We all have been in a situation where someone close to us hurt us. Maybe physically, emotionally, or even mentally. It may even be a common occurrence for you to want to withdraw from people, reading your word, praying, etc. We need to take the time to process our emotions and forgive the person who hurt us, but we can’t stay there. Sometimes we rehearse in our minds the pain they caused and what we would have done differently if that scenario were to happen again. It was not ok for the person or people to hurt you as they did. One of the tricks on the enemy is to get us to remain where we are. You may ask, what do you mean by that? The enemy wants you to stay trapped in that emotion of pain to prevent you from moving forward. He wants you to stay angry at that person no matter what. He wants you to take up residence at the corner of anger and unforgiveness. You may be thinking, but you don’t know what they did to me. You don’t know how bad they hurt and mistreated me. And you’re right, I may not know what they did to you or even how bad they hurt you, but God does.

You have to process your pain accordingly, but you can’t stay in pain forever; that pain cannot become your permanent address. There are multiple ways of processing our pain. Suppose you have to find a great therapist to help you process your feelings. Your feelings are not wrong. You are not in the wrong for feeling your pain, but I believe it is your actions and what you do afterward. I Believe the enemy wants us to miss out on opportunities and places God wants to take us. When we become best friends with anger, bitterness, and sadness, it prevents us from moving forward into great things that God has for us. Genesis 50:20 tells us, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” The situation you experienced was not a great one. It was unfair, wrong, hurtful, and so many other things, but God tells us in his word that good can come out of an unjust circumstance.

Five months or a year from now, maybe even ten years from now, you don’t know who you are going to meet that will need to hear your story and how you overcome that hardship. And be honest, tell them yes, it was difficult and painful, but God got me over the hurdle. Please give them the steps and tools you used to overcome that circumstance. Let’s think on a larger scale. What if God wants you to create an organization to help individuals who had a similar experience. You never know who your story may reach and whom your story will help. When the enemy comes knocking on your day to take up residence at a location you don’t belong at, remind him you don’t live there anymore and return whatever he’s offering to the sender.