MENTORING Sexually Abused Women
COAST is an acronym for "Courage to Overcome All Sexual Trauma"
Feature Article: NO MORE SECRETS!
NO MORE SECRETS!
Do you hear the lies? "I'll never overcome the pain. I'm broken. I'm damaged beyond repair. If people knew the truth about my past, they would judge me. I'm afraid that the nightmares and flashbacks will never end. I feel invisible in a crowd. I can't set boundaries. The shame and guilt are killing me. I have to self-medicate. Why do I end up in one bad relationship after another? What's wrong with me? I'm worthless."
We've heard these negative, self-destructive thoughts and accusations replicated in our brains until we've come to believe them. Has it ever occurred to you that they may be lies?
How do we know what is truth? First, let's look at what truth is not.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
"...there is no truth in him [Satan]. When he lies, he speaks out of his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44(b)
Now that we know what truth is not, this is what truth is:
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
"Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." John 17:17
We must discern the difference between the truth and a lie. The only way to know this is to know Jesus. To know him, we must read the Bible to know what he said and taught. But just knowing about Jesus isn't enough. We must admit to God that we're a sinner and ask for him to forgive us. Jesus willingly took all the sins of the world upon himself when he died in our place on the cross. Three days later, he rose from the dead and was seated at the right hand of the Father. He conquered sin and death. In Him, we are forgiven of our sins and have eternal life.
If you just prayed and repented, surrendered your life to God, and invited Jesus into your heart, let me be the first to welcome you into the family of God. If you have questions, please contact me and I would be glad to speak with you. As soon as possible, find a local church that teaches solid doctrine and is centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Test what you hear against the Bible and ensure it is kept in context. Watch that no one adds to or takes away from the word of God. Corporate worship is not about being entertained or walking away feeling good about ourselves, The word of God instructs us, convicts us of sin, and teaches us to live as Jesus lived. Get involved in serving God. Ask what area the church needs volunteers in and sign up. Jesus came to search not as a mighty warrior, but as a servant. We please God when we serve him and glorify him in what we do and say. Join the women's or men's Bible study, as is appropriate.
Speaking to those in the family of God, to my Christian sisters and brothers, we cannot believe everything we think! We can and must control our thoughts. If it were not possible to control them, God would not have spoken these words:
"For God is not a God of confusion but of peace." 1 Co 14:33
"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5
Over our lifetime, we have accepted lies about who we are. The first thing we have to know is that Satan is a liar and has come to destroy us. He does not want us to love and serve God. He does not want us to heal.
"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
How can I battle those negative thoughts that seem to control my life? The answer is simple: we fight our enemy with the word of God, just as Jesus did in the desert. We reject statements about us that do not agree with what is written in God's word. If we have repented and called on the name of Jesus to save us, we belong to God. We are now his children, and all his promises are ours.
"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
What "things" will God use to work for our good? ALL THINGS. That means the good, the bad, and the ugly. God will make all of it work for our good. We don't know when where or how. We simply trust God and know that he'll use everything for our ultimate good as he planned before the foundation of the world.
There is no quick and simple path to healing. Only Jesus can take a wrecked life and restore it to sanity. He weaves the tears and tragedies of our lives into a spectacular tapestry to be presented to the Father, washed and redeemed by his blood. SALVATION comes all at once by GRACE ALONE, through FAITH ALONE, in CHRIST ALONE, according to SCRIPTURE alone, and to the GLORY OF GOD ALONE—nothing more and nothing less.
Refuse to believe salvation comes by an act of choice on our part. Salvation comes when God draws us to Himself.
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him on the last day." John 6:44
Look at that verse carefully. Who can come to Christ? "No one." Unless what? "Unless the Father draws him." And why is that? It's because we were DEAD IN SIN. DEAD. We were seeking God. Maybe we didn't walk up to the altar in an aisle at church because we hadn't been inside a church in years. God didn't throw us a life preserver when we were drowning. Those are all nice thoughts but that's not how we got saved because the Bible says we were dead in our sins.
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins." Ephesians 2:1
"DEAD" men can't swim. DEAD women can't walk. DEAD men can't repent or speak words. DEAD women can't grab a life preserver. WE WERE DEAD. Flat-out DEAD in our sin. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing to save ourselves.
"For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
Salvation had nothing to do with our choice. While we were DEAD in sin, GOD drew us close to Himself. He infused us with the FAITH to believe because of His amazing GRACE (receiving something we do not deserve). We believed because, by his grace, he gave us the faith to believe. It was 100% God who saved us. As the Bible says, there's nothing for us to boast about.
Sanctification is the PROCESS of becoming more like Christ and only BEGINS at the moment we are saved. Healing comes one day at a time as we keep our eyes on Jesus. We stop telling ourselves, "I can't do it," and replace it with Paul's words, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.
"Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love." 2 John 1:3
NO MORE SECRETS! by Peggy Knoth, Author
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