Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
What comes to mind when you think about your father? Is it joy, pain, or indifference? Whatever it is, it can reveal deeper wounds that still affect you today. In this journey of healing, Zach Garza invites you to explore topics like generational sin, emotional scars, and the transformative power of forgiveness through the lens of his own story of growing up without a father in the home. By confronting the past, you'll discover how to break free, embrace your true identity, and experience the unconditional love of God.
Part four, proclaim. Chapter 20, the turning. There are times in my journey of overcoming my father wound when I wonder if the process will ever end. There are periods when I felt like I was making major progress and other times when I felt like I hadn't moved forward at all. There are seasons when I wanna quit.
Speaker 1:It seemed I had nothing else to give and was defeated after trying everything I knew to do yet had nothing to show for it. My father wound still pops up from time to time, and that's totally normal. It seems with each season of my life, a new level of depth and meaning arises from my father wound. The seasons when it felt like nothing was happening were times when God was preparing me for what was next. Virtues like patience, perseverance, and endurance were being instilled during these times.
Speaker 1:God had a plan for me, and this process was part of it. The Lord had a track record of using trials and tribulations to accomplish his plans for those he loves. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is that of Joseph, which can be found in Genesis 37 through 50. I like this area of scripture because I can relate to it. Joseph endured awful things in his life, things that would have made most people tap out and quit, but he endured, and God turned those terrible events into a miracle that saved and gave hope to his people for generations to come.
Speaker 1:All in all, everything Joseph went through lasted around thirteen years. For over a decade, he had to face the fact that his family betrayed him. He was sold into slavery, falsely accused, and sent to prison, and his friends in prison forgot about him. I'd say Joseph was dealt a pretty terrible hand in this game of life. But Joseph never gave up.
Speaker 1:He always trusted that God would turn his bad into good. And finally, when it happened, Joseph was released from prison and found favor with the king. He quickly rose the ranks in Egypt and became governor over all the land, finding a way to feed the entire nation and lead them through the worst famine Egypt had ever known. The Lord not only turned Joseph's nightmare into a happy ending, but he abundantly blessed Joseph and used his life to bless many, many people. It was the journey that made the man.
Speaker 1:Joseph could have quit at any time, throwing in the towel and cursing God in anger, but he didn't. He stayed faithful to the Lord. That's why he was able to boldly say to his brothers when he forgave them, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. The common thread in Joseph's life is that he lived a life of export. Whether he was in the palace or in the prison, he continued to export the things that God had imported into him.
Speaker 1:He shared, proclaimed, and lived in generosity despite his circumstances and got back what the enemy stole. Satan uses what happened to you and your father to destroy you. But like God did for Joseph, the Lord can turn your situation from bad to good. He can take what Satan used for evil and turn it into good, and not just for you, but for future generations too. The enemy will do whatever he can to kill the process, but don't fall into his traps.
Speaker 1:Enlisting a support system to help you out when the going gets tough is vital. Surround yourself with people who can pick you up when you fall. Continue to bear in mind that the whole thing is bigger than one trial or one bad season. It's about the proclamation of the goodness of God. Not only did the enemy cause you pain, but he will actively work to disrupt your process of healing from that pain.
Speaker 1:Where God wants to make a bad decision whole, Satan wants to make a bad situation worse. In second Kings four, there is a widow who is in quite a predicament. Her husband had died. When he died, the household income dried up. This was a particularly painful scenario because they had outstanding debt.
Speaker 1:With no means of repaying that debt, her two sons were taken into slave labor in order to pay it off. Think of it. She was already dealing with the loss of her husband. To compound the fracture, her kids were being taken from her to become slaves. Talk about a bad situation becoming worse.
Speaker 1:Fortunately, God had a miracle in mind. Elisha shows up and asks the widow what she has in the house. Turns out she has nothing but a little jar of oil. Apparently, this was more than enough for God to work with. You may not feel like you have much at your disposal.
Speaker 1:Rest assured, it's enough for God to work to turn your situation around. Elisha tells the widow to go collect empty vessels. She does. He then tells her to pour out the little jar of oil that she has into all of the vessels. On a human scale, the math doesn't add up.
Speaker 1:On God's scale, it does. As she tips the jar, the oil is multiplied, and she is supernaturally able to fill all of the vessels. She sells the jars of oil, buys her sons back from slavery, and has leftover money to live on. The turning around of her situation did cost her something. She had to do the illogical.
Speaker 1:She had to get busy increasing her capacity by collecting oil. She had to step out in obedience when it didn't make sense to the human mind. It took sacrifice. When I got serious about making Jesus the Lord of my life, I decided to start making some sacrifices. I sacrificed my two biggest resources, time and money to put myself in situations to grow in my walk with the Lord.
Speaker 1:I woke up early to spend time with him sacrificing my dearly beloved sleep. I went to conferences, retreats, and events to grow in my faith. In my life, I have found that the Lord honors sacrifice. Things that cost you something are important to him. It's your way of saying, Lord, I want you more than I want these other things.
Speaker 1:Do the things that cost you something, and watch the Lord turn things in your life around. Forgiveness, as we discussed earlier in this book, is a special kind of sacrifice. You are sacrificing the comfort of your old buddy named resentment. For me, I had to choose to forgive my father. It was not some warm, bubbly, spontaneous eruption of love.
Speaker 1:If I hadn't taken action, I'm not sure we ever would have spoken again. Choosing to forgive even when the other party thinks they made no mistake is a difficult and mature move. Forgiveness is a choice and one that only you can make. Depending on your story, choosing to forgive can be one of the most courageous things you ever do. By choosing to forgive, you are taking the weight off your shoulders and placing it squarely on the shoulders of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Make the choice to forgive. Get free. Let's face it. You could make a bunch of really positive changes in your life, but if the sacrifice of forgiveness is not offered, you will seriously inhibit your progress. Consider writing a letter to your father.
Speaker 1:This is an especially good exercise if you do not know where your father is or if he's passed away. If you do have access to him, it's up to you whether you give the letter to him or not, but just the act of writing the letter can help you process your heart and your feelings in a powerful way. Writing brings clarity. As you face a blank page and begin to unpack with written words, you will likely find it to be therapeutic. For many, this is a turning point in their journey.
Speaker 1:A big part of processing pain is proclaiming it. So by opening up and putting things on paper, you may just find breakthrough. As I look back on my father wound journey, I can see all the Lord did along the way. He strengthened me through ups and downs and guided me all along the way. He proved to me that he was a good father and provided people to support me when times were tough.
Speaker 1:Like Joseph, I could have quit at any time. I'm sure glad I didn't. It is one thing to change your actions, but a whole different ballgame when you talk about changing your heart. It is hard work to search your heart to reveal sins that are keeping you in bondage. We aren't looking for behavior modification, but instead a desire to want to please the Lord with our words and actions.
Speaker 1:Heart change takes a while in most cases. Stay in the process and trust that the Lord is working even if you can't feel it. As you confront your father wound head on, I am confident you too will say it was worth it when your journey comes to a close. Tell me, what positive qualities, lessons, or experiences has your father wound produced in your life? When the chapter mentions the need to make personal sacrifices, did anything come to mind?
Speaker 1:What would you say if you wrote your father a letter? Has the enemy used your father wound to try to kill you? How so?