Conquer Every Ocean of Pain
I said we need a truth able to conquer every ocean of pain, and fill to overflowing every ocean of need within the universe. The wonderful truth that speaks into this arena of our brokenness is, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” (Colossians 1:21-22, NIV).
The word alienation means, “To alienate, estrange; to be shut out from fellowship and intimacy.”[1]
Alienation begins in the feelings, and gains strength in our mind. Feeling hurt, isolated, unwanted, not good enough, feelings of deep pain direct thoughts. As our heart meditates on thoughts centered around our feelings, which move in tandem with thoughts inserted in our mind, beliefs are formed. We feel worthless, and believe no one wants us, or can love us. Such lies become our reality, and color all of life with a cloud of despair and hopelessness. The Word says, “you were aliens”. “You were enemies.” Deep within, out of feelings and thoughts, came wicked works of fear, doubt, and unbelief. But God reconciled you in the body of His own flesh, by dying on the Cross, so Christ could lift you up, and present you faultless to His Father, who will embrace you, and draw you close to His heart (Romans 5:10). Once you were alienated, your identity was “stranger”. Once you were shut out from fellowship and intimacy with God. But you are no longer alienated! You may not feel this, but feelings do not predicate reality. The truth is once you were alienated. Because Christ died in your place, His blood established a hedge of protection around you, drawing you into Himself. He placed a boundary where there was no boundary. He says, “You are not a stranger, or an alien any longer. You are chosen! You are loved! You are valued. You are part of My heart. You belong to Me!”
Place your name in those sentences. When you feel alienated, stop. Say NO! That is no longer the truth. I have been brought near by the blood of the Lamb. I have been reconciled. I belong to Christ. He is in me, and I am in Him. I am not alienated any longer.
Ask the Lord to help you learn to walk in the reality of this truth. To walk in anything else, is an illusion; a false truth which leads to death. When we feel isolated, ask, what is true? What is false? The Lord says it is false to walk in alienation. Why? Because He bought you back at the cost of His own life. Now you choose what you believe. If you choose to reject the lord, you will shut yourself off from intimacy with yourself, intimacy with others, and intimacy with God. Because all life begins in God, if you begin to walk by faith in the truth you belong to the Lord, it will impact your whole life; it will break down the laws of separation behind which you hide. You may say, Oh, I know I am not alienated from God. But my friend, if you remain alienated from yourself, or from others, if you walk in isolation, that indicates you are still alienated from God in your mind, and in the core of your being. You cannot walk with both alienation, and with God. For behind alienation is an unclean spirit, whose goal is to separate us from God.
This same word is used in Ephesians 2:12, “that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (NKJV). Also, “Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18, NKJV). Have you asked what your feelings produce? When we yield to alienation, we are covered with a blanket of darkness, discouragement, depression, despair, and fear. Life within is smothered, empty, meaningless. Because we do not walk by faith, we are spiritually blind, and we feel hopeless.
But we have a choice. Sin alienates us. Each of us was born in sin. God is holy and sin may not enter His presence. But when He touches our heart, and cleanses us, the walls of alienation are done away with. You may have experienced rejection in the womb, or in childhood, so, you understand the anguish, the loss, and the despair that comes from isolation. But, if we learn to think as God does, we begin to realize He is drawing us to His heart. As we walk in this truth, we will be alienated from the world, for the world hates God. But we are chosen by the LORD God; He brings hope. If we allow Him, He heals us, and draws us into intimacy with Himself. That brings healing in our inner being, and in our relationship with others of a like mind. Remember, the Father’s heart is for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. Through Scripture, He speaks on their behalf. Widow by definition includes one who has been forsaken. If you feel estranged, forsaken, betrayed, not good enough, you can know the Lord’s heart is especially for you, because He loves the brokenhearted. He loves you! Nothing can alter His love for you.
[1]G526 – apallotrioō ἀπαλλοτριόω, verb derived from G575 (from) & the root word G245, which means stranger, alien. (Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2013. 18 Apr 2013. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org.)
