Acts 1:8 (NIV)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
CONSIDER THIS
ME: THIS IS THE WAY—
YOU: FROM GLORY TO GLORY!
Warning: Today’s story may trigger past trauma for some. It deals with the very tragic matter of childhood sexual abuse. I do not share it as a prescriptive example of how these kinds of wounds “should” be addressed, nor do I mean to imply this is how they “should not” be addressed. This is a descriptive example of a work the Holy Spirit has done in a family after a very long period of suffering. It comes from Ronald.
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I am a widower. My wife passed on to glory a few years back.
My wife was sexually abused by her brother (also now deceased) for four years beginning at age eight. Their mother discovered him in her room, prayed for him, and never checked back on the situation. The abuse stopped after four years, and the pain and memories were filed in the back of her mind to forget the horror.
When we married, her brother became my best friend. In fact, I was closer to him than my own brother.
My wife was in her late twenties when she heard a testimony regarding sexual abuse. Suddenly, ALL the memories flooded her mind and soul! For the first time, she told me about the abuse. My advice was, “you need to move on. This occurred twenty years ago.” That’s not what she wanted or needed to hear.
During the next twelve years, she would not see her brother or talk with him. In fact, if he walked into the room at family events, she would leave the room.
This abuse was the “elephant in the room” among family members, because her brother was the fair-haired child in the family and a very prominent businessman in the community.
Eventually, my wife read the The Gift of Forgiveness by Charles Stanley. She called her brother and said, “I forgive you.” He said, “For what?” She repeated, “I forgive you.”
A few months later, my wife told me it was time to visit her brother, and I was stunned. We showed up at his house unannounced; He opened the door and said, “I have nothing to say to you.” My wife said, “We need to talk.” Her brother came out on the front porch with her, and I went into the house to a surprised sister-in-law who did not know we were coming.
Approximately two hours later, my wife and her brother walked in and were hugging. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they had been reconciled!
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This is the way—from glory to glory.
THE PRAYER
Abba Father, we thank you for this story of forgiveness, redemption, and reconciliation. It is unfortunately such a tragically common occurrence and all too often uncommon outcome. We pray your mighty hand of deliverance for the children who are now suffering such things. Increase our vigilance and embolden our intervention in such situations in every way possible. We pray courage, grace, and supernatural healing for those who suffered such violence in their past. And yes, we pray for those who have committed such violence on helpless others, recognizing they, too, so often have been caught in the intergenerational cycles of sin. Though we can never excuse this, you can redeem them and break the vicious cycles. Come Holy Spirit and intervene rapidly and comprehensively. Praying in Jesus’ name, amen.
THE QUESTION
What kinds of questions and responses does this evoke in you?
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
3 Responses
It is wonderful that our sister found such peace through forgiveness, and that forgiveness and redemption is possible after such a terrible act of violence.
But you ask for our questions and responses.
After the joy comes dark thoughts: ‘what if she wasn’t the only one, what if he had also abused others?’ Forgiveness is good!! But leaving such crimes unreported is wrong. We must be entirely open, and honest about horrors like this, not cover them up. The church especially must not hide such crimes behind closed doors of internal dealings. Opening up helps others deal with abuse, hiding allows abuse to carry on.
Again God bless this woman for her forgiving heart. I do not know if I could do the same.
Forgiving in Jesus’ name breaks the demonic hold of bitterness, resentment, rejection, and above all, fear.
The voices are real, and it is evil. And it has a hold on everyone through the sinful nature, the knowledge of evil. Until we accept Christ as Lord, evil abounds in all. It’s the spiritual war everyone partakes in, but no one wants to admit it.
Ephesians 6:12-
12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
There is more involved than what our five senses detect.
James 1:14
14 “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”
We are created good by God, we are born with evil because of the Fall.
Luke 10:17
“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
Jesus’ name is above all. We can’t, but Christ can through us as He does it for us.
John 3:8
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
Love and forgiveness allow Jesus to destory the devil’s works in us.
Her brother was my uncle. Different person, same demonic force.
Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do, that they are doing the devil’s works; killing, stealing, and destroying.
But you, Lord, came to give us life to the fullness.
I pray for the power of peace through forgiveness in Jesus’s name to all who suffer from past, present, or future sexual abuse.
The evil one won’t let go on his own, but Jesus, You break the chain he’s holding that keeps us bound.
Amen
Staying 💪’n Christ,
Doc
We will never know all the details of this story, but we can be certain that this was an example of where the spiritual powers of darkness were destroyed by the redeeming blood of Christ. Jesus Christ is Victorious! Amen!