For the next few weeks I want to talk about the story of a man named Mephibosheth, a man born into royalty, thrust into disability, hidden in fear and shame all the while never knowing that his Father had provided for his redemption before he was even born. Mephibosheth’s story is dramatic, it is filled with twists and turns that most of us could never imagine and yet his story is that of all of us: created for love, broken by sin, tormented by fear and all the while remembered by a Redeemer provided for us by our Father. I hate to be a downer or sound negative but life is filled with hurts, with disappointments, with struggles and with trials. Jesus said in John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” His promise was not that His overcoming power would keep the trouble of the world from touching us; it was that Jesus has made a way for us even in the midst of our trouble. Today I want to talk to you specifically about being hurt, where God is in the midst of that, what God’s role is in our hurts and how we can keep from allowing our hurts to become our identity. Today I want to talk about the reality of when our hurts are not our fault.