{"id":57101,"date":"2020-09-06T13:03:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-06T18:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=57101"},"modified":"2025-08-06T12:59:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T17:59:34","slug":"christ-heals-hurt-saves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/christ-heals-hurt-saves\/","title":{"rendered":"Christ Heals Our Hurt By Saving Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div><h3><strong>A mental health epidemic exists today among young people. Gen Z is more lonely and depressed than any previous generation. <\/strong>Their hurt presents an incredible opportunity for Christ-followers to share the restorative gospel of Jesus.<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don&#8217;t mean the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/teach4theheart.com\/self-esteem-positivity-gospel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">positivity gospel<\/a>\u201d that has seeped into the Church, <em>but the authentic gospel that Jesus Himself taught.<\/em> Much like the prosperity gospel, the positivity gospel promises that accepting Jesus guarantees a life exempt from pain and hurt. That a &#8220;good&#8221; God can be counted on to ensure that we enjoy a happy, thriving, successful life. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this false doctrine shortchanges who Jesus is &#8212; and can keep us from experiencing the personal, trusting relationship He freely offers. To ignore your sin and human condition is to the cheapen the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/xtiUjNT_vAM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">amazing grace<\/a> of His gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_57368\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-57368\" style=\"width: 372px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-57368 \" src=\"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/09\/hurt-scaled-e1599412620768.jpg\" alt=\"hurt\" width=\"372\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/09\/hurt-scaled-e1599412620768.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/09\/hurt-scaled-e1599412620768.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/09\/hurt-scaled-e1599412620768.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-57368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bridging the Gap blog #hurthealedwhole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">For 50+ years, <a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/about-us\/joshs-bio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"s2\">Josh McDowell<\/span><\/a> Ministry has been leading seekers into a deeper knowledge of God\u2019s truth and power. We offer you our accumulated knowledge and <a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/resources\/apologetics\/research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"s2\">research<\/span><\/a> to help you find truth and encouragement to live a healthy and whole life in Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><b>Healing Your Hurt Through Relationship\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God is not primarily concerned with our being &#8220;happy&#8221; or &#8220;comfortable.&#8221; Rather, as the great Christian writer C.S. Lewis once stated, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/quotes\/623193-we-can-ignore-even-pleasure-but-pain-insists-upon-being\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pain is God\u2019s megaphone to a deaf world<\/a>. <em>Our loneliness and hurt is a symptom of the problem we&#8217;d rather ignore: our sin and the broken world it causes.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I know Jesus heals. With His help I have overcome the porn addiction, shame, and <a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/wounds-shame-isolation-my-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">woundedness of my past<\/a>. I have found true freedom. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t now thrive because Christ healed me from that hurt. I thrive because <em>while I was once dead in my sin,<\/em> I am now alive in the grace and love of Jesus, my Savior.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus heals our anxiety, loneliness, depression, and other hurts as we live a <a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/healthy-relationships-are-key\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">relationally intimate life with Him<\/a> and the people He places in our life to help us.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>How to Enter Into a Relationship With Jesus?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><b>Admit that you are broken, and the root cause is your sin.<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bible tells us that Jesus taught that our issues and hurts start with our heart. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=matthew%2012:34-35\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matthew 12:34-35<\/a>, Jesus says, \u201cFor out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.\u201d <em>At the root of our actions and behavior is our broken, sinful nature.<\/em> Our sin separates us from the Holy God who created and unconditionally loves us. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In choosing Jesus as Savior, we are restored in right relationship to God. Our sins are completely covered by Jesus. Goodbye, guilt, failure, and fear! We get to begin again!<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>Accept that Christ has unlimited power, but sometimes allows hurt for His purposes.<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is nothing that God can&#8217;t do. Yet He doesn&#8217;t always heal our hurt in the way or timing we think He should. The Bible promises us that God&#8217;s plans are always best, and work for our good. God does not like that we live in hurt and pain. He wants us to walk in joy and freedom. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we choose to believe that He loves us unconditionally, we can decide to daily trust Him, our hearts and hands open to His will and His timing. God is for us!<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b>Recognize that Christ has an eternity mindset; we should, too.\u00a0<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Our earthly lives are short and temporary. As I read the <a href=\"https:\/\/amazingbibletimeline.com\/blog\/paul-the-letters-of\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">apostle Paul\u2019s letters<\/a> in the New Testament, I am awed by his eternal mindset. Paul clearly grasped the truth of the gospel message and his sinful nature. He understood that his relationship with Christ will last for eternity, so he made it his priority. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus should be our primary focus, too. <\/span>Jesus, alone, can heal the loneliness and hurt we experience from a life crippled by our broken souls in this broken world. Let&#8217;s seek Him <em>to know Him<\/em>, and to watch Him work through the hurt in our lives to produce good!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Jesus saves. Jesus comforts. Jesus restores. <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/4wNpOeakhEM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesus brings us to life!<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Next Steps:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May we pray for you? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/request-prayer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Click here<\/strong>.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to start a personal relationship with Jesus? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/resources\/spiritual-growth\/know-god\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Click here<\/strong>.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out Josh&#8217;s book, <\/span><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/store.josh.org\/product\/more-than-a-carpenter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">More Than a Carpenter<\/a><\/em><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>,<\/em> to learn about the historical evidence of Jesus. He lives!<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to a thriving life to deal with your hurts? Check out our <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/resolutionmovement.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Resolution Movement.<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>Austin serves as a speaker with the Josh McDowell Ministry. A recent graduate of Talbot School of Theology, Austin and his wife Hannah seek to reach a wounded and broken generation in relevant ways with the gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A mental health epidemic exists today among young people. Gen Z is more lonely and depressed than any previous generation. Their hurt presents an incredible opportunity for Christ-followers to share the restorative gospel of Jesus. I don&#8217;t mean the \u201cpositivity gospel\u201d that has seeped into the Church, but the authentic gospel that Jesus Himself taught. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23327,"featured_media":57368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"In our hurt, should we turn to Christ for healing or saving? In this post Austin Fruits explains why our relationship with Christ matters.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[999,916,275,180],"translator":[],"blog-author":[70],"class_list":["post-57101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bridging-the-gap","tag-healed","tag-hurt","tag-jesus","tag-savior","blog-author-austin-fruits"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/09\/hurt-scaled-e1599412620768.jpg","meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57101"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92881,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57101\/revisions\/92881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57101"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/translator?post=57101"},{"taxonomy":"blog-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-author?post=57101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}