Genesis 1:21 tells us that God created all the creatures of the earth, and made them in such a way that they produce offspring of the same kind. Birds don’t have baby giraffes, and frogs can’t produce cows, or vice versa. From His Word, we can very clearly see that our Heavenly Father is a God of order. Therefore, He is the Architect of patterns; very good patterns. In Exodus 25:9, He told Moses to build the Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern He had shown him. In Philippians 3:17, the Apostle Paul tells us to pattern our lives after the example he had set, because his example was patterned after the love and faith of Jesus Christ. So we have to wonder, when it comes to marriage, did God establish a pattern that will lead us to the right person?

Adam, the first man; The Tabernacle, Noah’s Ark, the process of sanctification and sacrifice, the prophets, and Jesus Christ, our precious Lord and Savior; God gave us these patterns and many more examples to help guide us in right living—to show us what to do, and in some cases, what not to do. The critical question is why? The critical answer is that this is how He designed us. We follow patterns; it’s what we do. In John 14:6(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus Christ is the way! Following his pattern of thoughts, attitude, behaviors, and actions lead us to the Father’s heart.

Unlike earlier biblical times, when children were taught about God in Christ relentlessly, and from a very early age, some people don’t hear about our Lord and Savior until they are adults. Others of us may have heard about him in Sunday School, but we didn’t connect with the knowledge that would free us from some of the heavy stuff we’re carrying in our souls today.

As women, some of us attached ourselves to men that were not our destiny partners. And some of us were horribly treated, disrespected, and emotionally injured by them. We have scars, and some of those scars are leftovers from wounds that go way back to when we were much younger. One of our problems is that we haven’t forgiven ourselves for the poor choices, because we won’t acknowledge the poor choices. We won’t deal with the reality that we learned some patterns that caused us to attract from a place of fear rather than faith.

1Corinthians 4:20 (NLT) tells us, “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” There is a connection that works for every child of God, it helps us to achieve maximum results for our lives. It’s God’s power! It fuels our ability to recognize patterns to live right and successfully, and it also gives us the ability to recognize when something is not right. We have to accept that sometimes the patterns we learn are not those that Heavenly Father set up. Instead of helping us they hinder us, and can do so deceptively that we don’t even recognize it.

Living by God’s power is a choice. It’s also a choice to accept that we’re holding on to stuff that we need to let go. Jesus Christ is our pattern for success in every walk of life. He allowed himself to be stripped of everything when he died on the cross for our sins. He endured suffering with a willingness to give up something in order to gain everything. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that because of the joy he knew he would gain by redeeming us, he endured the cross, and is now seated at the right hand of God. The great news is that Colossians 3:3 tells us that our life is in him now! We must allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us strip off the deadness of old wounds, so that we can be healed. Through his leadership and guidance, we can make better choices for our futures and walk more fully in the power of God.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.  

“Healing Old Wounds” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018.  All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.