Isaiah 55:11
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
One of the hardest things to do in ministry is speak absolute truth to someone when they’re not able to hear it because the devils lies are so strong in their life. I’m sure anyone reading this can relate to a time where someone asked them for advice and once you gave it they did the opposite. Even though that is frustrating we have to realize that all we can do is offer that advice, whether someone listens to it or not is not up to us. We don’t have power over people to control their emotions, thoughts or actions. But for those good moments when you give them advice or point them straight to the word of God and they listen, you get to see healing.
Here’s one of those moments.
Our speaker told part of her testimony, she spoke about abuse; how she fell into it and how God delivered her from it. She spoke with a passion that caught everyones attention, they realized that this wasn’t for her benefit but for theirs. She used 1 Corinthians 13 passage about love and asked that everyone put their name where the word love was. “If you’re not sure if you show the love of God, or if you think you’re spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or friend isn’t showing love put that name where the word love is in that verse, it will show you if they or you have a life full of love or not.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…”
As she finished she told everyone that the next skit was about abuse and if anyone needed to leave the room they were more than free to at anytime. We had barely started the skit when I noticed a young woman with puffy red eyes in the second row. It appeared that she had cried during our speakers testimony and couldn’t stop.
We don’t need to get into gory details because God doesn’t want our pain to be a show, he wants to deliver us from it and use it to help others.
Everything was going smoothy until a scream from on stage triggered her, the girl got up and ran out barely able to breathe. I followed after as she ran down the hallway. When I reached her, she was shaking so badly that she needed to be held up as we hugged. Her knees were buckling and she gasped for breath. All she could get out was.
“That…that’s exactly what happened to me.”
She said our speakers testimony was her exact testimony.
Another lady joined me in comforting this hurting young woman. We brought her to a sitting position and hugged her as tight as we could.
She told us it had been years since the relationship but it still hurt her so badly. She told us that she had been in the abusive relationship for two years, he would call her everyday questioning her and making sure she didn’t “break the rules” she wasn’t allowed to
have friends.
This girl cried and cried. She was being vulnerable and honest for the first time with someone in years, she told us what used to be said to her on a daily basis and what she was made to do for his enjoyment.
You could see God working, we saw as she received answers.
The other lady was older and shared this with the girl.
“The devils a liar and even more you can see how uncreative he is. You’re story and her story are the exact same because the devil can’t come up with anything else.”
The girl breathed easier as we spoke of God’s true love. I could tell you the exact moment when her eyes received a new light. She looked up to both of us and told us how she was able to leave the abusive relationship. She painted the scene so well we thought we were there.
“I was friends with these two brothers, we went to college together. They were my best friends and they were so kind. My boyfriend hated them and I was told not to talk to them, see them or think about them. But I couldn’t I just leave them. So I lied to him. I told him that they didn’t go to class anymore and I never saw them. I lied for a whole semester to him because I wasn’t ready to say good bye to these boys. Then one day I realized that if I was with my boyfriend and I walked down the road I would have to pretend I didn’t know them.”
She became more alive the more she shared.
“But I realized that these boys loved me more than my boyfriend could ever love me. At college they stood up for me when I was harassed, they respected all women and they never misled anyone. They were honest to girls and didn’t mistreat them. I looked at our friendship then I looked at my relationship and I realized that my boyfriend didn’t know what love was and neither did I.”
She cried as we prayed over her. She had a sisterly and a motherly figure right beside her, loving her.
She didn’t get to see the last skit and how it ended but that was more than fine because that night she was able to put an end to the feeling of emptiness and open up to receive healing. She was done with holding on and even though she knew she needed more healing she was ready to start the journey.
Philippians 1:6
“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
We didn’t just leave hoping for the best, we left knowing that God is a faithful God. We left sure that when God speaks something it will come to fruition. So take courage in the fact that whatever you’re dealing with God is not looking to slap a bandaid on it, but he is looking to complete it.
He will bring to completion every good work He has started, so don’t put confidence in yourself but take faith in the savior who lives in you.