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The Joy Of Negative Memories Transformed

Sunday December 2, 2018

As we prepare our hearts for the celebration of Christ’s birth, some of us may have negative memories and regrets about past Christmases.  Dysfunctional families, addiction, poverty, and loneliness may have been part of our story.  However, regardless of the many disappointments we may have experienced, God knows and cares about where we are today. 

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born the prophet Isaiah wrote, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.  For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”  (Isaiah 9:2 NLT) We are the people on whom the light is now shining and for whom this great prophesy has been fulfilled.



At certain times in our past life may have been unmanageable and we were powerless to do anything about it.  We felt unnoticed by family members and others. We came to believe that no one understood or cared about us.  The truth is, God sees, God understands, and God cares about us.  Jesus, God’s Son, entered our human experience and identified with our pain.  Jesus is known as Immanuel, God with us.

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. (John 3:16-18 MSG)

God’s invitation to us today is to turn our negative memories and regrets over to Him and let Him heal our hearts and minds.  We can give God the pain of our past and receive from Him a purposeful future.  What a great exchange!  This is the gift that Christmas offers to each person. 


Prayer:  Heavenly Father, Thank you for the gift of Jesus.  May I ever be mindful that Jesus came into the world that I might have life and have it to the full.  Amen

©2018 Partners in Hope  
More information on this and other related topics @ http://www.partnersinhope.ca/life-with-god-in-recovery-resources/

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