– By Lori Benka
Have you ever been torn down by the words of another person? Maybe it was a friend who betrayed you or a loving spouse who spoke in anger. Something happens to us when someone speaks negatively over us. The words are like daggers penetrating the recesses of our hearts.
I remember a time when we pastored our first church. We were having a hard time there and a lot of negative words were being spoken over us. One time, in particular, a board member came up to me and told me I was holding my husband back in ministry. If he fails, it is on me. Those words were very painful because I did everything I could to support my husband. It was hard for me to understand why someone would say that to me.
I suppressed the pain and never dealt with the hurtful words. I convinced myself that anything seen as a flaw was going to be used against me. Unfortunately, this internalized negativity eventually led to depression, making it increasingly difficult to fulfill my calling in the ministry.
Hurtful words were constantly being thrown our way. How many know that a person can only take so much before they break? Well, I broke. But in the middle of my feeling broken and beyond repair, God’s restorative touch was at work within me.
I Am Doing a New Thing
When I was barraged with the onslaught of negative words, I couldn’t function in the calling God had planned for me. I kept holding on to the negative experiences of the past and couldn’t move forward. But God led me to the book of Isaiah and to Isaiah 43:18-19:
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.“
God is saying to stop carrying the pain and baggage from yesterday. He can’t bring healing to the broken areas of our lives if we keep looking back. Listen, you are not what people say you are. Those words they speak to stop you in your tracks are used by the enemy to stop you from fulfilling your God-given purpose in life. Stop allowing the opinions of others to become a stronghold in your life.
We are not defined by our past struggles or past mistakes. God is up to something good in our lives and He wants to do a new thing in you and me. Our past does not determine our future outcome. All too often, we go around carrying our past identity. We walk around wallowing in circumstances that may have caused us fear, depression, worry, anger, bitterness, guilt or shame. We have defeatedly succumbed to the joy-stealers in our lives.
Living in the past hinders what God is wanting to do in our future. We can not move forward carrying with us the battle wounds from the past. God wants us to look ahead in faith and begin to perceive the new things He wants to do in our lives. He wants to bring restoration to the broken pieces and lift us up.
Will God Do A New Thing in my Life?
“God, your God, will restore everything you lost; He’ll have compassion on you; He’ll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places you were scattered.”
This verse is a promise that God will bring restoration and newness to your life. The painful situation you have faced or are facing has not went unnoticed by God. He sees the hurtful words that were spoken over you. And He sees every tear you have ever cried. He is going to pick up the broken pieces of your life and put you back together again.
I keep seeing a quote that says: “God will put you back together right in front of the people who broke you.”
I love this! God is going to bring healing and restoration to your emotions and He is going to make sure that the ones who caused it see your restoration. You’re not only going to recover, but you are going to flourish!
Joel 2:25 says: “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.”
The years that seemed to be stolen from you because of depression or anxiety or abuse are going to be restored back to you. The wasted blessings or the unripened fruit for the years in which you mourned are going to be restored back to you. You no longer need to live in the sorrows of yesterday because God is saying to you today that it is time for your restoration to take place.
God will put you back together right in front of the people who broke you.
Examples From the Bible
There are many examples from the Bible where God brought restoration to someone’s life and exalted them in the presence of their enemies. Two, in particular, come to mind.
Joseph was given a dream about his brothers bowing down to him. In their jealousy they sold him into slavery and left him for dead. He was falsely accused of rape, and thrown in jail. Joseph couldn’t foresee how his pain was going to to lead to a greater purpose, but He trusted God in the midst of it.
In the end, Joseph was cleared of his false accusations and promoted to the throne. His brothers eventually came to him for help and didn’t even recognize him. It wasn’t until he pointed out who he was that they became afraid. He told them not to worry and he would help them.
What the enemy meant for harm in Joseph’s life, God turned around for good and Joseph’s brothers were there to witness his promotion.
Job is another person from the Bible who seemed to lose everything. His friends were not very supportive in their advice and accused him of doing evil. After all, God wouldn’t allow all this calamity if Job was a righteous man.
In the end, God restored to Job good health and prolonged his days. He also restored Job’s fortunes back to him twice as much as he had before. Job’s family was restored back to him as well. He gave birth to 10 children. Seven sons and three daughters who were the most beautiful women in the land.
Many more people from the Bible have been restored in the presence of their enemies. King David, Naaman, Hezekiah, and the Prodigal Son are a few more examples. If God can restore these men, can’t He restore you as well?
Conclusion
God is making a way out of the wilderness you find yourself in today. That which has been taken and evaporated by life will be replenished and refurbished with a new, fresh, outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Forget the former things and begin to perceive the new things God is doing in your life today. Where you may see hopelessness, despair, and joylessness, God is renewing with hope and joy. He is doing a new thing in your life even if you don’t perceive it.
I encourage you today to begin letting go of the former things that have you bound to the past. God wants to give you new life and new direction. He is constantly at work in your life making the crooked paths straight and rough places smooth. Begin to walk in the liberty Christ came to give you.
Big Daddy Weave wrote a song and the first verse goes like this:
I’ve heard You can take what’s broken
And make it whole again
Well, here’s the pieces of my heart
What can You do with them?
‘Cause I can’t hold them all together anymore
So I let them fall surrendered to the floor
Surrender your pain and the broken pieces of your heart to God today. Only He can make you new and will put you back together right in front of the people who hurt you.
Find Joy In Today 
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