Wrestling with Scripture

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT

Have you ever had to wrestle with certain Scriptures? To be honest, I’ve had to wrestle with the thoughts of God comforting us, so that we can comfort others with “the same comfort that God has given us”. I didn’t understand the deeper heart of the Father. I’m called to serve in inner healing ministry. The enemy tried to use that section of Scripture to distort God’s heart and tell me that God put me through several traumas specifically to wound me, so that He could heal me, comfort me, and then use me to comfort others. The enemy lied to me and tried to get me to believe that God, Himself, abused me. Should be no surprise there, since the first mention of the devil in Scripture finds him casting doubt upon God’s goodness in order to lead Adam and Eve into sin.

Many of us who have been through severe trauma find ourselves wrestling with God and asking Him where He was, or why He allowed the bad things to happen to us. The truth is that God doesn’t abuse anyone. He always has our best eternal interests in mind. Unfortunately, some humans don’t. We are living in a fallen world and sometimes bad people do bad things to us. God doesn’t violate anyone’s free will. One time I asked Him why He didn’t violate my abuser’s free will. That would have kept me safe. He lovingly said, “If I violate one person’s free will, I’m not safe at all.” That made sense. Our abusers never gave us a chance to say no. God does. That makes Him safe. Another time I asked Him where He was when I was abused. He showed me that He was standing right next to me. I got mad and said, “If you were right there when I was being abused and you didn’t stop it, that makes You an accomplice!” He showed me that He didn’t want me to be abused, and that He was actually protecting my personhood – who He knit me together in my mother’s womb to be – during the abuse. My abusers did harm my body, but they weren’t able to harm who God made me to be. No human can stop our hearts from being transformed into the character of Jesus Christ as we yield our hearts to Him. No one. No matter what they do to us.

As I continued to grow in my healing process, I began to realize the deeper heart of God in the comforting process. Yes, He comforts us in all our troubles so we can comfort others with the same comfort that we’ve been comforted with; but the greater purpose in receiving comfort is that we grow deeper in our relationship with the Father as we become more like Christ. Comforting others is merely the fruit of receiving comfort from Him and becoming like Him.

Jesus Won't Reject You

He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.

Isaiah 42:3 NLT

If you're feeling hopeless and too messed up to come to God, take comfort in that verse from Isaiah. Jesus will accept anyone who comes to Him for help. No matter how messed up you feel. No matter how badly you’ve sinned. Go to Him. He won’t look at you in disgust. He won’t turn away. He won’t snuff out the last smoldering flames in your heart. He offers forgiveness. Jesus can take you out of your emotional pit and give you peace. He can free you from addictive sexual sin. He can heal the wounds of sexual abuse. He will help you if you ask. Jesus may not calm every storm in your life, but He will carry you through the storms. He promises that He will NEVER leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

Learning to walk in the peace and freedom that Jesus offers takes time. It is a process with many ups and downs. Maybe you’ve done good for a while, only to fall again. You might be tempted to give up. Don’t! Come back to the cross. Reach out for help. If you confess your sin, He will forgive you and cleanse your heart (1 John 1:9). Stick with Jesus, and He will complete the work He started in you (Philippians 1:6).

Reconciliation Ministries and the many compassionate men and women on the support team are here to help you. We offer low cost licensed professional counseling, mental health coaching, and prayer ministry. We offer the Living Waters support group to help you overcome sexual and relational brokenness. We’re excited to announce the return of our Mending the Soul group to help you overcome the devastating effects of sexual abuse. There’s so much more. We are here to walk with you. Call us at 586.739.5114.

If you’ve already experienced the healing power of Jesus Christ, you have an important calling. Share your story. Show the love of God to someone who is afraid to hope. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you comfort others with the comfort that you have received (2 Corinthians 1:4). You can help bridge the gap between the church and the sexually broken.

Jesus Can Unlock Your Heart

I saw this lock as I was walking through the neighborhood today. It reminded me of how we can have pain, discouragement, trauma and struggles locked deep inside our hearts. Sometimes we don’t even know where we lost the key or how to get healing. It is during times like this that we need to cry out to Jesus and ask for help. When we don’t even have the strength to cry out, we can look toward Him and merely think, “Help.” He always hears. He is always there. He may not answer in the way we expect, but He will always answer. He knows where the key is.