The Word and restoration into wholeness...

by Elizabeth Stewart

Sometimes a person can walk around feeling like an empty shell, about as ramshackle as this old barn.  This world, it can break a soul, leave a body hemorrhaging on the inside.  Us women, we're good at just keepin' on keepin' on.  We put a smile on our faces and dinner on the table, while inside we're broken and bruised.  We can even teach a class, welcome the visitors and help lead in worship on a Sunday morning, all the while feeling like a hypocrite because we aren't experiencing the victory in Jesus that we're singing about.

Positionally, if you've believed in and received Jesus Christ as the Savior Who redeemed you and washed you from your sins, as the Lord and Ruler of your life, then you're God's girl, no matter how empty or broken you may be feeling.  He doesn't cast you aside like some old used shoe, though you may have a friend or  a husband or some other family member that did that to you.  Your Father in Heaven will never, never, never, no never leave you or forsake you.  That's a promise you can count on.

And friend, He wants to make you whole.  He wants to heal the broken and bruised and wounded places in you.  One of the most powerful tools He uses to do this is His Word.  It washes you, it cleanses you, it restores you.  When you're limping along, feeling like you're barely surviving, think of the Word as your lifeline. Grab onto it before you sink beneath the waves and don't let it go.  Think of it as a beautiful, delicious, nutritious meal offered to your famished and starving soul.  Eat of it friend.  Feast on it.  Think of it as healing medicine that you can't live without.  It's true.  You can't live without it.  It is impossible to renew your mind, restore your soul, or experience the full and abundant life that Jesus promised you, without becoming a lover of God's Word.  If that's not your experience yet, ask God to help you.  Ask Him to give you a love for His Word, to help you to understand His Word, and to reveal Himself to you through His Word.  Then open it up.  I suggest you start with the Psalms.  Read through the Psalms and mark every verse that talks about God's love and lovingkindness with a heart. Try doing the same thing in the book of John.  Journey through God's Work verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, marking it with little red hearts every time it mentions His love, lovingkindness and care for you.  Feast on His abundant love until your mind embraces the truth of how much He loves you and your heart believes and receives it. Let His Word heal you.  Let His Word set you free.  

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