Dear brother and
sister in Christ, I want to share with you a
testimony I heard once and it touched me very deeply
and it was an inspiration to write the message I
have today. So before I get into the message, I will
share it with you:
On a Sunday morning
I was in church and just before they called the
preacher, a woman was invited to the pulpit to give
the congregation a word of encouragement. While
greeting the church, she spoke some words of comfort
and shouted some words of praise. Right after, she
invited the church to open the bible to 1 Samuel 30
and before she began to read, under the leadership
of the Holy Spirit, she moved out from the pulpit
and started comforting the brokenhearted ones,
especially those who have been abused or victimized
by a loved one or a family member.
She said, “I have
many things to thank the Lord for. Maybe you don’t
know why I praise, dance and shot in the presence of
the Lord. If you only knew where God has brought me
from . . .”
Then she began her
testimony saying to the church that when she was a
baby, she had been abused by her mother.
She came from a
broken family. Her mother was Black and her father
was white. Her mother didn’t want to raise a child
and she as the first and only child of her mother.
For some people and
in some neighborhoods, the color of your skin is
still a problem and she definitely was part of that
problem being of mixed blood.
She said that the
white folds would consider her too Black to be among
them. On the other hand, the Black folks would say
she was too white. So being rejected by her mother
and society she was alone and unloved.
She suffered abuse
throughout her entire childhood. Once she was found
by her aunt in the oven, and on another occasion,
someone else found her inside a trash can. Folks
thought that she was going crazy because she used to
hear some voices and that could be a natural
consequence after being abused, left alone and
feeling as if none cared about her nor loved her.
But one day, among
some many dark moments, she had lived and after the
devil telling her that she would never amount to
anything in life, she heard a voice that said “Jesus
loves you; He cares for you.”
In that moment she
remembered her grandparents were Christians, and
they have always prayed for her even though she
never understood anything about prayer and Jesus.
In that very moment
her life changed. She found out she was not alone as
she had thought. She had found someone who cared and
loved here, and from that day on, Jesus came into
her broken heart and began the reconstruction work,
shaping that life that once was so mistreated by
life.
Decidedly, she
invited Jesus into her heart to change her life, to
take away all the pain and suffering she had, as
well as taking away the feeling of revenge she had
towards her mother. Jesus did it all, praise Him.
Jesus made her a new
creature; forgave her sins; changed her mind and
heart and gave her a new meaning of life.
She didn’t know that
through all suffering and pain, Jesus was beside her
at all times. Now that she knows, it explains why
many times she was spared of death.
With a new life in
Christ, she forgave her mother and phones her. Her
mother was dying; she had contracted AIDS at age 43.
To make a long story short, she forgave her mother,
ministered to her the word of God and her mother
accepted Jesus as Savior. Today she is confident
that although she lost her mother’s body, Jesus has
saved her mother’s spirit.
This woman, Ms.
Linda B., today became a chaplain working with
prison ministries as well as a minister of God
everywhere she goes. She finalized her testimony by
saying: “Forgive and forget the past! That is the
only way you can move forth and live peacefully in
your with Christ. If Jesus did it all for me, He
will do it for you.”
It was a testimony
worth more than many sermons I have ever heard. I
praise the power of God who changes life!
Friend, after
reading this testimony about God’s transforming
power, it encourages you to look up, lift you head
up, forgive the past and let it go. This testimony
gives you enough light of God’s care and love for
your life. Yet I just want to add a few more words
of encouragement.
“Though my father
and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”
Psalm 27:10 (NIV)
Many people, even
adult and mature Christians, come from a childhood
of abuse and loneliness. Many children were victims
of their own parents, victims of abuse, torture and
rejection. Ms. Linda B. was one of them.
Usually a child that
goes through this ordeal of life becomes very angry,
full of hate, aggressive and isolated. While others
react to it in a passive way, regardless of their
reaction to the trauma of abuse, all of them have a
broken heart that needs to be restored.
If you or were a
victim of any kind of abuse, especially the domestic
ones and you feel that no one can love or that no
one cares about you, dear friends, I’ve got great
news. Jesus! He loves and cares for you. Psalm
27:10 says that even if your parents forsake you
God will receive you. Isn’t that great?
Although you may not
realize it, you are never alone. God is always
present in or around us. Sometimes we can’t explain
why certain things happen to us, but something I can
assure you of, in the moment you call upon Jesus’
name, He will manifest help and deliver you out of
any trouble. He will turn your situation around and
give you a new life.
Jesus said: “I am
the bread of life. No one who come to me will every
be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never
thirst.” John 6:35 (NIV) Then Jesus said,
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry
heavy burdens, and I will give you rest . . .”
Matthew 11:28 (NLT)
I truly don’t know
how hurt you might have been, but Jesus knows, and
today he is inviting you to surrender your burden,
your hatred, your disillusions and problems over to
Him.
Are you tired and
weary or carrying your burdens and traumas by
yourself? Well, our merciful Lord, Jesus Christ,
wants to give you His rest. He said that if you are
willing to give all your burdens and cares to Him,
He will take them upon Him, and you can walk free of
their weight. Matthew 11:26
Not only that, but if you accept His offer and
come to Him by faith to receive the bread of life,
you will never go hungry again. Yes, it is all true!
When you come to Jesus, you must set your heart to
receive Him as Savior and Lord, believing in Him
with your heart and confessing with your mouth. Then
at that moment you are born again. That means that
you have been saved. Romans 10:9, 10, 13
“Therefore if anyone
is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has
gone, the new has come.” 2Corinthians 5:17
(NIV)
“But he who unites
himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.”
1 Corinthians 6:17
If you just got
save, Amen! If you have been saved long ago, praise
the Lord because what matters is that you are a new
person.
2 Corinthians 5:17
says that all the wrongs, abuses and tortures you
have received in the past are gone, as well as all
of your sins. Now you’ve got the Holy Spirit of God
dwelling in you to enable you to leave your painful
memories in the past life and apply the forgiveness
in your new life. The time is to let it go. By
leaving the bad behind you are moving forth toward
the new future of blessings and joy in our Lord
Jesus.
“If you forgive
those who sin (abuse, mistreated, wronged) you, your
heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse
to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your
sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT)
When you come to
Jesus and accept Him as Lord and savior, God
automatically forgives your sins and mistakes. Then
in your new life in Christ if you fail against Him
and commit a sin again, He will forgive you as long
as you confess (but with one condition). 1 John
1:19 You must forgive those who have wronged,
abused or sinned against you.
That’s why you as a
new person in Christ must let it go; don’t hold any
grudge against others. Instead, forgive them,
exchange hate for love, revenge for kindness.
Being a new creature
isn’t something real and visible until you decide to
walk as a new person. It may demand some sacrifice
in the beginning to love and forgive those who have
abused you, but you know what? You can do it because
the Holy Spirit dwells in you and the love of God
has been shed in your heart. Romans 5:5 So it
doesn’t depend on you alone, but on the spirit and
love of God which runs in you.
Many people pray to
Jesus and God to help them with their problems and
burdens. Yet, they can’t find rest because they are
trapped by their mind into the very same problems
and burdens that Jesus was suppose to take upon Him.
Let me tell you the truth. You must leave the heavy
burdens of your painful past in Jesus’ hand and
don’t take it back. Start walking by faith declaring
the peace and joy of the Lord because now He is in
charge. And you don’t need to worry any more. “Cast
all your anxiety (complaints, grieves and sorrows)
on Him for He cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7
Your past or the
abuses that you may have suffered didn’t kill you
but holding on to the pain and sorrow of it may
bring you death. Pain and suffering come to all of
us in different seasons of our lives. Even if you
suffered abuse or rejection when you were a child,
it was allowed by God for a purpose. Ms. Linda B.
found out that through suffering as a child, she got
prepared for the work God had for her. You can’t
predict the trials, but you can get the best out of
them.
You aren’t
different. Trials and tribulations, whether you are
young or adult, will make you stronger or it will
break you down. The decision is yours; either find
help in Jesus or you will never find peace nor joy.
Joseph, the son of
Jacob, was sold as a slave by his own brothers. He
was thrown in jail although being innocent and
suffered for many years. Yet, despite being
sorrowful or full of hatred, he trusted God, and in
the end, he was exalted as a governor of Egypt. He
forgave his bothers and continued loving them. This
was possible because he yields to God.
Joseph chose to walk
in light instead of darkness. In the midst of all
his painful moments, God lifted him up comforted
him. The reason why God put him through all that
adversity instead of an easier way, he may not know.
But one thinks he knows and says: “But Joseph said
to them, don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for
good to accomplish what now is being done, the
saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:19-20
(NIV)
Joseph’s brothers
being jealous of him wanted to see him dead, but
what they intended for bad God turned it for good.
God will do the same
for you. Though you enemy (Satan) has used others to
harm you, if you allow God in the picture, he can
turn it into good to fulfill the perfect plan He has
for your life.
You are a loving
child of God, and the greatest proof of love shown
by God is Jesus who died for you to have eternal
life through Him and the comfort of His Holy
Spirit.
So before you think
that you are alone or that you can’t make it,
remember what God has said: “The Lord Himself goes
before you and will be with you; He will never leave
nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be
discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
As you read the
testimony of Ms. Linda B., who was abused as a child
and grew up with hatred and a broken heart, that
didn’t stop her from finding the needed help in
Jesus who changed her cry into joy. Today, she
became an adult full of love as any other child born
in a home full of love only because Jesus loves her
and she received His love and care. Jesus
transformed her ashes into her beauty.
I encourage you to
the same. Forget, forgive and let it go. This is
your way to victory; this is the way of being
blessed by the Lord.
“The Lord is near to
all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in
truth. He fulfills the desires of those who dear
him; He hears their cry and saves them. Psalm
145: 18-19 (NIV)
Cry to the Lord and
He will heal you.
God Bless You!
Servant of God
Rev. Wanderson Da Silva
