Overcoming Church HurtSample

Day 2: The Enemy's Plan For Your Life

In John 10:10 (NRSV), Jesus tells us, “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” We see here that God has a plan for your life but so does the enemy. If you are not careful, the enemy can use church hurt to steal from you, kill and destroy you. You may not notice the attack coming. It could catch you off guard.

His primary goal is to make you focus on yourself and the hurt, lose your faith, and lose your fellowship with God and His people. Let’s break this down.

Shift the focus to you: He tells you that you have every right to be angry, bitter, and offended. He tells you that you can let go when those who hurt you acknowledge and apologize. He tells you to protect your heart by staying far from God and church people, so you do not get hurt again. He tells you, the only person that won’t hurt you is you, so focus on you.

Faith: With all these thoughts going on, you will lose faith in God and people. Hebrews 11:6 says you can’t please God without faith. Imagine living a life like this. This can throw you into spiritual depression and pull you farther from God. You place your faith in your abilities instead of God.

Fellowship: When you hold on to the hurt and focus on yourself and the pain, your faith dwindles, and you lose fellowship, intimacy, and a relationship with God and people. Isolated, the enemy moves in to destroy you. You may not see it coming. Destruction comes in many forms but in all ways, it robs you of so much more than you’re willing to give.

2 Corinthians 2:11 NLT says, “so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.” The hurt is real, and I believe in placing healthy boundaries in your life to guard against toxic people but do not let the devil deceive you by making you feel that it is your absolute right to carry the hurt and remain offended, unwilling to forgive and move on. You can outsmart him!

The dangers of such a shift in these three areas are:

1. A shift to self makes you selfish and self-reliant to resolve the issue. This does not work.

2. By losing faith in God, you place your faith in yourself and your limited abilities. This will eventually wear you out and make you frustrated.

3. Isolation is the motive of the enemy in order to attack you. Remember the prodigal son.

Read, internalize, and pray each scripture to deepen your faith.