(Psalms 30:2; 1 Peter 2:24)
1 out of every 12 children has experienced some form of abuse.
93% were abused by someone they know & trusted.
Each day 5 of those children die as a result of abuse.
30% of children that are abused & neglected will later abuse their own children
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an rape or attempted rape
About 3% of American men have been raped or attempted
Nearly 50% of the U.S. Population has a diagnosable, mental, emotional or behavioral disorder.
Job 1:1
…That man was honest, a person of absolute integrity; he feared God and avoided evil…
Job 2:9-10
…She says to him, “Are you still clinging to your integrity? Curse God, and die.” Job said to her, “You’re talking like a foolish woman. Will we receive good from God but not also receive bad?” In all this, Job didn’t sin with his lips.
Our Assumptive World View
1. The World is Good - We generally have optimistic views of “our” own world even if we are pessimistic about “the” (others) world…Our focus on ourselves overshadows any negative perceptions we might have about the world outside of us causing us to ultimately assume “the” world’s goodness
2. The World is Meaningful - there has to be a greater reason & a purpose for why things happen especially why bad things happen to good people.
3. The Self is Worthy - We see ourselves as good, capable, & moral individuals
Life does not always go the way we think it should…
Our Assumptions are shattered. There is a GAP between our expectations & what we experience.
Job 3:3-10
Job said:
3 Perish the day I was born, the night someone said, “A boy has been conceived.”
4 That day—let it be darkness; may God above ignore it, and light not shine on it.
5 May deepest darkness claim it and a cloud linger over it; may all that darkens the day terrify it.
6 May gloom seize that night; may it not be counted in the days of a year; may it not appear in the months.
7 May that night be childless; may no happy singing come in it.
8 May those who curse the day curse it, those with enough skill to awaken Leviathan.
9 May its evening stars stay dark; may it wait in vain for light; may it not see dawn’s gleam,
10 because it didn’t close the doors of my mother’s womb, didn’t hide trouble from my eyes.
4 Principles to help you begin the healing process...to help you find the right path...
1. We have to face our hurts, our pain, our brokenness... James 5:16 (CEB) For this reason, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous person is powerful in what it can achieve.
2. Ask yourself, do you want to be made well? John 5:6 (CEB) When Jesus saw him lying there, knowing that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
3. Forgive everyone = ...healing comes through forgiveness... Matthew 6:14-15 “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
4. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what your real issues are...and how you need to pray... Romans 8:26 (CEB) In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.