“Some pain is good,” she explained as she ruffled my husband’s release papers.

Her words caught me off guard, ringing in my ear the entire ride home.

How could pain be good? The very topic of it feels uncomfortable, leaving an uneasy awareness that life is not always pleasant.

What our nurse didn’t expand on is that pain happens for one reason: to protect you. Simply put, it’s the body’s way of letting us know something is harmful. Pain also has a memory, relying on past experiences to determine the stimulus and pain levels.

Unless medication numbs the pain sensors, the body feels each new pain more strongly.

 

Unfortunately, pain isn’t limited to our physical body. The emotional pain caused by gut-wrenching names last well beyond the initial blow. With each new painful word, name, or accusation, comes a higher level of pain. A pain sinking deeper and deeper into the fibers of our DNA.

In an attempt to cover the throbbing wound, we begin numbing the sensors by self-medicating. Drugs, alcohol, materialism, perfectionism, success, good works, anger, etc., become our outlet. All the while, the only medication strong enough to completely remove the pain is His life-giving truth. A healing truth that declares you are …

Chosen & Cherished

From the beginning, I chose you. It was My grace that drew you to salvation, calling your name out of the darkness. I adore you so much that I sent my Son to pay your ransom, a price you could never pay. Cherished one, you are engraved on the palms of His hands. Always with Me, never forgotten.

  • You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. John 15:16
  • But we ought always to thank God for you, brother loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13
  • See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands… Isaiah 49:16

Special Friend

Sweet friend, I will never steer you wrong. I laid down my life for you to enjoy an abundant life here on earth. Walk with me, talk with me, friend to friend. My counsel comes straight from our Father’s throne room. Our time together will leave you refreshed, encouraged, and full of joy.

  • Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
  • No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
  • Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. Proverbs 27:9

Honored Ambassador

Although your citizenship is with Me in heaven, I have appointed you my highest-ranking diplomat on earth. I have entrusted you with an eternal mission to represent the interests of My Kingdom. Don’t let the things around you distract you from the importance of your job as My ambassador. You are a significant part of my work on earth.

  • We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:20
  • But our citizenship is in heaven. Philippians 3:20
  • Set your minds on things above not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2

Redeemed & New

I alone have justified you. My Son lived a perfect life to redeem an imperfect world. His surrender paid for your striving. You are a brand-new child with a new life, full of possibilities. No longer do I see your past. So why do you gaze at it? Keep your eyes focused on Me as I transform your past problems into a palace of potential. I am making all things new!

  • Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
  • Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
  • Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Romans 8:33-34

Sealed & Secure

When you trusted me with your life, an eternal deposit was made. A deposit, worth more than all the world’s riches. The eternity I placed in your heart as I formed you was set ablaze. Nothing in all creation can break My seal of approval on your life. You are safe, secure, and sealed with My unwavering love.

  • He set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:22
  • Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 2 Corinthians 5:5
  • When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14

Names rely on past experiences to determine the pain level. Did any of these or the names from last week’s post trigger an uneasy memory or uncomfortable feeling?

If so, don’t skip or rush through it. Pain’s purpose is to show you where you’re hurt. While the emotional “body” is trying to protect you, numbing your pain sensors, our Great Physician is seeking to heal you. Allow Him to uncover the lie so His truth can cover it.

Choose to embrace the Father’s words, to let His truth hug you and set you free!

Don’t forget to sign up for these Scripture cards. I’ve also included blank ones so for you. Write you own new name or jot down the Bible verses and carry them with you as a reminder of who you were created to be.

As we finish up the series on More Than A Label, it seems fitting to talk about the power of our tongue. So, join me next week for the series on The Power of Our Words.

Blessings, Chosen One!

info@estherdorotik.com