Our Father is so ready to turn our sorrows and sufferings into good, to bring beauty from the ashes of the past. Healing from victimization begins by trusting in this redeeming power. Knowing him as he truly is – a good Father willing to redeem all – will help us trust that he is at work in the process.
Once we offer the suffering of being victimized to Christ, the One who suffered for us, then he begins to release his redemption over time. We can wait, confident in his prevailing, overcoming love, giving God time to work things out. It may come differently that we expect. But we keep asking and trusting!
Part of overcoming victimhood is becoming empowered individuals, certain of our true identity in Christ. We begin to take our lives back one choice at a time. We turn our victim grievances not into the comfort of self-pity but into becoming persons of choice, responsibility and faith. We begin to establish our own identity as a non-victim, an individual of worth, dignity and purpose. When we decide to eliminate our victim mentality, we begin to see ourselves differently, with wholeness and possibility.
Another essential is that we deal with the shame that often attaches from being a victim. We can feel so much regret and shame that we were in a situation that allowed mistreatment. Sometimes we have had no choice, but sometimes we have had participation in our own victimhood. In this also, we come to the Cross and offer our shame and pain to the One who suffered for us.
In the process, we enlist others in the body of Christ to walk alongside us, giving support and wise counsel and healing prayers. They can often see what we cannot. Freedom and wholeness await us as we offer our pain to Him, choosing to reclaim our lives as we trust him.
Bình luận