Abuse: Out of the Darkness
and into the LIGHT

Contributor Writer: Deborah Hunter

By nature, we tend to shy away from discussing certain subjects that cause us any kind of pain or discomfort. We are either afraid to confront the issue or we just outright deny that it exists. Abuse is one of those subjects that we would just rather not talk about. Whether it be physical, sexual or verbal; all forms of abuse, if we let them, can cause damage to our emotional state and ultimately destroy our lives.

You may be the person being abused, have been abused in your past or know of someone who has. Whatever the case may be, I encourage you to see that you are not alone and that there are people who care about you and that there is a way out of the darkness and into the light.

When bad things happen to us, the enemy comes in and plays on our weaknesses in order to distract us from the love that GOD wants to shower us with. (John 10:10) says that “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have in more abundantly.” (NKJV) Notice that it says the enemy does not come except to steal, kill and destroy. This is what he does. The ultimate goal for him is to take advantage of our pain and so confuse our thoughts with lies that we give in to them. My friend, the battle is in our minds. (2 Corinthians 10:15) says, “ casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (NKJV) We have to know who we are and even though the enemy tries to tell us differently, we have to cast those thoughts out and find out who God says we are.
To find out how something works or what its purpose is, we need to look to the owner’s manual. We were created by God so our owner’s manual is the Word of God. When we begin to see ourselves as God see us, the enemy will have no ground to play on and has to leave. Satan will have no place in your thoughts if you allow God to permeate them.

I know you are probably saying, “That’s easy for her to say, she’s never been abused before.” But on the contrary, I have, personally, as well as have family members and friends who have been abused. I found through the Word of God that I did not have to live in fear for the rest of my life because of someone else’s demons. I found from my experience that bad things happen to good people too. The Word of God did many things for me. It allowed me to judge the spirit that was taking over the person abusing me and not the individual, which helped me to forgive the person and pray for their deliverance. This is absolutely the power of God. I could not have done this in and of myself. I did not want to forgive this person or pray for them either. My life, as I saw it then, was ruined. I wanted this person to pay for what they did to me, but God stepped in and taught me how to forgive. This is by no means an easy thing to do, but (Matthew 19:26) says, “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, with men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” (NKJV)

You may have been physically abused and the scars and bruises are still evident; so were Jesus’s. You may have been sexually abused and made to feel like you were filthy; they spit on our Lord. You may have been verbally abused and told by your abuser that you were nothing; they called our Savior the devil. My point here is to show you that no matter what He went through, He knew who He was and He knew that VICTORY was on the other side. I encourage you to see how He was able to forgive His abusers and pray for them even as they were about to crucify Him.

There is deliverance in forgiveness. What the enemy meant for harm, God meant for your good. Don’t allow the enemy to steal the rest of your life from you. If it were up to Satan, he would have us sink into a deep depression, separating us from those who can help us. We begin to feel as if no one understands what we are going through and ultimately leading us to no longer want to live because of the pain and torment of our abuser.

My friend there is a way out of the darkness and into the light. (Hebrews 2:15) says, “and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”(NKJV) God tells us that there is a way out of darkness and that we do not have to live in bondage for the rest of our lives because of what has happened to us. Change your direction and turn it around for your good. Allow God to heal your wounds so that you can be released from the guilt and shame of your situation. This will allow you to look to your abuser and forgive them and pray for them to be set free as well. The deliverance of your abuser releases those demons out of them and causes them to no longer abuse. There is power in forgiveness. You are no longer a victim, but a victor. Take back your life from the enemy and use it as a testimony.