Power is MINE! I DESERVED IT!

Power is mine! I earned it!

I worked so hard so don’t dare to cross me!

The world owes me!

I was bullied and being victimized!

Hey all of you, I knew the feeling and I had similar pain as you even it’s unbearable!

Let me share something, Stan Lee and Steve Dikto breathed a life in Peter Parker, who became a legendary superhero that everyone love known as Spider-Man. Spider-Man came to life in an issue of Amazing Fantasy number fifteen which was published in the month of August 1962.

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko coined the motto about role as being a superhero in the life of Spider-Man:

Great power comes great responsibility. 

Peter saw something unbelievable as he gained power due to being bitten by a radioactive spider. He was challenged to use his power for good purposes or for his own personal gain. Should superheroes use their own power to protect people from unseen evil force, use it for their own reputation or use to break the law as shortcuts in answer to their unfair treatment in their life?

Are you familiar with story of Joseph The Dreamer? The Saga of Joseph The Dreamer was told in the Book of Genesis, Chapter thirty-seven to fifty. Joseph was sold to merchants by Joseph’s own brothers! Joseph was brought to Egypt.  Joseph was very confused and been dismayed by what his brothers did to him.  Maybe he figured out that his father, Jacob does not want him anymore.
Remember when life taken an unexpected turn and there are always full of questions!

After thirteen years being in Egypt. Keep in mind during his thirteen years was not always full of joy. He was persecuted and been falsely accused even were forgotten. When he became governor of Egypt. He saw his own brothers came before him.

Didn’t you realize that he have full of authority and access to power as governor in doing anything to his brothers!

He can TORMENT and REPAID them back for what they did to him thirteen years ago!

However, during his thirteen years of staying in Egypt, he grabbed his time to develop a personal relationship with God, which shaped his heart despite he went through good and bad times there.   God’s unconditional love felt upon Joseph’s heart, which led him to have different approaching toward his brothers.

It is why Joseph made a very powerful statement as he said to his brothers:

“Come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt. ~ Genesis 45:4-8 (MSG)

That statement made by Joseph made me want to CRY! It is because I spent years of living in bitterness against specific people who hurts and belittled me because they saw there is no potential in my life.   Let me share about my experience about one family member who tried to tell me with very cruel messages:

“Look at yourself, LOOK at my son, he is doing very well and being successful in his life.”

Unfortunately, many years later his son was not doing very well and he is experiencing unfortunate incident in his life where he made poor decisions.   A family member knew I was doing well with my life as I made achievement in career and educational setting.   I finally saw this person last year at my sister’s wedding after eleven years of not seeing him.  He was scared to be near me, but I chose to come up to him and gave him warm hugs and let him that I still love him and expressed my apology for our soured relationship in the past.  It helped close the oldest chapters in the past and move on the new chapter.  It is a sign of forgiveness and let it go!

Let look at what Spider-Man said after he ignored to stop an unarmed burglar in page of Amazing Fantasy number fifteen:

My Fault–All my fault! If only I had stopped him when I could have! But I didn’t–and now–Uncle Ben is dead… ~

Spider-Man could have used his own power to kill the burglar for killing his Uncle Ben but he chose to use his power to arrest him and put him in custody of police officers.  So therefore the police officers can handle dealing with a burglar.

So I realized harder I could have used my power to hurt those people for hurting me, but it is not what Jesus would do, he said:

“Father, forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.” ~ Luke 23:34 (a) (MSG)

The quote “great power comes great responsibility” was mentioned in Luke 12:48:

“Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!” ~ Luke 12:48 (b) (MSG)

So therefore, we are responsible for how we handle with accessible of power usage. If you decided to use your own power in doing harmful to people, then you are making yourself worst than before.  I have been there and trust me please, I said many poisonous words to those when I was full of anger and bitterness.

I regret a lot of things I did in the past, some of them will not forgive me even I asked for forgiven, but I realized I was in the eyes of God and I letting God take care of them because I was so eager to seek forgiven despite they declined my expression of apology.

Think about what Jesus would react to those who hurts you.

 

Past Can Be Your Enemy or Lesson!

If I could go back in past and changed for better and I would have seen the better life!

I should have not do it…

I blame this person for destroying my life!

Everyone is neglecting me because who I am, let me go in past to change it!

List goes on!

It is very common reactions I received based on my conversation with strangers, friends, and families.

Everyone, I mean EVERYONE…I did not say some of us or several of us, had issues with their own past.  I recall my conversation with someone who I considered to be my spiritual mother during my early years of walking with Lord.  She used to say, “Everyone comes from broken home, even they have beautiful and loving family but there are still broken.  It is because EVERYONE have their own insecure in their own identity where it is missed from their life journey.”

On third season premiere of The Flash TV series which introduced the Flashpoint which was hinted during season two finale.  Barry Allen aka The Flash went into time traveling into the past to alter the timeline by saving his mother from being killed at hand of Reserve Flash. Flashpoint details an altered DC Universe and its timeline as it changed Barry Allen’s relationship with his loved ones in good and bad ways.  The Flashpoint storyline comic was originally published in 2011 by DC Comics, and it is one of best storylines in history.

Before The Flash jumped into past, he had difficult time dealing with death of his mother when he was boy at the hand of Reserve Flash.  The Flash witnessed the murder of his mother have caused to frame his own father and placed him in prison.   The Flash was being foster fathered by Joe West whom is a police detective, father of Iris West, following Barry Allen’s parents, Nora Allen’s death and Henry Allen’s incarceration.

All of us have common with Barry Allen, we had hard time letting go of our past!  He refused to let it go, he lived in bitterness about his death of his mother and his father being framed for murder.  He envisioned perfect family and he wished to grow up whole his childhood with his parents!  He was true superhero as The Flash at same time, he was man of anger.  His anger has caused him to have difficult time developing stability relationship with his loved ones and co-workers.  Also, he was struggling with sense of self-worth because of absence of his parents.  He hard time forgiving himself for letting his anger doing much harmful to those whom is dear to him.

Do you truly forgive yourself and others for what damage has been done toward you?  How can you define forgive?  In simple way of meaning: letting go, to pardon or acquit of sins.  Forgiving yourself and others in God’s eyes will enhance God to handle those problem in His way not your way.  Jesus was very clear about it as he said:

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins…” ~ Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT)

Forgiveness and Restoration is part of God’s natural character for God is full of grace and love.  Nothing can make God refuse your sin until you seek God with your whole heart.

Barry Allen aka The Flash recognized that after he saved his mother from Reserve Flash have caused much complicated in his life circumstances with his families, friends and co workers, some of them have went sour with Barry Allen.  It came to his sense that past need to be left in past and cannot be changed but only he can change about his past is to use as lesson for his life journey.

He was very determined to restore the timeline again by leaving the death of his mother in past and return to his current timeline.  Unfortunately, there are still some damage done to his current timeline which created another new reality of his timeline.  It is because he dared to travel back in time to fixed but it did have big effect on his current timeline, so therefore Barry Allen aka The Flash learned his expensive lesson and focus on making progress of restoration.

Our past can be filled with ugliness circumstances and what done damage to us have caused us to be etched for years.  Living in past than to seek forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration will cause to live in bitterness and anger can do much damage to whom are truly dear to us.

One of dear friends of mine whom I have work closely in past at Deaf Teen Ministry camp used to say:

Ongoing negative thinking will cause you to have impact on your life perspective and it can be very toxic perspective.

Remember we are not product of the past, so let close the door of past and not to open it again, or should I say “do not fish” at this lake since it is heavily polluted.

I wanted you to take look at one of scenes was taken out from Flashpoint comic storyline:

Reserve Flash is one of most deadly villains in The Flash universe, he wanted to do anything to destroy Barry Allen and all of his loved ones.  Reserve Flash wants to remind Barry Allen aka The Flash about his past life and his poor decision.  Reserve Flash reflects much like Satan.  Satan is known as the accuser and wants to remind you of your past filled with regrets.

Do not let it happen to you!  You are the product of the present and future, so let change be made and it starts with YOU! Healing is long-term journey, it is NOT like express lane or overnight change.   It takes time.  Seek God with whole of your heart and be honest with yourself.