Take Your Stand

 

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.”

"UGH…I dread the thought of going home because I know he’s going to be there!”

I used to feel this way and make this statement driving home after work every day. I had been married less than a year, and the thought of going home to my husband had become overwhelming for me; it was utter dread. I remember one evening, it took me almost three hours to get home – a drive that even with bad traffic was only a twenty-minute drive. I pulled into the driveway and my husband was outside on a business call. As he stood in the yard pacing back and forth, laughing with one of his colleague’s, I put my car in reverse and left. I knew it was going to be another day of mental abuse, and I just couldn’t stomach it anymore. I knew in that moment that I could not stay married to him.

There are different kinds of domestic violence and abuse. Although, I was not violently abused physically, the mental and emotional abuse was violent. It was extremely difficult and taxing on every aspect of my existence. The mind games, manipulation, and the tactics to keep me fearful and to undermine my confidence and self-esteem were constant. I could never trust the few times that he was calm or amenable, fearing that he was only plotting to be even more abusive towards me. This was bondage, and when you’re in it, you can feel as though you might not ever be free. This is what the devil wants us to believe, but it is a lie, and we must know the truth. Through the Apostle Paul, God reminds us that Jesus Christ has rescued us from bondage. Through him, we can be free. 

Make no mistake about it, an abusive spouse is vexed in his or her mind, and they are extremely troubled in their hearts. They have been bamboozled by satan to believe that they are entitled to overpower another person. It is up to us to discern what is happening spiritually so that we can begin to stand in the authority that Jesus Christ gives us. He said in John 12:46(NLT), “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.” The light of Christ is the power of his unconditional love. There’s nothing in all the universe that can compare to it. You and I don’t have any strength, power, or righteousness to call our own. God gives us the strength to make it from day to day. We might be terrified to do anything to get ourselves out of a domestic violence and abuse situation. We may not know what to do, but God has all power in His hands. He tells us in 2Corinthians 3:5 that He is our Source and Sufficiency. Our job is to lean on Him for help. He is faithful, and He will never let us down.

When it comes to dealing with domestic violence and abuse, some people have said, “I don’t understand why they just don’t leave!” Sometimes it’s not that simple. I’ve witnessed many family members tell their loved ones not to leave but try to stick it out. They tell them that things will get better. And the reality is that it’s possible to go through some good days in an abusive situation where you think things will change on their own. But this doesn’t happen often. God knows everything there is to know about us, and He knows everything there is to know about the person that is causing us so much pain. We need to pray about every decision we make, and have faith that when we move in Him, liberty will always be the outcome. ■

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.

“Take Your Stand”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

 

 

You Are Here on Purpose

1Peter 4:10-11(NLT)
“10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”

"I'm just too exhausted from trying to make my life work!"

Ephesians 1:11 tells us that because we have received the gift of Holy Spirit and we’re united with the Lord Jesus Christ; we have received a rich and vast inheritance from God. This verse also states that God chose us to be a part of His family in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan. You and I are not random beings. We have a purpose in God’s plan for the entire universe. Every individual has a purpose—a reason for existing, but some of us look at our lives, and we may not see God’s purpose unfolding. We might be overlooking the unique and special gifts God has woven in our makeup. You may feel unfulfilled and unhappy with your existence, and you’re searching for the thing that will bring change and newness. Well, understanding more about your purpose in God’s Will and Plan will open your eyes in amazing ways. It will help you to discover the meaningful life that God desires for all of us.

 The truth is that God doesn’t want any person to be dissatisfied and unhappy with their lives. It’s one of the reasons He’s given us His Word and sent His Son to show us the way. In John 14:6(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” There is only one way to live a rich and satisfying life, and that way is through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 Proverbs 19:21(NLT) says, “You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail.” Making plans is part of what we humans do. We have our own thoughts and opinions about what our lives should look like, and we get up every day pursuing our own agendas. Some people never stop to ask God about His purpose for their lives. They don’t understand that God cannot be in the passenger seat. He is the driver! He owns the vehicle, the road, the destination, and everything else. We are here to follow His purpose, not the other way around. In Proverbs 3:5-6(NLT), He tells us, “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

 God has given everyone a gift, talent, or ability that is specifically designed for His glory and purpose. All the good things in life are attached to it. He instructs us in 1Peter 4:10 to use our gifts well by serving others, because this brings Him glory. Can you imagine that there is anything more rewarding, satisfying, and fulfilling than bringing God glory? There isn’t. Bringing Him glory is what we are here to do, and He rewards us for it.

 Many of us feel that we don’t have anything to add to God’s Kingdom, but this just isn’t true. God created us with His purpose in mind. Ephesians 2:10(NLT) tells us, “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” The smallest step that we take to walking in our purpose and doing the good things God planned for us will make a big difference in our lives. We don’t have to know all the details. God’s Spirit lives on the inside of us, and He will lead us through His Holy Spirit. Our job is to simply trust Heavenly Father with all our hearts and let Him direct our paths.

 Psalm 37:4(NLT) tells us, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires.” God has given us the strategy for living a successful life of purpose, and it is to delight in Him. His love and power will set our souls on fire if we will begin to choose faith and not fear. Instead of becoming exhausted from life, get out of the driver’s seat and let the Lord Jesus Christ take the wheel. He knows where you need to be, when you need to be there, and how to get you there. Place your trust in God and be humble so that He can teach you. If you do, your destiny and purpose will unfold, and you will realize the masterpiece that God has made you. ■

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.

 “You Are Here on Purpose”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Trusting and Obeying God’s Word

 

Exodus 23:20-22(NLT)

“20 See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. 22 But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.”

 “Sometimes I just want to give up!  Nothing in my life is easy - every time I turn around, there’s always a hurdle to jump through.”

God has a plan for our individual lives. All of us come with unique differences, skills, abilities, and qualities. They were all divinely designed by our Creator. In Ephesians 2:10(NLT), God tells us through the Apostle Paul, “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” We should never underestimate how extremely important this truth in Ephesians 2:10 is to our individual lives. It is the place that gives us a beginning point to start our race.

Most of us are not born with Ephesians 2:10 preprogrammed in our heads. But somewhere along on this Christian journey, we must learn it. Once this important truth is digested, we must renew our minds to it. This means that we must make a shift. To renew the mind is to make it like new. Before we made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives, we had an old life with old thoughts and old attitudes. Jesus Christ gave us a new life! 2Corinthians 5:17(NLT) says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” As a new person belonging to Jesus Christ, we have a new way of living, loving, and giving. So we have to replace our old attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors with God’s way through Jesus Christ, because this is a part of His plan for our lives.

 Problems arise when we don’t learn about God’s way of living through Christ, and we just continue on as we always have. This is where the struggles of life take root. Some call it troubles, tribulations, or trials. Others might call it spiritual warfare. It doesn’t matter all that much what you and I call it. What matters is that we can build our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and learn to live the more than abundant life that Jesus Christ made available to everyone.

 “Sometimes I just want to give up!  Nothing in my life is easy, and there’s always a hurdle to jump through.” Can you sense the struggle in this statement? Many people are living a reality of struggle every day, but if struggle is all there is, why did Jesus Christ go through all that suffering on the cross when he gave his life for our sins? He didn’t sacrifice his life so that all we can hope for is continuous struggle. Yes, life comes with challenges, but Romans 8:37(NLT) declares, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” God set up our journey to be victorious and triumphant, not downtrodden and powerless.

 As we look at the devastating choices we’ve made, the tough times we’ve endured, and the mistakes we made in life, some of us will try to place some of the blame on God. We won’t face the reality that our minds needed to be renewed and we didn’t renew them or that we didn’t walk in God’s purpose, but instead, we did things our own way. God doesn’t hold our shortcomings against us, because all of us—every human being that has ever lived has them. Our Heavenly Father expects that we will seek forgiveness for the things we’ve done out of poor programming, and then He expects us to get with HIS program.

James 1:5(NLT) says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” Instead of making decisions and choices on our own, God expects us to ask Him for His wisdom and counsel about what we should do. In Deuteronomy 23:22(NLT), God told His people, the children of Israel, “22 But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.” Through God’s people living in Old Testament times, He has taught us lessons too many to count about His provision, protection, and power. Through these lessons, we can see God’s faithfulness and His desire for a family that loves Him through their obedience to His Word.

 People living during Old Testament times saw God’s power demonstrated in mighty ways. He performed many miracles for them, yet, these miracles did not cause them to trust Him as completely as they should have. This is such a lesson for those of us today. Witnessing God’s miracles do not necessarily cause our minds and hearts to change. We must want to change! We must desire to make the decision to change our minds and hearts by trusting and obeying the Words that God has spoken. When we pay close attention to God and make His Word a constant in our lives, we will be transformed by His love and light, and walking with Him every day will be our greatest joy. ■

 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.

 “Trusting and Obeying God’s Word”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Never Doubt that He Is Working It Out!

 

Psalm 86:1-7 (NLT)
“1 A prayer of David. Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. 2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. 4 Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. 5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. 6 Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD; hear my urgent cry. 7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me.”

 Like the psalmist, David, many believers are crying out to our Lord and Savior urgently. Some have said that they’ve never seen such heartache and despair, and it is everywhere they turn. Some believers are giving up their walk with God all together. Why? Well, one of the reasons might be that they’ve never faced tumultuous times like these before, and they have not yet trained themselves to endure and trust in God regardless of conditions or situations. They’ve always had family or friends to be there for them, or situations in the past just worked out for them. But when folks you usually lean on are in worse shape than you – then what! The 'then what' is a place where God has always been right by your side, waiting on you to trust Him with all your heart.

 In the passage of Psalm 86:1-7(NLT), we witness a cry for help through David’s prayer to God, and again, it is incredibly relevant today. Our Lord and Savior made it clear that in life, you and I can expect to go through trials and tribulations. God does not cause these things to happen, but through them we must learn to walk in His strength. This means that trials and tribulations are opportunities to train our minds so that we look at life’s challenges the same way that Jesus Christ did. To him, troubles were opportunities to see God exercise His mighty power. This is why the Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:3-5(NLT), “3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Romans 5:3-5 doesn’t mean that we’re to be gluttons for punishment. It’s not telling us that we have to sit back and be a punching bag for the devil, and it doesn’t mean that we have to feel like skipping through fields of daisies while facing some of the toughest times of our lives. No. The Apostle Paul is revealing that our faith in God must be strengthened, and we have to build it up through believing God’s Word, especially when we face adversity. This is what Jesus Christ did when he was tempted by the devil. Each time, he faced the challenge with “IT IS WRITTEN!” Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the Word is the Spirit’s sword. God’s Word is life to us! It cannot fail.

 Romans 10:17 tells us faith comes by hearing God’s Word. We must endure in faith by trusting the promises of God’s Word no matter how things look, because this is what it means to trust that God will deliver us. He will help us because His Word says He will. We must believe God, and not the devil. We must learn to walk in the victory of Jesus Christ even though our eyes might not see it yet. You and I must prove that we believe in God by trusting in Him through the most difficult challenges that we may face in life.

 In the thick of it, we are tempted to let our minds think that God has caused our trials, tribulations, and troubles. Some of us will even think that He is punishing us. None of this is true. We have an enemy lurking around, and this enemy is the devil who seeks to attack us in our most vulnerable places. So that we will not place our trust in God, the devil pulls all kinds of tricks and plots. When we let the fear of the devil’s dirty dealings cause us to sink and give up, instead of standing on what God says in His Word, it means that we are allowing doubt to operate in our hearts instead of faith. We can change this through prayer and by studying God’s Word, so that we trust God’s Word more and more.

God tells us in Romans 8:28 that HE will cause ALL things to work together for our good. As we are going through a wilderness experience, dealing with troubles and tribulations, we must remember Romans 8:28. This is extremely important to prevent the emotional and mental exhaustion that we sometimes go through. God’s Word tells us in Nehemiah 8:10 that the joy of the Lord is our strength. God created you, and He is happy about it! He wants you to be happy and blessed in Him. He has all power in His hands and He will rescue you if you place your trust in Him alone through Jesus Christ. He does not want you to be weak. Through Christ, God has made you strong. Claim and confess this continually. Never give up on your relationship with God or your faith in Him!■

 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.

“Never Doubt that He Is Working It Out”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

 

Now is Not the Time to Look Back

 

The past is gone, and the reality is that you will never see those days again. It is as true as truth can be that all you really have is right now. And what you do in the ‘right now’ of this moment will shape your tomorrow and future ahead. No matter how tempting it may be, now is not the time to look back. You’ve come this far, and God has some place for you to be. In Jeremiah 29:11(NLT), He told His people living in Old Testament times, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” God wanted them to know that they were not forgotten. It was true thousands of years ago, and it is true today. Heavenly Father has a plan for our individual lives. It is a good plan, and it requires us to always look up and look ahead. 

Jeremiah, God’s prophet to His people, reminded those in captivity in Babylon not to listen false prophets and allow their hope to be diminished. He assured them that they were on the mind of God, and that God had not forgotten them. We can relate to this, right?! When we’re in the thick of it, and problems are popping up all other the place, it can feel very much like we are without the anchor God gives. We might be tempted to believe that He has forgotten all about us, and left us to fend for ourselves. This isn’t the truth, but in our weakened state of anxiety, some of us convince ourselves that it is. 

2Corinithians 4:4(NLT) tells us, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” Blinding someone’s mind is an extremely dastardly trick. It requires manipulation, and it also requires a willing participant. You might think, “Well that’s just crazy! No one would willingly participate in the devil’s scheme to blind them.” Well, the practice of always looking back and losing hope and trust in God’s plan is a sort of blindfold, because you can’t look back and look ahead at the same time. 

God wants our eyes open to the tricks of the enemy because if you’re blinded then you can’t see the truth. Many of God’s children are suffering through the struggles of financial hardship, depression, sadness, isolation, spousal abandonment, and many other debilitating issues. Our Heavenly Father wants us to see the glorious light of the Good News of Jesus Christ. This light of Christ will bring healing and solutions to the darkness of the circumstances many of us face. 

Many of us define ourselves, and indeed our whole lives, by the hurt and pain we’ve experienced. Our disappointments and failings, and not our triumphs, become the narrative of how we describe ourselves. These things become branded on our hearts and souls. They become the mark in the sand. We have to realize sooner or later that although our struggles, disappointments, and loss may represent the mark in the sand, our mission as more than conquerors in Christ is to move beyond the mark. We can do this not because we’re so strong, but because God is greater than our pain, and He heals all wounds. 

It’s time to remove the blinders and see the truth of who God has made us. Whether it is the spouse or significant person who doesn’t treat us well, or a person who doesn’t want us to be our best self, these are folks that the enemy uses to pull the wool over our eyes. We must wake up, see it for what it is, and then begin to structure our prayer lives around God’s strength and the deliverance He freely offers us.

 Know that every decision you make to walk in your truest, highest self in Christ, is a move towards the light. We were created by God to be free. 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.” Taking a stand means to boldly believe in the power, love, and strength of God and that He will use His unlimited resources to rescue you from all hurt, harm, and danger. It’s not about what’s happened in the past. The past is the past. It’s about what God is doing in your life today, and what He will do every day as you make the decision to surrender to Him. Take His hand and allow Him to guide and teach you. The blinders will be removed, and your life will never be the same.■

 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.

 “Now is Not the Time to Look Back”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.