How To Move On When You Can’t Get Closure
“We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.” (Psalm 75:1)
When we go through a disappointing, traumatic, or devastating circumstance, it can be hard for us to move forward if we can’t get closure on the matter. Psychologists define closure as the ability to receive understanding that allows you to obtain clarity, healing, and resolution for a traumatic, upsetting, or confusing life event. In other words, you want to know why the relationship ended. You want to know how someone you trusted could betray you so easily. You want to know why someone you love cheated on you or lied to you.
As you wonder these things, you might start to feel stuck, thinking you can’t move on until you get the answers you’re looking for. But as long as you have that mentality, you will never be able to fully pursue the future God has for you. It’s at times like these we must look to God’s Word and see what He has to say about moving on. In this case, Psalm 75 gives us incredibly clear direction on how to move forward even when getting closure isn’t possible.
The two chapters preceding Psalm 75 are written from a place of confusion. The author doesn’t understand why the wicked are prospering and the righteous are suffering. But as he begins a new chapter in Psalm 75:1, the psalmist writes, “We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.” In this verse, the writer shifts his focus away from what his enemies have done to him, and instead focuses on what God can do for him. He is saying that in the midst of that which is uncertain, he would rather draw close to what is certain, and that is the name of the Lord.
If you want to move forward with your life, if you want to let go of the pain and disappointment in your past, you must learn to shift your focus the way the psalmist did. You may never get the closure you’re looking for from the person who did you wrong. You might never come to know the reason why you had to go through such a difficult and hurtful circumstance. But you can have confidence in knowing that the Lord is near to you. He has plans for your future, but to take part in those plans, you must not stay stuck in your past. You must not stay incarcerated to whatever you left behind, but instead move forward in the victory and freedom that is only to be found in the Lord.
When we go through a disappointing, traumatic, or devastating circumstance, it can be hard for us to move forward if we can’t get closure on the matter. Psychologists define closure as the ability to receive understanding that allows you to obtain clarity, healing, and resolution for a traumatic, upsetting, or confusing life event. In other words, you want to know why the relationship ended. You want to know how someone you trusted could betray you so easily. You want to know why someone you love cheated on you or lied to you.
As you wonder these things, you might start to feel stuck, thinking you can’t move on until you get the answers you’re looking for. But as long as you have that mentality, you will never be able to fully pursue the future God has for you. It’s at times like these we must look to God’s Word and see what He has to say about moving on. In this case, Psalm 75 gives us incredibly clear direction on how to move forward even when getting closure isn’t possible.
The two chapters preceding Psalm 75 are written from a place of confusion. The author doesn’t understand why the wicked are prospering and the righteous are suffering. But as he begins a new chapter in Psalm 75:1, the psalmist writes, “We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.” In this verse, the writer shifts his focus away from what his enemies have done to him, and instead focuses on what God can do for him. He is saying that in the midst of that which is uncertain, he would rather draw close to what is certain, and that is the name of the Lord.
If you want to move forward with your life, if you want to let go of the pain and disappointment in your past, you must learn to shift your focus the way the psalmist did. You may never get the closure you’re looking for from the person who did you wrong. You might never come to know the reason why you had to go through such a difficult and hurtful circumstance. But you can have confidence in knowing that the Lord is near to you. He has plans for your future, but to take part in those plans, you must not stay stuck in your past. You must not stay incarcerated to whatever you left behind, but instead move forward in the victory and freedom that is only to be found in the Lord.
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