People Who Are Hurting, and the God Who Knows It

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

July 5th Sermon, Day 1

Let's be honest. Someone has hurt you. Maybe it was a family member, a close friend, or someone you trusted deeply. The wound is real, and the instinct to protect yourself or want justice is completely natural. You are not alone in that.

Here is what is remarkable though. Jesus does not dismiss that pain. He sees it. He knows it. And He does not ask you to pretend it never happened. What He does invite you to is something far more powerful than revenge or bitterness. He invites you to trust Him with it.

The Apostle Paul knew what it felt like to be rejected and beaten by the very people he loved. Yet his deepest prayer was not for their punishment. It was for their salvation. That kind of response does not come from gritting your teeth and trying harder. It comes from a heart that God has already been working in. You do not have to have it all figured out today. You just have to be willing to bring your hurt to the One who can actually do something with it. God is not asking you to minimize your pain. He is asking you to let Him carry it with you. That is where healing begins. Not in revenge, not in silence, but in surrender to a God who is trustworthy with every broken piece of your story.

Bible Verse

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

Reflection Question

What would it look like for you to bring your deepest hurt to God today, rather than carrying it alone or trying to resolve it on your own terms?

Quote

"Jesus never asks us to pretend those things never happen. He simply invites us to surrender our right to revenge and to trust him with justice."

Prayer

Lord, I bring You the pain I have been carrying and the wounds that still feel fresh. Help me to trust You with what I cannot fix on my own. Amen.

Trust Him With This

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 5

Over the past few days, we've looked at what it means to love our enemies, release the desire for payback, pray for those who have hurt us, and trust God with outcomes we may never see. Today, it all comes down to one word: trust.

The same God who transformed Paul from a persecutor into a preacher, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and who heard Stephen's final prayer in His final moments is still at work today. Right now. In your situation. With that person you've been thinking about all week. He hears. He works. He judges justly. And He is faithful. You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to feel ready. You don't have to manufacture emotions that aren't there yet. You just have to take one step. Maybe that step is a simple, honest prayer. Maybe it's choosing not to rehearse the offense one more time. Maybe it's extending a hand, like Corrie Ten Boom did, and asking God to supply what you cannot. Whatever your next step is, take it. God is already there, and He is more than able to handle what you place in His hands.

Bible Verse

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Reflection Question

Looking back at this week, what is one concrete step you can take today to trust God with a person or situation you have been holding onto?

Quote

"Most of all, trust God. That's the message. Trust him that he'll do the right thing."

Prayer

Father, I choose to trust You with what I cannot control and with people I cannot change. You are faithful, and that is enough. Help me to take the next step with courage. Amen.

The Ripple You’ll Never See

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 4

Stephen was being stoned to death. In his final moments, he didn't curse his killers. He prayed that God would not hold their sin against them. It was a prayer of extraordinary faith, and Stephen never lived to see the answer. One of the men watching that day was Paul, a fierce persecutor of Christians. But God was already at work. That moment, and the grace Stephen displayed in it, was part of a story much larger than Stephen could have known.

Paul eventually became one of the most influential voices for the gospel in all of history. Stephen never saw the change in Paul's heart. Yet God answered Stephen's prayers in ways He never could have imagined. This is one of the most encouraging truths about praying for your enemies. You may never see the outcome. The person may never change in front of you. But your prayer declares to God that no one is beyond His reach. It is a prayer of faith, and God takes those seriously. You are not responsible for the results. You are responsible for the faithfulness. Trust God with what happens next. He has a track record of doing the impossible.

Bible Verse

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Reflection Question

Is there someone in your life you have stopped praying for because you haven't seen any change, and what would it look like to trust God with the outcome one more time?

Quote

"Stephen never saw the change in Paul's heart. Yet God answered Stephen's prayers in ways He never could have imagined."

Prayer

God, help me to be faithful in prayer even when I cannot see what You are doing. Remind me that You are always at work, even in the moments that feel silent. Amen.

What Prayer Does for the Pray-er

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 3

Praying for someone who has hurt you might be the last thing you feel like doing. And honestly, that's okay. You don't have to feel it to start. You just have to start. Prayer has a remarkable way of changing the atmosphere of our souls. When we bring someone before God, even someone who has wounded us deeply, something begins to shift. Not always quickly. Not always dramatically. But over time, God softens what was hardened and loosens what was tightly gripped.

When Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute us, He isn't asking us to perform an emotion we don't have. He's inviting us to take an action that opens the door for God to work. In us. In them. In the situation. You don't have to have perfect feelings. You don't have to erase the pain. You just need to place that person before God and trust Him with the situation. Even a prayer that sounds like, "Father, I want to forgive but I don't know how. Please help me," is a completely valid place to begin. God meets honesty with grace. Start where you are. That's enough.

Bible Verse

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:43-44

Reflection Question

If you were to pray honestly for someone who has hurt you, what would that prayer actually sound like right now?

Quote

"Prayer has a way of changing the atmosphere of our souls. And over time, we begin to discover that God is faithful."

Prayer

Jesus, I don't always know how to pray for the people who have hurt me. Teach me to bring them before You with honesty, and let that be the beginning of something only You can do. Amen.

Forgiveness Is Not Letting Evil Win

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 2

One of the biggest reasons we resist forgiving someone is because it feels like we're saying what they did was okay. But forgiveness doesn't work that way. It never has. Forgiveness is releasing your right to get even. It doesn't erase what happened. It doesn't excuse the wrong. It simply means you are choosing to trust God to dispense the justice rather than trying to do it yourself.

Corrie Ten Boom understood this at a level most of us will never have to. A Holocaust survivor, she came face to face with a former Nazi guard who had overseen the camp where her sister died. She didn't want to forgive him. But she prayed a simple prayer, asking Jesus for help, and she reached out her hand. In that moment, she experienced something she couldn't manufacture on her own. God's grace made possible what felt completely impossible. Her act of forgiveness didn't rewrite history. It didn't excuse evil. But it did reflect a deep trust in God's power to transform people and situations beyond what she could see or control. You may be facing something that feels just as impossible today. The good news is that you don't have to find the strength on your own. You just have to be willing to ask.

Bible Verse

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Reflection Question

What is one area where you have confused forgiveness with excusing someone's behavior, and how might understanding the difference change your next step?

Quote

"Forgiveness is releasing your right to get even. Doesn't mean that justice disappears. It just means that we trust God to dispense the justice."

Prayer

Lord, I don't want to carry this anymore. Give me the grace to release what I cannot fix and trust You to be the righteous judge I need You to be. Amen.