Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional September 3 2023.

SCRIPTURE: Count it all joy…when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.— James 1:2-4 (ESV).

We frequently delay our own healing because we keep searching for a painless path. We want to get well, but we don’t want it to hurt. That is understandable, but powerful things never come easily. What Jesus did for us didn’t come easily.

I don’t want to give you false hope, so I will openly tell you that if you have been abused, abandoned, rejected, or wounded through long-term illness or disappointments in life, your journey to healing won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. The reason it is not easy is that you will have to open up areas of your life you may have kept hidden or stuffed somewhere deep inside you, refusing even to admit you are a wounded person.

Only the truth will set us free but facing that truth may be one of the most difficult things we ever do. For example, all children want their parents to love them, and I found that even as an adult, I continued being hurt and disappointed by my parents because I kept trying to get something from them that they simply did not know how to give me. One day I looked at myself in the mirror and said, “Joyce, your parents did not love you, and they never will. It wasn’t your fault, so let it go and move on!” It hurt to face that, but it also set me free to stop frustrating and disappointing myself by trying to get something my parents couldn’t or wouldn’t give. They were both wounded themselves and did not even know what real love was.

You may have to face something about yourself that will be hard to do. I had to face that I was bitter, full of self-pity, selfish and self-centered, and controlling, just to mention a few. When God began to deal with me about these things, I assured Him that I had a very good reason for all of my bad behavior. After all, I had been abused! He let me know that although I did have a good reason, I had no right to continue behaving badly because He was willing to set me free. Letting go of feeling sorry for myself was hard for me because by then I was literally addicted to self-pity, and it was my go-to emotion anytime I did not get my way. Thankfully, God continued dealing with me until I was free, and He wants to do the same for you.

God never allows more to come on us than we can bear, and you can be assured that if God is dealing with you about something, it is the right time to let go of something old and take hold of the new way of living He offers. You may not feel ready to face something painful, but the Holy Spirit, who is your Helper, will be with you each step of the way, and He will strengthen and enable you to do it.

I encourage you to stop looking for an easy way and know in your heart that sometimes God has to lead us the long, hard way. Take God’s hand and trust His guidance even if you don’t understand it.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I know everything isn’t easy. Please help me to take Your hand and know that You will be with me every step of the way, in the name of Jesus, amen.

Source: Joyce Meyer Ministries.