How Can I Move Past This?

He left.

She lied.

They betrayed me.

I'm tired.

I can't.

I won't.

Why me?

How could this happen?

How could GOD do this to me?!

What the ^&%$?!

If you have lived on this earth more than a day, you can surely identify with many of these statements. If you are able to read this and smile, then you are recovering from your pain and heartache quite well. If you are reading this and crying, you can be confident that no matter what you are going through now, it will surely pass.

Time is a friend when things are going well, and foe when things are not, but Christ created time so as long as He is in the mix, it is well with your soul, my friend! He's not like any other friend. You don't have to have a clean house, yummy snacks, or Netflix and wifi. Wherever you are and whatever you're going through will never deter Him from coming close if you respond to his invitation.

How can I say this? I don't know you, and I don't know what you've been through.  That much is true, but it is also true that I know someone who knows better than you know yourself. He knows the number of hairs on your head because he numbered them. His name is Jehovah, I AM, Yahweh. His son Jesus Christ, who is no less GOD than His father has a cure that applies in all situations and circumstances.

This manual known as the Bible declares that it is well with you - if you have invited him into your life, or more accurately, if you have responded to His invitation to come into your life. If you have not done this, you can invite Him into your life right now.

"Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

In this passage of scripture, Jesus Christ was speaking to people who had been burdened with the religious system and the hypocritical requirements laid upon them by the Jewish leaders. This was a radical statement because the Jewish leaders were the people's only connection to GOD.

 This is also speaking to us today as we burden ourselves with so many things:

• The burden of what others think and say about us
• The burden of keeping up with all of the latest gadgets and things this world has to offer
• The burden of pleasing people and satisfying that little voice inside that seeks validation from others

The word labor in Matthew 11:28 comes from a Greek work that means to feel fatigue, by implication to work hard, to be wearied. The Son of Man, Jesus Christ was saying that we were not meant to carry such burdens, and we are able to trade these burdens in for rest with him.

Rest from people's expectations, rest from social media's constant pull on our time and self esteem, and rest from our sins and wayward ways. Whatever has wearied you can be exchanged for rest. Rest came from a Greek word meaning to be refreshed and take ease.

In this text, Jesus had already been teaching the crowd and was now extending an invitation for people to follow Him. This was a friendly invitation, as opposed to the fearful and forceful nature of the Jewish leaders. In the next verse, Christ says "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." This is radical because the jewish leaders were not meek or lowly, and their expectations certainly did not offer rest for the people. They had taken the laws of GOD and constructed a system that pushed people further away from GOD, rather than drawing them near. So for Jesus Christ to make this statement to people was quite a statement and part of the reason that the leaders hated him. Instead of created more obstacles for people to jump through, he was clearing a path for people to come to Him. This was the intention of the law in the first place, but like many things, mankind perverted it until it had an opposite effect.

I can recall a dream I once had where a school bus was driving up to this beautiful home (I think I was the driver). It was nice home, in a nice neighborhood but as soon as the bus got closer to the house, it crashed directly into the house. When I got off of the bus, all of the beautiful arrangement of furniture and cleanliness that appeared began to deteriorate and the house was filthy. There were bugs coming out of the base boards and things out of place. It was a completely different environment than what the outside appeared. I shared it with my mother (GOD rest her soul) and she gave me the interpretation.

It was not easy to hear, or even deep. It was pretty obvious -- the outside appeared one way to everyone but the inside was a mess! It was a total mess.

I cried to the Lord and asked Him why He would send me such a dream. I really thought I understood what He was communicating, but as usual, the fact that I thought I understood is what kept me from really getting the point.

Yes, it was a mess inside.

True, it was completely put together outside.

Work was necessary to get this house up to par on the inside as it appeared on the outside.

BUT

The school bus meant something too. The Lord revealed to me that since I had become teachable and admitted I didn't know it all, it did not matter how the house appeared on the inside. Because HE WAS IN THE HOUSE! He would not abandon me alone in that house. In fact, He was taking up residence there in spite of the filth. Do you know that no matter the condition you are in, it must change for the better when Christ is involved.

Alcoholic? GOD can sober you up.

Drug addict? GOD will show you that He is the best high there could ever be!

Promiscuous? Jesus will take you just as you are.

The only people He cannot help are those who refuse to admit they need help! This is why the Pharisees were out of His reach. It was not their arrogance, or their condescending mindset towards the poor (though these mindsets certainly did not help), it was their refusal to see their need for the savior they had been teaching about for centuries!

I do not know where you are in your journey, but that is irrelevant. All of us can have Jesus in our homes, and when He comes, it is impossible for the condition of the house to remain the same. And most importantly, like Jacob, by the time we are aware of Christ's presence in our lives, it will change us to know that He had been there the entire time.

He was there and we knew it not.

Through disappointment.

Broken dreams.

Divorce.

Chronic Illness.

Abuse.

Sin.

Betrayal.

Pain.

Infertility.

Rejection.

He was there and He will continue to be there. He will not abandon you or leave you to get yourself together. You need only to be teachable and willing to follow Him. Jeremiah 18 tells us that the clay became marred in the potter's hand. Even though the vessel had never left the hand of the potter, there were flaws. We have free choice as believers, and this means that the choices we make impact our lives.

And while some believe that grace is a ticket to live in sin despite knowing better, that is a complete deception. Grace allows us the time and space to come to the open hand of Christ, and answer the whisper we hear in our hearts to follow Him. Willful sin is not grace, it is a sign of apostasy - a reprobate mind.

We are free to choose, but not free from the consequences. Mistakes do not separate us from the love of Christ, but rather illuminate our minds to the fact that we need Him more. This is the sign of a heart that is truly seeking Christ. Christ will never come into agreement with sin because that would make his sacrifice for sin pointless.

Jesus Christ can never come into agreement with our sin. To do so, would be to nullify the purpose for which he died! He comes to relieve the guilt we have from sin; restore us from the consequences of our sin; and show us a life free from sin. R.C. Sproul said that we are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of GOD. Not one of us is without sin, and that is why the invitation of GOD to come into our hearts is so radical.

So once we finally obey a principle we all should have learned in kindergarten -- taking responsibility for our actions --we can then repent or change our minds from being in agreement with the sin, to be in agreement with the One who paid the ultimate price for our sins.

Some people experience an immediate deliverance where they never go back to whatever it was that separated them from GOD. While others may fall again and again. The psalmist tells us that a just man falls seven times, but isn't utterly cast down. GOD is longsuffering with us. He is patient, He even blesses us when we don't deserve it. Our salvation is not based on being a good person.

There is no such thing as a good person!

Believers in Christ, and followers of His commandments are no better than anyone, it is only that we choose Him back, just as He chose us. Even though I AM loved the whole world and sent His only begotten son Jesus Christ to die to restore our relationship with him, not all will choose Him.

We must be careful that we do not have a heart of unbelief, or allow bitterness towards the circumstances in our lives and GOD to rob us of the wonderful relationship and opportunity given for us to experience a new life. It is not hype. Being born again in Christ gives us new life.

New eyes that can see the goodness of GOD.

New ears to hear the Word of GOD.

A new mouth to speak words in alignment with GOD.

New opportunities to experience GOD.

A new heart no longer hardened by disappointment and sin.

Everything can become new!

This is the way forward. Accepting the fact that we need Christ and then learning about this new way of life is paramount. You will find that in order to move forward, you must turn back. Turn back to the One who created you. Turn back to the One who loves you. Turn back from the old ways of thinking and doing things so that you can MOVE FORWARD.