Today’s sky is overcast. Unlike the adjacent photo taken recently in Wyoming, today's sky has few clouds, but rather is gray and filled with rain. Heavier rain and storms are due later. The forecast can only warn so much, but the outcome of the storm’s impact is never certain until the end of the storm. The end of the day.
And such is the same in far too many households. Every day, children, the affected spouse, or other household members go about their days in wait of the next storm. The only certainty is that it will happen again and again. Waiting in fear that the next storm might be worse. More hate-filled words. More bruises. More brokenness. More pain.
The cycle can continue for generations if it isn’t broken. Children who grow up in domestic violence situations often either grow to be adults who feel that it is somehow “normal” or worse, grow up to be abusers themselves.
Fortunately, there is hope. Friend, if you have been or are currently experiencing a domestic violence situation, please know that you are not alone. If your abuser has made you feel locked down due to control (finances, physical, emotional, mental), know that you do have options, even in what feels like the most impossible situations. Seek shelter, not just in a physical sense, but a spiritual shelter as well…through Jesus Christ. If you don’t yet know Him and His eternal Salvation, I pray that you would seek Him. Psalm 32:7 (ESV) "You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah."
*I want to pause for a moment and say that being a Christian does NOT mean that bad things will not happen to you. We live in a fallen, sinful world. However, knowing Christ as your Savior will change your spiritual heart, soul, your eternity, and will provide you a spiritual healing and peace unlike anything the world has to offer. He will give you the strength each day to heal. He will be with you, even while you are weathering life's storms.
If you’ve broken free of your abuser, the next thing to remember is to raise any children you may have to know that abuse is not acceptable. Raise them with love, teach forgiveness instead of bitterness, teach kindness instead of selfishness. These are all Biblical truths that I hope you can pass down to the next generation. Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
If you’ve been or are the abuser, know that you need help, too. Know that for those who are truly repentant and willing to turn from their sin, there is forgiveness, grace, and true salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. If you want to turn from your sin, sincerely desire to change, find Godly counsel to help. Romans 3:23-24 (ESV) " for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."
The domestic violence cycle must end. Putting a bandaid on the cycle only goes so far before the bandaid is ripped off. Seek permanent freedom from the pain, sin, and destructive path of domestic violence—freedom only true Salvation in Jesus Christ can bring.
I want to close by sharing resources that can help if you or a loved one is in a domestic violence relationship. The first is the US National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the second is FOCUS Ministries (Faith Based Support). If neither of these sites apply to you where you live, the general information is still useful, and I urge you to find a safe way to gather local resources, or if none exist where you are, I pray you are able to find a safe place to go.
And such is the same in far too many households. Every day, children, the affected spouse, or other household members go about their days in wait of the next storm. The only certainty is that it will happen again and again. Waiting in fear that the next storm might be worse. More hate-filled words. More bruises. More brokenness. More pain.
The cycle can continue for generations if it isn’t broken. Children who grow up in domestic violence situations often either grow to be adults who feel that it is somehow “normal” or worse, grow up to be abusers themselves.
Fortunately, there is hope. Friend, if you have been or are currently experiencing a domestic violence situation, please know that you are not alone. If your abuser has made you feel locked down due to control (finances, physical, emotional, mental), know that you do have options, even in what feels like the most impossible situations. Seek shelter, not just in a physical sense, but a spiritual shelter as well…through Jesus Christ. If you don’t yet know Him and His eternal Salvation, I pray that you would seek Him. Psalm 32:7 (ESV) "You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah."
*I want to pause for a moment and say that being a Christian does NOT mean that bad things will not happen to you. We live in a fallen, sinful world. However, knowing Christ as your Savior will change your spiritual heart, soul, your eternity, and will provide you a spiritual healing and peace unlike anything the world has to offer. He will give you the strength each day to heal. He will be with you, even while you are weathering life's storms.
If you’ve broken free of your abuser, the next thing to remember is to raise any children you may have to know that abuse is not acceptable. Raise them with love, teach forgiveness instead of bitterness, teach kindness instead of selfishness. These are all Biblical truths that I hope you can pass down to the next generation. Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
If you’ve been or are the abuser, know that you need help, too. Know that for those who are truly repentant and willing to turn from their sin, there is forgiveness, grace, and true salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. If you want to turn from your sin, sincerely desire to change, find Godly counsel to help. Romans 3:23-24 (ESV) " for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."
The domestic violence cycle must end. Putting a bandaid on the cycle only goes so far before the bandaid is ripped off. Seek permanent freedom from the pain, sin, and destructive path of domestic violence—freedom only true Salvation in Jesus Christ can bring.
I want to close by sharing resources that can help if you or a loved one is in a domestic violence relationship. The first is the US National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the second is FOCUS Ministries (Faith Based Support). If neither of these sites apply to you where you live, the general information is still useful, and I urge you to find a safe way to gather local resources, or if none exist where you are, I pray you are able to find a safe place to go.