Moving On with Grace: 7 Steps to Heal and Thrive

Moving on with grace is a vital theme explored in this podcast episode by Pastor Christine Desiree. She emphasizes how we handle life's transitions and challenges can define our future, offering a choice between moving on with grace or with negativity. Drawing from her personal experiences of loss and hardship, Pastor Christine shares seven essential steps to help listeners navigate their own journeys of healing and growth. She encourages acknowledging feelings, seeking forgiveness, and leaning on community support while focusing on personal development. The episode concludes with a reminder to cultivate gratitude and embrace new beginnings, ultimately guiding listeners toward aligning with God's purpose in their lives.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You are listening to Purposein Life podcast with Pastor Christine
Desiree.
We provide motivatingteachings that will help you understand
and apply biblical principlesto your life, show you how to overcome
obstacles and challenges, andinspire you to live a life on purpose.
Hello everyone.

(00:20):
This is Pastor ChristineDesiree, and today I am excited to
speak to you about a vital andtouching topic.
And this topic is how to moveon with grace.
How do we move on when life hits?
How do we move on with grace?

(00:42):
You know, there are two waysto move on.
One way is to move on with grace.
The other way is to move onwith ugly.
And you know what I'm talkingabout when I say with ugly, right?
I have been in enoughsituations in my life.
Life has hit over and over,especially the last, I would say
six years.
I have gone from losingcritical, vital family members like

(01:06):
my parents and losingrelationships and transitions and
different things that havehappened in my life.
And it would have been so easyto move on with ugly.
And I'm telling and I thinkthat I would have been justified
in some of those situations tomove on with ugly.
But I chose to move on with grace.
You see, we can choose to moveon with grace and in the grace of

(01:30):
the Lord.
So in life, we often facetransitions and endings, but how
we handle those moments candefine our path forward.
So how do you move on withgrace from a breakup or a bad relationship
or even a painful situation?
The word of God has answers toall of this, and we're going to be

(01:50):
looking at some of thosepassages this morning.
Our scripture for today comesFrom Philippians, chapter 3, verses
13 through 14, which tells us,brothers and sisters, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken holdof it.
But one thing I do, forgettingwhat is behind and straining forward

(02:14):
to what is ahead, I press ontowards the goal to win the prize
for which God has called meheavenward in Christ Jesus.
That was Paul speaking.
This passage perfectlycaptures the spirit of moving on
with grace.
It shows us how we can embracethe future while releasing and letting

(02:38):
go of hard situations in our lives.
Like I said earlier, there'stwo ways to do it.
With grace or with ugly.
This morning I'm going toShare with you 7 Steps to Help guide
you on this path of movingforward with grace.
The first one is acknowledgeyour feelings.

(02:59):
A lot of people fail toacknowledge their feelings, and then
they are in the ugly, and thenthey're responding in the ugly because
they have not stopped toacknowledge how they're feeling.
So it's okay to feel hurt.
It's okay to feel disappointed.
It's okay to feel angry.
But you've got to acknowledgethose feelings.

(03:19):
They are part of you, but theyare not you.
And don't allow them to define you.
Let me say that again.
Those feelings are part of you.
It's normal to feel thosefeelings, but they are not you.
And a lot of people allowthose feelings to define who they
are.
So don't allow those feelings,once you've acknowledged them, to

(03:40):
define you.
David all through the Psalms,he brought his feelings before God
because he knew God understoodhis heart.
So we can express our emotionsto God.
He fully understands.
The Bible tells us that he isstruck with the feelings of our infirmities.
He feels us.
He understands what we'regoing through.

(04:02):
He feels what we're going through.
So make sure you acknowledgeyour feelings.
Acknowledge your feelings to a friend.
Acknowledge your feelings to God.
Forgive to heal Forgiveness,whether it's forgiving others or
forgiving yourself, is key to healing.
Remember, forgiving doesn'tmean forgetting or excusing the hurt.

(04:24):
A lot of times when we hearabout forgiveness, especially in
the context of church, wethink that we are saying we are making
excuses for the way somebodyhurt you.
Absolutely not.
We are not making excuses.
We're not saying to makeexcuses for the hurt.
It isn't about justifying whathappened, but it is about freeing
your heart from the burden ofbitterness and resentment.

(04:47):
Okay, you.
That forgiveness, that power.
Forgiveness is about freeing you.
It's about relieving thatburden of bitterness and resentment
that so often grips our heartafter we've been hurt.
So it's a critical step.
It's a vital step in thehealing process.
As you walk towards moving onforgive to heal, seek wisdom and

(05:11):
support.
You know you want to lean onyour community, whether it's a community
of friends, whether it's yourfamily community, whether it's your
faith community.
You want to have a communityto lean on.
Their support and guidance canbe invaluable.
So don't discount wisdom anddon't discount good counsel.

(05:33):
Don't despise it.
Especially during that time.
It's so easy to not want tohear advice from other people, not
want to hear good counsel, notwant to hear wisdom because we're
hurt, we're offended, and weare in that place, so we don't want
to hear it.
But the Bible says InProverbs, chapter 11, verse 14, it
says, where there is noguidance, the people fall.

(05:56):
But in the multitude ofcounselors, there is safety.
Did you hear me?
In the multitude ofCounselors, there is safety that
says it all.
There is safety in themultitude of people who have wisdom
and people who have guidanceand people who can support you through
that and give you wisdom.

(06:17):
A lot of people have gonethrough what you have gone through.
A lot of times that Satan willtrap you and get you to believe that
nobody else has gone throughwhat you have gone through.
You will be surprised how manyof us face the same things every
day.
And when you hear how theymade it through, when you hear that
counsel and their wisdom, itcan be such encouragement.
And to help you move on withgrace, focus on personal growth.

(06:44):
Use this time.
And I know it's hard to hearbecause you might be hurting or you
might be wounded, but trust mewhen I say this period is an opportunity
for.
For growth.
It's an opportunity forpersonal growth.
It's a gift.
So you want to engage inactivities that will nourish your
soul, that will nourish yourintellect and your body, whether

(07:05):
it's through reading or journaling.
I have told you that beforewhen I was going through hurt that
generally really hurt me.
Joining a church, a Biblestudy, a small group, or even starting
a new hobby.
Let this be a time of positive transformation.
And it can be for me.
When I was going through thatdifficult period of broken up with

(07:25):
my past, breaking up with mypast, some of you know, my testimony,
journaling, as I said before,was a big opportunity for personal
growth for me.
It actually helped me to healfaster when I was writing down my
hurts and my feelings and myexperiences that brought me so much
clarity and healing to my life.

(07:47):
So focus on personal growth.
I promise you, it really works.
Envision a new chapter.
That's the next one.
What does moving on look likefor you?
I want you to visualize it.
Visualize and have a vision ofwhere you want to be.
And chart.
Chart out those steps toachieve it.
There are going to be dayswhere the way forward is a huge fog.

(08:12):
You will not be able to seeyourself moving, moving on with grace,
especially, you will not beable to see yourself forward.
So this visualization, thisvision will guide you on those days
when the path seems unclear,when there's no clarity.
And believe me, a lot of daysare going to come like that.
So make sure you see a newfeature, a new chapter.

(08:34):
Envision a new chapter.
Embrace new beginnings.
And this can be hard for a lotof people because change can be difficult
and change can be intimidating.
But it also bringsopportunities for a fresh start.
Consider Isaiah's words aboutgoing about God doing a new thing

(08:55):
and be receptive to those newchapters in your life.
Be open to those new possibilities.
Be open to new friendships.
Be open to new places, newopportunities, new doors that God
will be doing.
God is doing a new thing.
I said God is doing a newthing in your life.
Receive it and don't miss outon his blessings.

(09:16):
Don't close doors.
Don't close the door to his blessings.
Receive them and embrace new beginnings.
Lastly, I didn't want to missthis Cultivate Gratitude Even in
the midst of change, even inthe midst of trials, even in the
midst of difficult days, thereare always blessings to be thankful

(09:39):
for.
And this is a a small practicethat I do when I find myself in tough
situations.
I start out my day by listingthings that I'm grateful for and
what this practice will do.
If you start your day bylisting things you are grateful for,
it will shift your focus fromloss to the blessings that are still

(10:04):
in your life.
It will literally take youreyes off the defeat and the hardship
and the trouble and cause youto turn your eyes to the things that
are still good in your life.
It will transform your entireperspective from what you think you've
lost to the abundance that youstill have.

(10:24):
Because a lot of times Satantraps us and he he causes us to believe
that there's nothing good,there's nothing happening good in
our life anymore.
Our life is over because thisevent happened, or because this friendship
changed, or because you lostthat relationship.
Your life is over and life isgoing to be so hard.
Absolutely not.

(10:45):
When you shift your focus fromthe bad things and you enter into
gratefulness about the thingsthat you still have, you will see
the abundance of things thatblessings that you still have in
your life.
As we close this podcastepisode today, remember that moving

(11:05):
on with grace is not justabout getting past something.
It's not just about gettingover something, but it's about growing
through it.
Growing through your circumstance.
It's about emerging stronger,it's about emerging wiser.
And it's about aligning withGod's purpose and aligning with God's

(11:28):
plan for your life.
Thank you for joining me onthis podcast episode today.
You can go to pastorchristinedesiree.com for more information
about me and about thispodcast ministry like and follow
me on Facebook and oninstagram@pastorchristine desire.com

(11:49):
and remember, you are not justsurviving, you are thriving in Jesus
name.