Episode 9 From Wounded to Called

Some of us know exactly what it is like to carry disappointment especially after you have been wounded.  Yet your wound is not your identity.  Your betrayal is not your identity.  God still calls wounded people.  Listen today to receive revelation around you wound as God is speaking to you and calling you out.  

The Thrive & Wholeness series includes a journey that takes you from your woundedness into strength, healing, encounters with the Lord, discernment and then how to live intentionally.  Check out Tenacious Warrior, Freedom after Betrayal, Turned Around, Eyes to See and my lates one available soon - Intentional: Living Every Day with Purpose and Power.  Go to loisflewelling.com or Amazon to get your copy.  

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Hi, I am Lois Wellington. We all desire spiritual growth, but you don't always know where to begin. On the new level away, you can find steps. I do into unified assignment and reach new levels of greatness in the Lord. You will begin to storm up every obstacle and enter into your specific assignment. So get ready to go from glory to glory as new levels await you. Welcome once again to A New Level Awaits You. This is the place where we pursue healing, freedom, and wholeness through the transforming power of Jesus Christ. In today's episode from Wounded to Called, we are going to talk about one of the greatest lies betrayal tries to convince us of that our pain has disqualified us from purpose. You see, sometimes when betrayal occurs, it really penetrates in so deep that it makes us believe that Jesus, we really can't do much more with Jesus. In fact, we project on Jesus that we're unforgivable. We can't do because our sin was so severe. Betrayal has a way of making people think they, you know, they can't do anything else for Jesus because of this, what's happened to me. It has a way of making people think that they need to shrink back, question their value, even silent, severed calling God has placed upon them. Many times it causes us to withdraw completely, walk away. Walk away not just from the church, but walk away from God Himself. But throughout scripture, we see a completely different pattern. God continually takes wounded people, restores them, and then uses them powerfully for his kingdom. I want you to know that every biblical character had done some major stuff. And yet God restored them. And God wants to use you today. So some of you listening today know exactly what it feels like to carry this disappointment. That the disappointment that changed you. And do you know what it feels like when somebody you trusted rejected you? Or I'm gonna even go out on a limb and say, even leadership has failed you. Maybe a friendship collapsed. I'm seeing that happen a lot. Marriages are breaking apart. And people are say things over our lives that are just unbelievably cruel. And it wounds it, it wounds our identity deeply. But betrayal often leaves behind more than just pain, it leaves behind confusion. It makes us question our discernment, our worth, our sometimes, like I said, even God Himself. What's this relationship look like now? How does God feel about me? And we begin to put in the lies, believe the lies that God believes certain things when it's not true. Yet the beautiful truth of the gospel is this wounded does not mean forgotten, does not mean rejected, and it does not mean unusual. Yet the beautiful truth of the gospel is this. Wounded does not mean forgotten, it does not mean rejected, and it doesn't mean unusable. God specializes in restoring broken places and calling people forward again. He did it for Moses, he did it for Abraham, he did it for David, he did it all the way through the Bible. And one of the clearest examples in the New Testament is that of Peter. Peter was rambunctious, Peter kind of did things off the cuff many, many times. But we know that Peter loved Jesus passionately. Yet, when in one of the most critical moments of his life, fear overtook him and he denied the Lord three times. You know, Peter was confused. There was things going on, he didn't understand a lot of it, and he fear got a hold of him, and he didn't want to be known as connected with Jesus. We can have those fears too. We don't want to be caught up and crucified as Jesus was or killed, or you know, in those particular manners. Peter was all this stuff was going through his head. But can you imagine the shame he carried after hearing the rooster crow? Jesus said three times, Peter, you're going to deny me, and then the rooster will crow. Imagine the shame he felt that he it actually came to pass because he goes, Oh no, no, no, no, I'll never do that, Lord. But can you imagine the torment of knowing that he failed publicly? Peter was not only wounded by his actions, but by the trauma and confusion surrounding the crucifixion. Everything he believed, his future would look like suddenly shattered. And that's the problem. Many of us, we stop right there in the story. What we thought our future would look like was being shattered. And we stop. We put a uh stop sign right up, we're done. I can't do anymore, I'm gonna isolate, I can't serve the Lord anymore, I'm unacceptable in all of this. See, people will look at us and say, just like they did with Peter, they remember Peter's denial, but they forget his restoration. So often we remember when we've done the wrong thing in the denial or the shame or whatever's happened to us, but we forget that God is in the whole purpose of restoration. It doesn't matter what other people look at us as, if they remember our our shame or the betrayal, or it doesn't matter, God matters, and what he says gets the final say. So after the resurrection, Jesus intentionally sought Peter out, did not discard him because of his failure, he restored him beside another fire. Here he is, he's going, it's in John 21. Jesus appears to him, to them, the disciples. Peter sees him. Peter jumps out of the boat, and he goes first, and the disciples came afterwards. This is this is how much Peter loved Jesus. And he asked them, he said, Are you catching anything? And so in this story, Jesus has given him some information. They go, Well, throw it over to the to the other side, to the right side. And when they did that, all of a sudden they got a whole net full of fish. And then Peter realized that is the master. That's that's Jesus. And he jumps out of the boat and he goes and he goes forth while the others bring in the catch. This is Peter, Peter's restoration. And Jesus asked him, He says, Do you love me? Peter, do you love me? He asked him three times, do you love me? And Peter was getting very, very frustrated with Jesus. But he says to Peter, feed my sheep. Now that is a directive, isn't it? And then he says to him the second time, shepherd my sheep. Now these are two directives. He was giving Peter two directives. Go and teach, go into the kingdom of God and advance it. Go and teach, go and shepherd them. And so when Jesus was saying this to Peter, I mean, I know Peter got a little frustrated because remember, he was he's kind of wound up. Peter can be very, very um spontaneous, let's put it that way. But all Peter wanted to do was to love Jesus and glorify him. He learned it from his mistake. He learned. But what's so important about this is that Jesus did not merely forgive Peter, he recommissioned him. The very disciple that once denied Christ became one of the boldest voices in the early church. I want to tell you, you may be one of those people that have failed at some point in your life. You feel that you've you failed God, you failed Jesus, you've failed in whatever avenue that is the enemy is using against you. But I want to tell you that God can use you, He can recommission you, He can put into you and make you one of the boldest voices. He can put your feet on the solid rock, and he can put a new song in your mouth, and he can send you into places that maybe nobody else would go. See, betrayal, failure, and weakness do not get the final word. It didn't get it over Peter's destiny, and I'm declaring today it's not going to get it over your destiny as well. It isn't going to get it over my destiny either. Some of you need to hear that today. Your wound is not your identity, your behavior betrayal is not your destiny. That thing that happened to you may have marked part of your story, but it does not define the conclusion of your story. God still calls wounded people. In fact, many times the people who've walked through the deepest pain carry the greatest compassion, wisdom, discernment, and authority after healing takes place. I know it has for me. I'm amazed at the compassion that I have inside of me because of what I've gone through. I'm amazed at how my discernment has gotten greater and greater and greater, and the wisdom that God has given me through my experiences. And also the authority that I now walk in is even greater because of this. 2 Corinthians 1, 3 through 4 says that God comforts all of us in all of our troubles, so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from Him. That's how this works. God takes that pain, He takes whatever we've gone through, He turns it all around, doesn't He? And He makes it into something good so we can go forth and really identify with somebody else's pain and be able to comfort them because we've received comfort from the Lord. Your healing journey may become the very doorway through which somebody else finds freedom. The enemy wants wounded believers isolated because isolation keeps people from rediscovering purpose. Betrayal says, Oh, it whispers those things into our heads and it says, stay hidden, stay guarded, never trust again. But healing invites us into restoration instead of self-protection. Healing does not mean becoming naive again. It means allowing God to rebuild your identity on truth instead of pain. It means learning discernment without becoming hardened. It means trusting God even while wisdom and boundaries are being rebuilt. I think one of the hardest parts of betrayal is the temptation to believe your best days are behind you. Many people survive painful seasons, but never fully re-engage with their calling because fear convinces them it's safer to remain hidden. Yet throughout scripture, we see God continually calling people forth, calling them forward after painful seasons. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, falsely accused, forgotten in prison, yet God elevated him into a position that saved nations. David was hunted, rejected, abandoned before becoming king. Ruth experienced devastating loss before stemming into redemption and legacy. The pattern is consistent. God restores and repositions people for purpose. Some of the wound itself becomes the birth place of deeper intimacy with God. Brokenness as a way of stripping away self-reliance and bringing us face to face with our need for Christ. In those hidden places, God rebuilds us, He heals distorted identities, He restores our vision, He strengthens those weak places. And often He awakens gifts, compassion, and spiritual authority that we never fully developed before the trial that we went through. Romans 8, I've kind of mentioned it earlier, but it says, and we know that all things work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Notice it does not say all things are good. Beautiful, betrayal is painful, rejection is painful, loss is painful, but God is able to redeem what the enemy meant to destroy. He can take those shattered places, he can take those shattered pieces, he can create something stronger, wiser, and more surrendered than before. So maybe today you're feeling stuck because you're stuck between your wound and your calling. And you know God has more for you, but fear keeps pulling you back. I want to encourage you today. Healing and calling are not separate journeys. Often they happen together. As God heals you, he also restores you. But most importantly, he strengthens you to walk forward again. I want to encourage you. Don't allow betrayal to convince you that your voice no longer matters. Don't allow disappointment to silence your assignment. The enemy attacks purpose because purpose carries impact. And you are to go forth and impact for the kingdom of God. Your testimony carries power, your healing carries authority, your perseverance carries influence. There are people on waiting on the other side of your breakthrough who need the freedom, who need wisdom and hope that God is building within you, even right now. So today I want to pray for those that are feeling wounded, forgotten, maybe disconnected from purpose, because God has a great plan for you. So, Father, I pray for every single person listening today who has experienced betrayal, rejection, deep emotional pain. I ask, Lord God, that you will heal the places where identity has been fractured and hope has grown weak. I ask that you will come into those very places and take that fractured piece and make it whole again through the power and the blood of Jesus Christ. I ask, Lord God, that you will ignite hope in them and strengthen them, Lord God. Silence every lie that says they are disqualified, forgotten, or unusable. Restore vision where discouragement has settled in. And Lord, re-ignite purpose where fear has caused them to retreat. Heal wounded hearts and awaken fresh courage to step forward again. Let your love rebuild trust, restore confidence, and release freedom. And remind them, Lord, that their calling still stands and that you are calling them forth out of their brokenness into their redemption for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen. I want you to know again, I'll remind you. Remember this betrayal may have wounded you, but it does not get the final word. God still heals, God still restores, and God still calls wounded people into powerful, powerful purpose. So bless you today, and I thank you again for joining me on this episode of A New Level Awaits You. I want to thank you for watching and joining me on this journey as we go higher. Expect to grow, expand your territory, and enter into new levels of intimacy with the Lord. Check out my website at lowestforwelling.com for books, online courses, podcasts, and other resources to help you soar in the Lord. Are you interested in increasing your confidence, being able to speak assertively, subdue your fears, manage life situations effectively, and overcome rejection or betrayal so that you can tenaciously stand back up again? Then you must sign up for a free strategy session so we can design a plan specifically for you. I now offer one-on-one coaching sessions with group sessions coming soon. My heart is to equip and make disciples and advance them into living a life more abundantly. Yes, my website is loisfalling.com. Check it out, and I hope to be talking to you soon.