Healing from Abusive Behavior - Part 1

 

Abuse, even a one-time moment of rage that used abuse as punishment or an attempt to control the victim, robs us of our innocence and makes us feel powerless over our own life.

It drives us into a codependent role - attempting to please others to keep them from abusing us. The problem with this faulty thinking is that it often has the opposite effect.

People tend to continue to abuse our good nature, take us for granted and treat us with contempt. A lack of appreciation and more verbal, mental and physical abuse may follow.

We strive throughout our life to lay down our life in hopes that someone will love us; but we actually teach them that it is okay to take advantage of us, because we constantly put our needs last.

Trauma does not always make us stronger. It may also make us a ball of nerves, fear and insecurity. We are actually weaker, because we are always on the defensive.

We may develop PTSD, much like any survivor of a battle zone, and react to life with this fractured thinking and behavior. Medication may be necessary to help us to remain calm and lucid until God heals us ( www.theophostic.com ).

Journaling helps us to heal by allowing our Inner Parent to understand the deep wounds we experienced and to nurture our Inner Child as we turn our words into a prayer for God's healing.

Prayer:

Father God, I pray for victims of abuse of every type. Give them the deep comfort that can only come from Your love. Restore to them their joy in life and remove from them the fears and insecurities, which plague their life. Redeem their heart and mind and give them a new outlook on life.

Teach them that although people may not be trustworthy, You are always trustworthy. Help us to remain vulnerable and kind, yet wary and wise (Matthew 10:16). Show us the balance between serving others without teaching them to take us for granted by always putting our needs last.

Thought for the Day:

God's perfect goodness and love find expression in the midst of wickedness and degradation; because He experiences every slight right along with us and carries our pain and burden for us, if we will relinquish it to Him.

Heavenly Compassion

Read: Psalm 103: 9-13

God is collecting His anger over the sin of mankind in a cup of wrath (Jeremiah 25:15). He does declare, however, that He will not always strive with mankind or harbor His anger forever (Genesis 6:3). There will come a day, when He will unleash the furry of His wrath over the ravages of sin and He will take vengeance against all of those who caused innocent people to suffer and grieve. God collects all of our tears in His bottle (Psalm 56:8) and He will avenge every one of them (Romans 12:19).

In spite of His justice and holiness, however, once we repent, God does not ever make us pay the consequences we deserve for our sins. He covers us with the blood of Jesus and He casts our sins as far as the east is from the west. How far is the east from the west?

Imagine a plane flying north. Once it reaches the North Pole, and follows the curve of the earth, it will begin to head south. So, if God removed our transgressions from us as far as the north is from the south, there would be a definite limit to His forgiveness.

Now, imagine a plane flying east. When does it start to fly west? At what point does the east meet the west? It never does. There is no pole going east and west as there is going north and south. The plane continues flying east until it lands or runs out of fuel. It never, ever meets the west. That is exactly how far from us God removes our sins. They will never catch up with us. They will never be returned to us or be thrown back up into our face. They are gone forever.

Our Heavenly Father has compassion on those who fear Him. Once we recognize the omniscience, the omnipresence, the omnipotence of God, we realize how truly great He is. Our sin caused Him to pay a debt, which He did not owe. He suffered persecution and crucifixion for sin, which He did not commit.

The benevolence of the perfect Lamb without spot or blemish paid our sin debt for us. Once the enormity of His sacrifice pierces our heart, we fall on our face and repent of our sins. This is when we are humbled by His love, grace and mercy, which we do not deserve. We revere Him as He deserves to be worshipped. At this point, with tears of awe and gratitude spilling down our cheeks, we make up our mind to serve Him with every cell in our body for the remainder of our life.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you do not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. You do not punish converted Believers for our sins. You do not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. Thank you for Your unfailing love toward those who fear You, it is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. Thank you for removing our sins as far from us as the east is from the west (Psalm 103: 9-13).

Thought for the Day:
The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. – Psalm 103:13