A Healed Heart: Jesus Cradles Your Heart
Friday, June 4, 2021
Living Free Every Day®
A ministry of LivingFree.org
Today's Scripture
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Words of Jesus in John 14:27 NLT
Thoughts for Today
Jesus wants to give us rest. When we reach out in faith, he cradles our hearts by his powerful ability to carry all our cares. He fulfills his promise to help us rest our weary souls as we turn every problem into prayers, especially prayers of praise for his amazing love.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NLT
I can clearly remember standing at the crossroads you may now be facing with only my faith to carry me forward. I continued to look to Jesus, study his Word, ask him to change my heart and help me believe. I learned that Jesus’ grace to save me is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). Perhaps my hope of heaven was not in vain. Perhaps I really could overcome all this pain of abortion. Did I really believe Jesus had a place for me with him—safe, protected, under his wings? Could he really love me so?
As I began to understand God’s plan to restore the whole earth from the curse of sin and death, I found these words from Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV): “[God]has made everything beautiful in its time.” I clung to that promise in pure faith, not knowing or seeing how in the world God could make my act of destruction beautiful. But I believed him. I became determined to learn about him and his ways until I could see how he would make his beauty true in my life.
He has done what he promised. I no longer feel the need to hide my heart (or a face full of tears) when I am around others who know the truth. I now have a new desire to use my gifts and my time to help others instead of always striving through my career to prove my worth. I love my children exactly as they are and value the precious gift of life each one represents. And I know the truth about the promise of heaven that I sought so desperately for years: the one who believes has everlasting life.
Consider this …
I’m completely confident as you seek him, you too will see his beauty in your circumstances, no matter how ashen they seem. You will no longer feel you must withdraw in shame or retreat from the world in worthlessness.
Once you have reached for and received the love of Jesus, the crowd no longer matters. The love of Jesus Christ moves you from the crowd to a cloud of eternal witnesses to the power and glory of God (Hebrews 12:1). God’s acceptance purifies you for your place as one of his daughters in the forever family of God. Your healing becomes complete, and he remains ever faithful.
Prayer
Jesus, I come to you now with all I am and all I have done. I give you these burdens and receive your rest. I invite you to be Lord of my life as I join the beautiful family of God.
These thoughts were drawn from … Cradle My Heart: Finding God's LOVE After Abortion by Kim Ketola. In this book, Kim seeks to help those hurt by abortion to grieve with hope. Sharing her story and the stories of ten other women, she reveals that God's love is not a casualty of the abortive process. With an appendix of helpful resources and a study and discussion guide included, Cradle My Heart is a timely and important resource for the hurting woman, the counselor, and the church. With an understanding and empathetic voice, Kim Ketola exposes the hurt in your heart, reveals the healing in God's heart, and brings the two together to create a whole heart where restoration and celebration are possible.
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