For over a year I was angry at God for letting me be abused. As sovereign God, he could have struck my abuser dead or sent witnesses to my aid any time. Then I realized that God hadn't abandoned or forgotten me. Rather, He walked WITH me through Valley of the Shadow of Death. /1
God gave me a story, and he have me a voice. He allowed me to experience just enough that I'd understand the evil, yet I am certain he also greatly restrained my abuser's sin and spared me from much suffering. He saved my life and infused me with the faith I needed to survive. 2/
If you study the Bible, you'll find that it's littered with stories of abuse. Abel was murdered. Jonathan was abused by his dad, Saul. Joseph was tormented and sold to human traffickers by his brothers. Tamar was raped by her brother and neglected by David, her dad. /3
Then I realized Jesus himself is an abuse survivor. He was "stricken, smitten, and afflicted." He was betrayed and abandoned by his loved ones, tortured, mocked, slandered, and crucified.
We have a God who knows exactly what it is like to be abused, because he was abused too. /4
We have a God who knows exactly what it is like to be abused, because he was abused too. /4
If you're angry at God for allowing you to be abused, tell him. Yell at him if you have to. He is, after all, God. He already knows what you're thinking and feeling. He desires a relationship with you; a relationship often requires us to wrestle with God, as Jacob did. /5
Remember the prophet Jonah, and how rebelious he was. As far as we know, he never suffered any great wrong. Yet he argued with God and defied God. Nevertheless, God was faithful and never abandoned Jonah. God is faithful, even when we are not. Confide in him. /End
