WEEK 3 DAY 1

           “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened    again by a yoke of slavery.”
GALATIANS 5:1

PONDER

Glass can be very beautiful and reflect the most amazing colours and be
moulded into beautiful works of art. When broken it can also cause harm, and
significant pain. In our group yesterday, we were talking about very painful
trigger scenarios. We reflected on our reactions to another’s interaction with
us and one precious friend said, “it is like a shard of glass in me is wrenched,
that is the pain that I feel when…”. We all want to be free of these radical
reactions and the pain of past hurt. Where do we go? What do we do? What
can we do? Listen to Psalm 13 and imagine the enemy being your own flesh,
pain of memory and the present infliction of pain:

“ How long, Lord? Will You forget me for ever? How long will You
hide Your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my
enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say,
‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust
in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing
the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me.”
PSALM 13 NIV

ACTION
Following this Psalm’s plan of action: express your pain and struggle to the Lord with absolute
honesty. Speak it out loud. Ask Him to give you a way to overcome, a way through, to shed some
“light”. At the end of your
conversation with the Lord, declare your trust, praise Him for His deliverance and voice aloud His
goodness towards you. Absolute pain and honesty can co-exist with belief and trust, praise and
singing. Let’s try this!

PRAYER
Lord, this seems so very counter intuitive to tell you about my struggles, hurts and pain, even
frustration and despondency, then turn around and declare trust with singing and praise. Help me
not let the circumstances of this broken world tear me away from enjoying and spending time with
You. Heal me Lord! You know the circumstances of my shard of glass, You alone can blunt the pain. I
believe in You.

CHALLENGE
The challenge today is to spend time with our heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Stop and
be still for a few minutes; Lord, here I am. I need You.
Do this especially when the temptation/triggers are trying to pull you in a
different direction.