With God, Nothing Is Impossible

Galatians 5:1 (MSG)
“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.”

“I don’t want to leave my husband! I just want him to stop hurting me!”  This is what a family friend shared over the Thanksgiving holiday. She and her husband were high school sweethearts and got married immediately after graduating high school. They’ve been married for twenty years and have three children together.  About ten years into their marriage is when her husband started saying hurtful and demeaning things to her. He started slapping her face when they argued. Then one evening, his anger escalated, and he wouldn’t stop hitting her. Their oldest son jumped in to defend his mother.

Domestic violence and abuse is defined as violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse. But it also occurs in many relationships between couples that are not married. Studies suggests that an increasing number of teens experience abusive behavior during dating in high-school, and there are also many instances of it on college campuses as well. This is difficult to hear, and some ask why doesn’t the person that is being abused just leave. If it were that simple, the instances of domestic violence and abuse would not be increasing at the rate it is. Like many patterns in life, there are behaviors and mindsets around abuse that a person learns. If not addressed at the root, this behavior causes both the victim and abuser to become stuck in patterns that are destructive to their souls.

Society teaches us to believe we can have it all together, and that we don’t need to be spiritually strong through the Lord Jesus Christ. The reality is that all of us are weak and allowing ourselves to play any part in domestic violence and abuse is proof that we need the Lord’s help desperately. All of us are broken inside in some way. We can’t fix ourselves. It is impossible for us to come to Jesus Christ perfect. It doesn’t work that way. He tells us in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me!” We are to come as we are, broken and all, because only Jesus Christ can do a work on the inside of us through his Spirit. 

He also tells us in verse 29 of this same chapter to “Learn about me.” This is the part many of us neglect. Do you know that the greatest joy in all of life is to know Jesus? Getting to know him is not a chore, it is a wonderful blessing. We have learned many harmful things in life. We have been programmed by society to think a certain way, and we must allow the Spirit of God to reprogram us. Ephesians 4:23(KJV) puts it this way, it says, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Our minds must be made new! We must think new thoughts, so that we act and behave like Christ. 

Galatians 5:1(MSG) tells us, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” A victim may be financially dependent on their abusive partner. Without money, or even a place to go, it can seem impossible for them to leave the relationship, but with God nothing is impossible, and we must trust Him with every nook and cranny of our hearts. His Word tells us that we must never allow someone to put a harness of slavery on us. This is exactly what an abusive relationship is—it’s a harness of slavery, designed to steal our joy and power so that we feel hopeless and helpless. We don’t have to live that way, because Jesus Christ has set us free to live a free life. He will help us take a stand if we will give ourselves to him completely. 

My friend is struggling to do what is right for her family. Her husband is not who he used to be, and only God knows why. But whatever it is that has caused him to harbor such anger, taking it out on his family is against the Will of God. Heavenly Father doesn’t want His people to be abused; and He doesn’t want a child to witness or be involved in an abusive situation with their parents. God’s love doesn’t hurt or cause pain. His love rescues us through the person of Jesus Christ. 

We must be encouraged that God has provided us a way out. In Mark 9:23(NLT), Jesus Christ said, ““What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” You and I are not perfect. Every moment of every day we are being perfected in Christ. But our Heavenly Father is indeed perfect, and we must believe wholeheartedly in His awesome power and let Him help us to walk in the liberty that Jesus Christ offers. ■

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.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

“With God, Nothing is Impossible”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.