“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” 1 John 5:4 NLT
As I mentioned a bit in my testimony, when I finally broke away from the abusive environment of my past, I had all the best intentions to start fresh and change the course of my future. I held on to the little glimpse of hope that things would be different going forward and I set out thinking that it would simply be a decision, a choice, to live differently. I believed that if I simply tried to put it all behind me and just forget about it, time would eventually heal all the hurts and the memories would somehow just fade away.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that what I really needed was to overcome what had happened to me, not run away from it. I was instead hoping that eventually, I would outrun it or run far away enough to where I could no longer hear it, feel it or even sense it. But the truth was that I had to turn around, face it and overcome what it had done to my life. As scary as that was, it was in this moment that I realized my need for Jesus greater than ever before. The only way I was going to be able to face this head on and not back down or settle for anything less was with someone much stronger than me and with someone who had all the right answers standing right beside me, holding my hand the whole way through. I can’t imagine what would have become of my life if I would have simply given into the lie that it could never get better, or that it would simply go away over time. To this day, whenever I hear women who have been abused allow that lie to settle in their hearts, it strikes such a strong nerve in my core I can hardly stand it.
The journey to healing looks different for every single person. But regardless of the story or the journey, the goal is the same: Overcoming. Every person’s story is different and unique. Abuse strikes in such a deep way at the very core of our being, and it wounds each person in a different way. Starting the journey towards healing is a walk of faith. You don’t know exactly what’s going to happen along the way, but you step out believing that God has got your back and will guide you.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
While you may not be able to see yourself healed here in the beginning right now, know that it is there up ahead, waiting for you.
Overcoming basically means that even though you can’t change the past, you can change things to make sure what happened in your past doesn’t hinder your future. Through giving these areas to Jesus, He heals and restores the areas where it hurt so deeply. The fact that I was abused is still very much a part of my life and always will be. However – the difference is that now, it’s not a deal to me anymore. It no longer has control over me.
I start out with this topic of overcoming to give you a glimpse of where this journey of healing can lead you. I’m not saying overcoming is a destination where we “arrive in our walk with God” and have it all figured out. Our walk with God is a lifetime journey, and we grow and learn all along the way. But what I am saying is that God can and wants to do a healing work in you from the abuse so that you don’t live life vulnerable to triggers or painful memories from your past.
Know for a fact that God is willing and waiting for you to let Him in and He will be so faithful to meet you right where you are and He will finish the work He begins if you let Him.
