Healing From Past Hurt: Letting God Restore What Was Broken

Welcome to Purpose of Heart, the podcast, where real stories meet God's promises. I'm Priscilla Allman, and every week we dive into powerful conversations about purpose in the pressure, through caregiving, illness, grief, addiction, and more. If you've ever asked God, where are you in this? You're in the right place. Be sure to follow the show and let's find purpose together. Hello everyone. Welcome back to Purpose of Hearts, the podcast. I'm your host, Priscilla Almond. And today we're going to have, I guess, a little bit of a tender conversation today. Today we're going to talk about something deeply personal. Healing from past hurt. The kind of hurt that lingers, the kind you don't always talk about, the kind that shows up in quiet moments or unexpected triggers. And if that's where you are today, I want you to know this. You are not alone. And you don't have to carry this forever. Hurt is real. Whether it came from words spoken over you, relationships that broke, betrayals that you did not see coming, disappointment that cut deeper than expected. Pain has a way of settling into the heart. And sometimes we try to move forward without really addressing it. We say, I'm fine. I'll just get over it. I just don't want to think about it. But healing doesn't come from avoidance. It comes from bringing those things into the light. Before anything else, you need to know this. God sees your hurt. He doesn't overlook it. He doesn't minimize it. He doesn't rush you through it. Psalm 147.3 says he heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. That means God is not distant from your pain. He's actively involved in your healing. He is both near and intentional. Healing is a process. It's not a moment. Although, to be completely honest with you, I wish it was. One of the biggest misconceptions. I can't English today. Is that healing happens instantly? Sometimes God does move in a moment, but often healing is a journey, a process of releasing, renewing, rebuilding. And that process requires patience with yourself and with God. If we don't address hurt, it doesn't just miraculously disappear. It shapes us. It can turn into guardedness, bitterness, fear of trusting again, emotional distance, and so many other things. Not because you want to live that way, but because your heart is trying to protect itself. But protection without healing can become a prison. Healing begins when you invite God into the very place that hurts. Not around it, not past it, into it. Psalm 34, 18, the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart. That means the place you've been avoiding is actually where God wants to meet you. You don't have to have the right words. You can simply say, Lord, this still hurts. I need your help. And that honestly becomes a doorway to healing. Let's talk about forgiveness a little bit. Because this is often the hardest part. And it doesn't also mean that trust is instantly restored and that everything should be close and uh things like that. Forgiveness means you are choosing to release the weight of the offense. Ephesians 4, 31 to 32 says, Let all bitterness be put away from you. Forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Because holding on to hurt keeps you tied to the moment that wounded you. And you know, often I think about you know, actual wounds, right? If you say got some kind of burn or something like that, like you're not going to heal. If, say, your hand touched the fire and you continue to hold on to the fire, you're not going to get better, it's only going to continue to burning you, and you're going to continue just getting worse. And just like any wound, you know, that you might have that could be some sort of decot or something like that, if it's starting to get infected, things like that, you have to, you know, expose the wound, clean it out. And then after cleaning it out, maybe put some medicine and things in it, but take care of the wound. Ignoring it, things like that, doesn't won't make a wound or cut go away in the physical sense. It just allows whatever is hurting you to affect more parts of your body. I think that if we think about, you know, actual emotional wounds in the same way we think about physical wounds, that'll help us be able to deal with them a little more and also deal with them a little more speedily, too. Sometimes the deepest ones, the deepest wounds, are the ones that affect how you see yourself. Words spoken over you, especially as a child, situations you experience, they can create beliefs like, I'm not enough, I can't trust anyone, or I'll always be hurt, or whatever else it is that you've told yourself over time. But those are not your identity. Second Corinthians 5 17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. That means your past does not define you, God does. There's a moment in healing where you have to make a decision. Am I gonna keep carrying this? Or am I gonna release it to God? Matthew 11, 28, come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. God is inviting you to lay it down. And he's not doing so just not because it's not heavy, but because you were never meant to carry it alone. So let's get something clear. Healing does not mean rushing back into situations that hurt you, it means allowing God to guide your footsteps forward. Because honestly, there are legit some situations that are actually just completely unsafe. Completely. Proverbs 4 23, keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life. Guarding your heart is wisdom, not fear. Healing allows you to move forward with discernment, not damage. If you're in the middle of healing right now, if it feels slow, if it feels uncomfortable, if it feels incomplete, I want you to hear this. God is still working. Every step you take towards healing matters. Every moment of honesty matters. Every decision to release, to forgive instead of to hold on matters. Healing is not about erasing the past. It's not about pretending things didn't happen. It's about no longer being controlled by it. It's about walking in freedom. It's about allowing God to restore what was broken and allowing him to strengthen what remains. As you go forward today, carry this truth with you. You don't have to stay wounded. Healing is available to you. And step by step, God will restore your heart. I'll see you in the next time, friends. Thanks for listening to Purpose of Heart the Podcast at www.purpose of heartpodcast.com. Make sure you hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode. There's so much more God is doing, and I don't want you to miss a thing. Thank you in advance for the reviews and shares. They help this message reach more hearts. I can't wait to walk with you again in next week's episode. See you there.