As A Stone in a River.

You know what I miss? I miss hiking up into the hills where there isn’t another soul around and where there are mountain rivers that bring calmness and reflection to ones soul.

A few blogs ago I wrote about understanding hurt.

How about when there is no understanding of why someone has hurt you? How about when there is just the continual or constant reaping of hurtful actions towards you even though you have done nothing to deserve it?

Obviously you haven’t been hostile toward them. You haven’t quarreled with them. You haven’t been jealous of them. You haven’t had some selfish ambition that regards them in anyway. You haven’t wanted division. You haven’t envied them or gossiped about them. (Galatians 5:19) But still you receive these hurtful actions from these people.

You try to practice forgiveness and kindness towards them but you are starting to realize a clog. You want to pull back from everything and everyone one and become a solitary hermit because you see the world and everyone in it as fallible. You don’t want to share with anyone your troubles because they will probably tell you everything you already know instead of give a truly sympathetic and understanding ear.

The reflective hurt of past trespasses circle around you as these same individuals again offend you and leave you bleeding internally. The wound is only made larger has others pile on their ideas, perspectives, struggles and frustrations out upon you. Soon a deadly bacterium called "resentment" begins to consume your soul and you don’t want to care anymore.

You keep hearing Peter in Matthew 18:21 ask Jesus, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" and Jesus replies to Peter with "No! Seventy times seven!"

You know Jesus tells us to love our enemies in Matthew 5:44. But your soul is screaming, "When is enough ENOUGH?" I too have felt this way.

This is where the mind knowledge and the natural tendencies of a Christian soul must fight and seek God’s peace and perspective on situation. We need intercession by God's Spirit to help us fix our thoughts on God alone (Isaiah 26:3). I have cried so many times in the lap of Jesus but each time I have - this jagged rock of myself has become more rounded as a river stone being rounded in the different currents of a river.

I too hope one day, that these hurts won’t mean that much to me anymore and they will run over around me like water over a smooth rounded stone. .

Jesus is our rock and he was beaten so that we might have peace (Isaiah 53:3) I say without Jesus in my life I would find no peace. God doesn’t promise life without hurt and without suffering- we all know that. And it seems mercy is something we cannot attain enough of in this life.

There is time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3).

I’ll leave you with this:
"Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters." Galatians 6:8-10