Love Like You've Never Been Hurt: Hope, Healing and the Power of an Open Heart

The human heart was created with a great capacity to love. But along with that comes a great capacity to feel pain. There is no denying that those who love us, who are closest to us, can wound us the most profoundly. That kind of pain can be difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. And it can feel even more impossible to continue loving in the face of it. Yet that is exactly what we are called to do.Sharing his own story of personal pain, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Jentezen Franklin shows us how to find the strength, courage, and motivation to set aside the hurt, see others as God sees them, and reach out in love. Through biblical and modern-day stories, he discusses different types of relational disappointment and heartache, and answers questions such as Why should I trust again? and How can I ever really forgive?The walls we build around our hearts to cut us off from pain are the very walls that block us from seeing hope, receiving healing, and feeling love. Here are the tools and inspiration you need to tear down those walls, work through your wounds, repair damaged relationships, and learn to love like you've never been hurt.From the Inside FlapJentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel, a multicampus church with a global reach. His messages influence generations through various outreaches and through his televised broadcast, Kingdom Connection. Jentezen is also a New York Times bestselling author who speaks at conferences worldwide. He and his wife, Cherise, live in Gainesville, Georgia, and have five children. Getting hurt is part of life. It is inevitable that someone has already broken your heart, abandoned you, left you, said something hurtful to you, disappointed you, let you down, lied to you, stabbed you in the back or rejected you. Whatever it is, you have loved hard and been wounded. And now you are not living fully, the way God intended, because you do not know how--or if it is even possible--to love like you've never been hurt.But this is not the end of your story.God wants to give you a new beginning. A new story. A fresh start. He wants to heal what has been broken. He wants to reconcile what has been torn apart.I get what it's like to be hurt. I'm not telling you to do something I have not done myself--and made mistakes along the way trying. I know the temptation to not want to let go of hurt or disappointment. My marriage has had severe tests and struggles, and so has my family. In writing this book, my wife and I decided to share some things we have never shared before. We have learned that God did not intend for us to be the walking wounded. He intended for us--for all of us--to be whole. And the only way to be reconciled, healed and whole is to love like you've never been hurt.--Jentezen Franklin|Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel, a multicampus church with a global reach. His messages influence generations through various outreaches and through his televised broadcast, Kingdom Connection. Jentezen is also a New York Times bestselling author who speaks at conferences worldwide. He and his wife, Cherise, live in Gainesville, Georgia, and have five children.From the Back CoverThe pain you feel today is the pain you can heal.It's no secret that those who are closest to us can wound us the most profoundly. Reeling from betrayal, we build walls around our hearts to protect us from the heartache, yet these are the very walls that block us from seeing hope, receiving healing and feeling love.Sharing his own story of personal pain, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Jentezen Franklin shows you how to find the strength, courage and motivation to love like you've never been hurt. Through biblical and modern-day stories, he discusses different types of relational disappointment and heartache, and answers questions such as Why should I trust again? and How can I ever really forgive?Don't let someone else's acti