ungodly reasons? Are your words coming from a healthy, or an unhealthy place? Starve the bad. Feed the good.
I have personally been convicted of this truth on occasion when a memory of how I have been hurt has triggered bad feelings toward a particular person. It’s easy to allow negative emotions to be the lord of my mouth rather than allowing God to purify me by restraining from speaking negativity about someone.
We are all in a spiritual battle and we fight that battle by forgiving and choosing love over hatred, and forgiveness over pride and self-promotion.
The ways that others wrong us are opportunities to become more like Jesus in the ways that we talk about those who have hurt us.
“Wise words are more valuable than much gold and many rubies” (Proverbs 20:15).
Prayer
Lord, help my words be pleasing to you. Help me so that I cooperate with you in my healing through the words I speak. Please help me to be mindful so that I do not allow words that are ungodly out of my mouth. I want to please you through godly speech. Amen.
Application
If you have been disobedient through the words you speak about others who have hurt you, begin a new habit of remaining silent when the Holy Spirit shows you that your words are not those that He wants you to speak.
Related Reading
Proverbs 18:20; Proverbs 18:4; Proverbs 15:18
Worship Resource
Hillsong Worship: We Glorify Your Name
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