Battered, Scarred and Shamed
by Carol Hall
John 14:18—“No. I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.
Website: God's Rose
Do you carry deep shame from an abusive past, as well as physical and emotional scars from being battered or living in poverty? Maybe you never hear an encouraging word. No matter what—trust and never doubt—God can turn your worst embarrassment, your ugliest scar, or your deepest disappointment into your GREATEST TESTIMONY!
Have you become addicted to alcohol, illegal and/or prescription drugs, overeating or sex, to numb your pain? Maybe it’s fear, loneliness, anxiety, hopelessness or despair that took you there. Do you have road rage?
Isaiah 43:2—“… When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; The flames will not consume you.”
Are you struggling with a physical/mental handicap, an inability to read/write, living in a homeless shelter, awaiting trial, sentenced to prison, or had your identity stolen?
Maybe you’re suffering from a communicable disease, have manic depression, are bipolar, or battling a life threatening illness.
2 Corinthians 1:4—“He comforts us in all our troubles.”
Did you come from a divided/dysfunctional family that robbed you of your childhood? Are you robbing your own family of quality time? Many people have never known unconditional love and acceptance, so they overwork to escape from debt, an unhappy marriage, self, or reality in general. I am learning that abundant joy begins with simple things—a walk in the park, quality time with family, reading a good book, chewing bubble gum like a kid and blowing a HUGE bubble—sleeping late, planting a flower/vegetable garden, a relaxing picnic, a pleasant swim, a bubble bath, scented candles, or going for a drive with your favorite music turned up—the windows down—and the wind blowing through your hair!
2 Corinthians 12:9—“My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.”
Are you now a single mother suffering from a devastating divorce or the death of a loved one? Do you feel as though you’ve been thrown into deep, treacherous, shark infested waters without a life jacket trying your best to remain afloat, healthy, AND sane—appearing to meet all of life’s demands while trying desperately to escape from the clutches of accumulating financial debt?
When your whole life is shaken—when the circumstances you face are so overwhelming that you feel like an ant in the face of Mount Everest—look to God and see His awesome power. Stand before the mountain and say, “Lord, I claim where I am standing to be holy ground”—and then, invite God to reign in the situation—because He is greater than anything you are facing!
Matthew 6:34—“Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.”
Recognizing the tricks of Satan is very important. He is real, and he is our enemy. Satan wants to throw us out of balance. Have you ever lifted weights? If so, have you ever noticed how difficult it is when there’s too much weight on one side of the weight bar? Well, that’s how our lives are sometimes when we’re out of balance. If we are out of balance in one area (friends, habits, addictions, finances, laziness, etc.) it causes our whole life to feel the affects of it. Satan creates imbalance through our friends, our family, our fellow students/co-workers, our thoughts—actually anything at all that can hinder our walk with God. Satan doesn’t want us to have peace. He and his evil workers whisper into our ears to make us wonder, worry, lie, or slough off responsibilities. He’ll try to make us think others are looking at us or talking about us when we enter a room. Can you relate? I can. We all battle Satan, especially if we’re children of God. So, don’t ever think you’re the only one. However, when negative thoughts and feelings, worries, anxieties, doubts, etc. happen, here’s what you can do.
Speak the name of Jesus out loud—even if it’s just a whisper.
Praise God, and be raised!
Learn Bible verses that you can stand on and speak out loud. That’s what Jesus did. The enemy will have to flee. He knows the Word, too. That’s why we must know the truth.
Worship God in songs of praise!
Satan cannot read your mind! Did you know that? He only knows what comes out of your mouth. So, be careful what you tell him. He’ll use what you say to interject thoughts, ideas and suggestions into your mind. As I’ve said before—that’s his only weapon! Begin to recognize Satan’s lies and speak the name of Jesus. That name alone will cause Satan and his forces to tremble and BACK OFF! But, they are persistent—so YOU must be persistent, too!
The number one trick of Satan is reminding us of our past. However, if we have asked Jesus Christ to forgive us of all our sins, our past is remembered no more by God or Jesus. So, just remind Satan of his FUTURE. He doesn’t like that.
Revelation 20:1-3—“an (unnamed) angel came down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless
pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more …”
Don’t let unforgiveness get into your bones and cause disease! Many people waste precious moments in life and save the concealed sins for their deathbed experience, but not everyone has that chance.
You see—even Christians can have concealed sins. DON’T WAIT!! LET THEM GO! Don’t let Satan hang anything over your head. Break the strongholds he has over your mind, body and spirit. Confess them! And be SET FREE in Jesus’ name!
Are you trying to fix and control those around you? Listen, only God can change another person’s heart. Recognize that YOU cannot change anyone. However, you can learn to recognize who you should or should not be around, because we become a reflection of those we hang around. It’s okay to love people from a distance. It’s your choice. God gave us all freedom of choice. Bad rubs off on good a lot quicker than good rubs off on bad. Pray for those who are bad influences, and speak positively about them. Be careful not to judge lest you be judged. If we judge, we may also experience similar actions that we judged others for until we recognize our sins and ask for forgiveness. Remember, we are not their Savior—only God’s messenger.
Matthew 7:2—“Whatever measure you use in judging others,
it will be used to measure how you are judged.”
No matter what you go through, just remember that God sometimes puts a candle (YOU and ME) in a dark place to shine a light (GOD) where there is none. The greater the darkness, the greater the light.
OTHER ARTICLES:
Judas By Another Name
Can You See The Big Blue Elephant
Bill's Song of Victory
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