2Timothy 1:7(ESV)
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Jeanene just found out that her teenage daughter’s boyfriend has been abusing her. She was fuming and could hardly talk from the anger she feels. Her daughter has somehow got it into her head that abusive behavior is okay. She sees her boyfriend’s outbursts and aggression as his passionate love for her, and she has refused to end the relationship. Jeanene is at her wit’s end. She doesn’t know what else to do, and she can’t figure out how her daughter who was ‘so smart and sweet’ is now sneaking out of the house at all hours of the night to meet this boy. He has a hold on her daughter like nothing she’s ever seen before, and Jeanene believes that if she pushes any further, she might lose her.

Some have labeled domestic violence as the quiet epidemic, because its victims are often silent and hidden behind a façade of normalcy. It is also very true that like Jeanene’s daughter, abusive relationships can be addictive and obsessive. Without Godly wise and caring guidance and intervention, it can become a pattern of choosing partners that are manipulative, controlling, and threatening. The statistics are staggering when it comes to the percentage of both women and men that have experienced some degree of abuse in a relationship. Many teens are normalizing this behavior and parents are not always proactive about conversations on the subject.

There are many families dealing with a loved one that is in an abusive relationship, and it can be emotionally exhausting. We might feel like giving up, but the Lord Jesus Christ offers us hope and we must grab it with both hands. Everything is spiritual, and this is a truth that many people overlook. 2Corinthians 10:3-4(NIV) says, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” A stronghold is a pattern of thoughts and behaviors that are introduced by the demonic and are not aligned with God’s truth. They are wrong beliefs and lies that impact attitudes, emotions, and behaviors in a harmful and obsessive way.

1Peter 5:8(NIV) warns, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”We need to watch out and remain on alert for obsessive and idolatrous thoughts because these are used by the enemy against us. When our children have these kinds of thoughts and behaviors, sometimes we don’t recognize it until they are in a serious situation. As we do our best to help them, we cannot afford to leave out the spiritual weaponry of faith and prayer.

God is greater than any problem or situation we could ever face, and we need to be confident that He is willing and able to help us. 1Corinthians 10:13(NLT) tells us, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” The answers and the way out come from God, and we need to trust in this with our whole hearts.

Whether it is a family member or our own personal abusive relationship, we must never give up on God’s grace, mercy, and power. We need Him and He wants us to lean on Him in every situation of life. 2Corinthians 10:4 reminds us that the weapons we fight with are not of the flesh, in other words, the human mind can’t come up with the powerful weapons that we use; as God’s children, our weapons are spiritual, and through Christ, they destroy any stronghold. So, never lose faith and never give up. Trust the Lord with all your heart, and have confidence that there’s no situation, no stronghold, that He God cannot heal, deliver, resolve, restore, and make better.■   

 Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

“Don’t Give Up on God”, written for DomesticAbuseAwareness.Org ©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!