I wouldn’t have chosen this path, but God redeemed my painful losses and deep wounds to shape me into the woman I’m becoming. ~ Melissa ~ Shelley’s Story, page 161
I’ve been living in Dallas, Texas, for nearly 40 years, which is quite a contrast to my hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii. Whenever I visit what was once home, the laid-back atmosphere of island living lowers my blood pressure by 10 points. And I’m hit with nostalgia—the sweet fragrance of ginger blossoms, the refreshing daily passing showers of Nu‘uanu Valley, the multi-cultural blend of the people, and the part I miss the most—the “local food.”
While on vacation, I maintain my morning walk routine. Walking through a neighborhood one morning brought back a memory from the third grade. Miss Ching’s math lesson was interrupted by a thunderous boom! Standing by the windows to retrieve a book from his “cubby,” Timmy shouted, “I saw it, I saw it!” Dynamite was used to blast boulders at the construction site in the valley below, clearing a path for new roads and laying out lots for the construction of new homes.
Miss Ching put a bookmark in her math lesson and pivoted to civil engineering. Twenty-seven excited eight-year-olds rushed to the windows. The blasts from the dynamite had begun a few days earlier, but this was the first time we witnessed the boulders being blown to bits. The land being cleared became the neighborhood where I took my morning walk.
I just realized that it was more than sixty years ago. (Okay, you can stop doing the math. Age is just a number, right?)
Let’s switch gears for a moment and dream a bit. Imagine going back in time and charting out your life from childhood to the present. What do you envision? Being a carefree kid with loving parents and trips to Disney World? Taking vacations to exotic locations? Living happily married with children, whose academic and athletic achievements make you proud? Having a successful business that provides financial freedom and security? While the details of our ideal life vary, we would similarly chart out an obstacle-free path to a prosperous and pain-free life, right? Isn’t that what Jesus meant when He said He came to give us an “abundant life” (John 10:10)?
Dreaming big is fun and harmless, but a vision of a life with no pitfalls or pain doesn’t align with reality. Life happens, and we’re never in total control of our destiny. Even the most faithful followers of Christ experience brokenness and trauma. Satan is constantly on the prowl, seeking out victims to “devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The younger we are when we’re victimized, the less equipped we are to deal with the trauma. And if we don’t have a “go-to person,” we’re left to figure out a way to make life work. It’s called survival.
Wounds from mental, emotional, sexual, spiritual, or physical abuse create internal boulders that block the road to healing. These boulders, such as broken trust, unforgiveness, shame, and false guilt, as well as fear, anger, and low self-worth, can feel impossible to overcome. However, there is hope in Jesus for healing and wholeness from soul wounds. Before He left this world, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to be with, in, and for us as the source of power to heal (John 14:16-17).
Peter said of the Holy Spirit, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness … so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4). The Greek word for power here is dunamis, from which we get the word dynamite. The Holy Spirit is the source of dunamis to heal the wounds of the past and transform us from victims to survivors to overcomers.
You may have been a victim, but that fact doesn’t define who you are, nor should it limit your vision of who you can become. You’ve survived. As a survivor, you may have learned to cope with your wounds and covered them well. But God’s destiny for you extends beyond being a survivor to being an overcomer—someone who rises above their painful past and lives with joy and peace.
Is your aim to be an overcomer? Then yield to the power of God to work in and through you. And there’s one more level for you to consider. God has called some overcomers to go beyond and be influencers. A spiritual influencer for sexual abuse was a victim who has not only survived but has overcome and now thrives, imparting the hope of God’s power to transform past woundedness from abuse into victorious living!
You may not feel called to be an influencer, and that’s okay. But don’t limit your vision of what God can do in and through you. Let’s walk this healing journey together and let God reveal His destiny for you!
Stop and consider …
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