Christ Will Rescue You

Monday, October 12, 2026

What’s Leading You, Faith or Fear?

We serve a Great Big Wonderful God! He’s our Heavenly Father, and His home is our home. He created us from His love, and we are to love Him, ourselves, and others out of that love. It is important for us to take the time to really think about this, because we’re in an environment where people are being lured and pulled further away from God’s truth. There are many people walking around thinking one way is the right way, when in truth it’s all wrong. Human beings are going to follow something. That’s what we do. We must choose a master; we must choose a father, because even as fully-grown adults, we are still only children. God created us to depend on Him for our sufficiency, but this truth is lost on most folks. They depend on the world and depending on the world means we’re not depending on God. That’s an extremely dangerous place to be.

Jesus Christ declared in John 8:32 that his true disciples will know the truth, and the truth will make them free. This means that you and I have no other choice but to conclude that not all disciples of Jesus Christ are true, and those that are not true will not seek to know the truth, thus they will not be free. Walking in the liberty of Christ is enjoying life and appreciating the freedom that knowing God’s Word gives us. It’s having a life that isn’t burdened on every hand by doubt, wondering if God is truly who He says He is. Walking in the liberty of Christ is an indelible mark of knowing and trusting the truth that God is our Provider and Protector, and He never sleeps on the job.

After Jesus spoke those words in John 8:32, in the next verse, those who thought themselves superior to Christ said to him, “What do you mean, Jesus? Why all this talk about freedom. We’re not slaves. We don’t walk around with chains on our legs and wrists. We are the descendants of Abraham, and we’ve got it going on! We’re the upper echelon, the crème de la crème of religious society.” Jesus replied with an answer so sharp that it literally will blow your socks off. He said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” In other words, whatever you follow, you serve.

These religious folks then said to Jesus Christ, “You’ve got it wrong, Jesus. Abraham walked with God. He’s our father because we’re in his bloodline, and this gives us bragging rights and a reason to legitimately claim to be his kids.” Jesus Christ then told them in John 8:37(NLT), “Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.” Jesus forces us to look beyond what our physical eyes can see. It’s not about who our parents or fore parents are. It’s not about their DNA or our bloodlines. It’s about our hearts and what’s in them.

We live according to what is in our hearts. This is why our Master Jesus told us in Matthew 12:33 that a tree is known by the fruit it bears, because our outward reality is a reflection of what we carry inwardly. We need to understand that a child can be born to wonderful parents that are believers in the Lord, but this same child can be a child of satan. Jesus Christ made it clear to the descendants of Abraham that he knew exactly who their father was, and it wasn’t the One True God, but the father of lies whose advice they had followed. Our Lord and Master told them that if they were truly children of Abraham, they would follow Abraham’s example of faith, but instead, they followed the ruler of fear and darkness. They served satan because they chose to believe his lies over the truth of God’s Word.

Children make mistakes, and as God’s kids, He knows we’re works in progress. We’re not always going to get it right, but here’s the thing, God expects us to have a heart to WANT to get it right every time. This is the heart that pleases Him. He tells us in Colossians 3:23 that whatever we do, we must do it with great heart, doing it to bring Him glory and honor.

If we are not led by faith, we’re not led by love, because the two, faith and love, walk together. At the core of our hearts, there must be a yearning to please God, and when we learn that we are not pleasing Him in our actions, attitudes, and deed, we must make a change. Ephesians 4:23 tells us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. We must renew our minds to what God says, not according to what we think is right.

Anything that isn’t rooted in the faith of Jesus Christ is rooted in fear. Many of us choose sin instead of God’s love and righteousness. We choose to fly off the handle, be quick-tempered and nasty to others. We choose to occupy our time doing all kinds of other things instead of reading and studying God’s Word. We choose not to be diligent in our prayer lives and grow closer to God through Jesus Christ. We choose these things because we fear not choosing them. We choose them because we don’t believe the pleasure and joy that God offers is more fulfilling than what the world offers. Many of us will not allow God to fill our cups because we fear losing the things, relationships, habits, and behaviors we may need to give up.

The pressure in the world is mounting, and ultimately, it’s going to press us to make a firm choice about who we will serve. Jesus Christ taught us in Matthew 6:24 that no human is capable of serving two masters. We will love one and hate the other, because there’s no such thing as being neutral or staying in the middle. A person cannot serve God and satan at the same time. We are going to face a situation where our backs will be against the wall, and the decision we make in that moment will let heaven and everything beneath it know whether we are true disciples of Christ. In that moment, we will either be overwhelmed with fear and sink to its lowest depths, or we will mount up with the strength of the Holy Spirit and declare that we will serve God. Choosing Jesus Christ means that we must declare that he is the Lord of our lives, and no matter the circumstance, if we stand unwavering in faith, God will back us. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“What’s Leading You, Faith or Fear?” written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com © 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Monday, September 28, 2026

Don’t Faint in Your Mind

When the Relationship Ends, But the Hurt Remains

I had a conversation with a wonderful woman who had experienced several relationships that did not end in the way she had hoped. Her heart was still hurting. One of the men she had dated was abusive, and she told me that deep down, the experience had left scars that make her fearful when things in her relationships don’t go as planned. She can become overly defensive, or she shuts down. It’s troubling for her because she doesn’t understand why she continues to behave this way.

She knows that the man she is dealing with today is not the man who hurt her, but sometimes her responses seem to come from a place deeper than the present moment. Something happens, and she finds herself protecting herself before she has even had time to understand what is happening. She believes this may be one of the reasons her relationships continue to fail, and she has become weary of even trying anymore.

As we talked, I found myself thinking about how often we expect the effects of an experience to disappear simply because the experience itself is over. But sometimes the relationship ends before the wounds do. The person may be gone, the circumstances may have changed, and life may have moved forward, but the heart can still be responding to what it learned when it was hurt. Yet God tells us in Psalm 147:3 (NLT), “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” There are wounds we carry that we don’t always recognize or understand. But God knows they are there. He sees what happened to us, He sees what it left behind, and He knows exactly where healing is needed. We don’t have to pretend the wounds aren’t there. We can bring them to Him and allow Him to heal what we may not know how to heal ourselves.

But none of this means there is something wrong with her. And it doesn’t mean she is destined to repeat the same patterns for the rest of her life. And it doesn't mean she is doomed to repeat the same patterns for the rest of her life. It may simply mean there are places in her heart that still need healing. Sometimes we don’t realize how deeply something affected us until something happens and we react more strongly than the situation seems to call for.

I believe this is one of the reasons God cares so deeply about our healing. He isn't looking at us and asking, “What's wrong with you?” He knows what happened. He knows what we carried away from it. But He also knows that what happened to us does not have to define what comes next. God tells us in Isaiah 43:18–19 (NLT), “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” He knows how to lead us into the kind of healing that allows us to stop living from what happened to us and begin responding from who we are becoming in Him.

Healing doesn’t mean that what happened never happened. It doesn’t mean we forget, excuse, or pretend that the hurt wasn’t real. It means that, over time, what happened no longer gets to have the same authority over how we see ourselves, how we respond to others, or what we believe is possible for our lives. There may still be moments when something from the past gets stirred up. But those moments don’t have to determine what happens next. We don't have to faint in our minds and decide that because something happened before, it will always happen again.

Philippians 1:6 (NLT) reminds us, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished.” I love that because healing is a process, and God is not finished with us. If you have been hurt in a relationship, you don't have to be ashamed of the places that still need healing. Bring them to God. Let Him heal what was wounded and teach you how to respond from who you are becoming in Christ. Don't faint in your mind. What hurt you may explain some of your struggles, but it does not get to decide where God takes you from here. ■

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Why Do I Keep Going Back?

One of the hardest questions a woman may ask herself after leaving an abusive relationship is, “Why do I keep going back?” Sometimes she goes back because she still loves him. Sometimes she goes back because she remembers the good times and believes the person she fell in love with is still somewhere underneath the hurt. Sometimes there are children, finances, nowhere else to live, or the fear of starting over. And sometimes he apologizes, promises that things will be different, and for a while, they are. None of this means she is stupid or weak. Abuse can create a complicated cycle that is difficult to break, especially when love and fear have become mixed together. We have to be careful not to look at a woman who has returned and ask, “What is wrong with her?” A better question may be, “What has she been carrying that we cannot see?”

Jesus sees what other people can’t. He sees the fear, the confusion, the hope, the disappointment, and the part of her that still wants to believe things can be different. He doesn’t need her to pretend that everything is okay. Psalm 34:18 (NLT) says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” There is something powerful about knowing that God doesn’t turn His back on us when we are hurting or when we have made decisions we wish we could change. Jesus meets us right where we are, but He loves us too much to leave us there. His love doesn’t require us to remain in a place where we are continually being harmed.

Sometimes a woman keeps going back because she has begun to believe that this is the best she can expect from love. After being criticized, controlled, threatened, or made to feel worthless for long enough, it can become difficult to remember who you were before all of that. But Jesus tells us the truth about who we are. John 8:36 (NKJV) says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Freedom doesn’t mean that every part of your life will suddenly become easy. It may take time, help, counseling, practical support, and people who will walk beside you. But freedom begins when you stop believing that someone else's treatment of you determines your worth. You belong to Christ, and what He says about you matters more than what an abusive person has said about you.

And if you have gone back before, you don’t have to believe that you have ruined your chance to make a different choice. You can ask God for wisdom, courage, and direction for what comes next. James 1:5 (NLT) says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.” Sometimes God helps us directly through His Word and the Holy Spirit, and sometimes He helps us through other people—trusted family members, godly counselors, advocates, pastors, or others who can help us see clearly and make a safe plan. You do not have to figure everything out in one day. But you can begin telling the truth about what is happening and asking God to show you your next step.

If you keep going back, please don't let shame convince you that Jesus has given up on you. He hasn't. But His grace is not an invitation to keep returning to what is destroying you. Jesus is not asking you to prove your love by enduring abuse. He is calling you toward truth, wisdom, and life. Psalm 147:3 (NLT) says, “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” Healing may take time, and the road may not look the same for every woman. But you can bring every part of your life to Jesus—the parts you're proud of and the parts you wish you could change. You can ask Him for wisdom today, take the next safe step, and trust Him to meet you there. ■

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Don’t Dim Your Light to Keep Others Comfortable

John 3:20-21(NLT)

“20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

Learning to Recognize What God Is Showing You

God has given every believer the ability to recognize what is good and what is evil, and to discern what belongs to His Kingdom and what does not. We have this ability because His Spirit lives within us. But having the Holy Spirit does not mean we will always make the right choice. We still have a flesh that wants its own way, and we still have to choose whether we will obey God or give in to what feels good, familiar, or difficult to let go. 1Corinthians 3:16 tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Living God, and the Spirit of God dwells within us. That should change the way we live.

We have access to the wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit, but we have to be willing to listen and obey. Sometimes we know exactly what God is showing us, but we don't want to act on it because obedience may require us to change something we have become comfortable with. This can be especially true when God begins dealing with the people we have allowed into our inner circle.

Love does not require us to ignore what is harmful. Grace does not require us to call wrong behavior right. And forgiveness does not mean giving someone unrestricted access to hurt us again. The Holy Spirit can help us recognize what does not belong in our lives, but we must be willing to listen when He does.

When the People Closest to Us Begin to Affect Our Walk with God

For single women, this is an area where we have to be especially careful. 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV) says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” God is not telling us to isolate ourselves from people who do not believe as we do. The issue is influence and what we are allowing someone to become in our lives. There is a difference between loving someone and becoming bound to a relationship that continually pulls us away from God.

This is especially important in romantic relationships. A woman who desires a marriage where Jesus Christ is Head cannot ignore the spiritual direction, character, and behavior of the man she is considering building her life with. Love should not require us to compromise what we believe, silence our concerns, live in fear, or continually excuse behavior we know is wrong.

Sometimes the people closest to us can cause us to second-guess convictions God has already established in our hearts. In an abusive relationship, manipulation, intimidation, and control can make it even harder to trust what we know. It may seem like a tangled web, but if we ask, God will give us wisdom. James 1:5 (NKJV) says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.” There are relationships we have to recognize for what they are, boundaries we may need to establish, and sometimes doors we have to close. Our loving Heavenly Father will help us to live free.

Don’t Let Another Voice Become Louder Than God’s

1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) says, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.” Jesus Christ never compromised the truth to make people comfortable. He recognized when people were trying to manipulate or trap Him, and He did not allow their behavior to pull Him away from what God had called Him to do.

Jesus stayed in prayer and communion with the Father. He knew who He was, who sent Him, and what He had been sent to accomplish. We need that same spiritual clarity. Especially when someone has repeatedly manipulated, controlled, intimidated, or caused us to question ourselves, we cannot afford to let another person's voice become louder than what God is saying to us through His Word and His Spirit.

Jesus Christ told the Pharisees in John 8:43-45(NLT), “43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!”

Jesus did not allow their rejection of the truth to make Him question the truth. That is something we need to learn. People may not understand the changes God is making in you. They may not agree with your boundaries. They may even accuse you of thinking you are better than them because you have decided to live differently. But walking in obedience is not the same thing as thinking you are better than somebody else.

We can love people without following them, care about people without allowing them to control our direction, and pray for people without joining them in choices that God has told us to avoid.

We must open our eyes and recognize what God is showing us as we learn to stand in the light of Christ. We don’t need to shrink ourselves spiritually so that other people can remain comfortable around us. And we don’t need to hide what the Father is doing in our lives.

As we grow in Christ, some relationships may change. Some friendships may become more distant. Some romantic relationships may have to end. And yes, there may be people we have to leave behind. That is not always easy, and for someone dealing with abuse, leaving may require wisdom, support, and a plan for safety. But when we listen to His voice, God will help us every step of the way.

We are children of the light. We belong to Christ. So let the light He has placed within you become brighter as you grow in Him. Don't dim your light to keep somebody else comfortable in their darkness. ■

“Don’t Dim Your Light to Keep Others Comfortable”, written by Kim for https://DomesticAbuseAwareness.org© 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.