Has anyone of you gone through a negative experience or something tramatic in your life? It could be a loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, a loss of job etc. This experience may have happened many many years ago and you may think that the wounds have completely healed. But when something similar seems to be happening again, you go into 'panic' mode because the fears and the pain of that incident was brought back to your memory. You certainly do not wish to go through it again and you ever told God not to let it happen to you. Yet deep down in your heart, there is a niggling thought: can I really trust God? If God could not have prevented it at that time, what makes me think that He could stop this from happening again?
These doubts are dangerous and they are not from God. When you see certain incidents seemingly re-playing themselves in your life again, take heart. God is doing a mighty work of restoration. Of course we do not wish to even think about the bad experience, let alone face it again. Yet unless we are open for God to bring us through the process of restoration, the doubts in our hearts will never go away. And we will always be living in the shadow of 'what-ifs' and falling prey to the devil's attacks. God is going to the root issue of your fears, doubts and He is settling this once for all. He is providing you with His answer: the finished work of Christ on the cross.
First of all, when He brings you back to the memories of that terrible incident, let He show you that He was there with you. Just like Jesus was with the 3 Hebrew princes in the fiery furnace. He was willing and able to deliver you from that incident but He could not override our will. Perhaps our wrong believing kept us from seeing His power and deliverance but that is ok. It is of no importance anymore. Now He is going through the same fiery furnace with you and His way to 'take you out' of this bad experience is through the fire (which is like the way of the cross). This time round, He will show you how He not only could identify with your pains and struggles in the fire, He also has the power to deliver you. You can totally trust a Saviour who suffered a zillion times worse than you and died for you.
When you see what He has done for you in the fiery furnace, a picture of how He has totally crushed all our enemies under His feet when He resurrected, you will be convinced that the price has truly been paid. Your doubts will melt like butter under a hot sun. Your conscience will be satisfied that your Saviour paid the price for you, He became your scapegoat in that incident and God has fully accepted this payment when He was resurrected. Like how someone took your rap and went to prison for you. You won't know that your crime has been punished until you see this person walking free again. When He has delivered you out of the fiery furnace, you know victory is yours because Christ even burnt away the ropes of bondage on your hands. Yet there is not even a trace or smell of smoke on your body! This time round, the outcome is totally different from before.
And when you think about that incident again, it no longer evokes pain or fear like it did before. It was as if God totally erased that pain from the incident and all you can remember was Jesus was there with you and He paid the price for you. When that happens, you know you are forever delivered from the painful memories of that incident. You have finally let go of the past and now can move forward to embrace wonderful things God prepared for you in your future. God has completely restored you in that area and the enemy no longer has any stronghold over you. In Joel 2:25-28, you will see that what comes after restoration is that God pours out His Holy Spirit on His people. And we will praise the name of the Lord who has done marvellous things for us and we will never be put to shame again! Praise the Lord!
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