Saturday, 30th November, 2024
Bible Reading: Revelation 21:4
Memory Verse: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
Shall we consider the testimony of Ashley who is from a dysfunctional family, was abused, and how God came through for her.
Her Broken Home
Ashley’s story had a rocky start, a messy middle but a beautiful ending. In her words: I grew up fighting battles on all sides, in the world, in my heart, and at home. My parents went through an absolutely horrendous divorce when I was 3-years-old. My mother left my father for another man and I had to live with my step dad very abruptly. That man was my stepfather for the next 22 years. The dysfunction of a broken home plagued my childhood. My parents struggled to co-parent across all of that pain and my siblings and I got caught in the cross-fire.
I was constantly going back and forth between houses and trying to make sense of this new family dynamics. None of those involved were Christians and there was no sense of grace, forgiveness or peace within my home. My parents often spent their money on indulgences such as gambling and drugs, so they struggled to make ends meet. In my home, there was constant emotional & physical abuse and I never really felt stable or safe.
Childhood Trauma
In addition to an impoverished and damaging home life, I also experienced trauma outside my home. I was repeatedly molested by a friend’s brother for many years during my early childhood. My friend’s family was aggressively religious and I regularly attended church with them. These events coloured my view of Christianity and God for most of my teen and young adult years. This caused a lot of confusion for me about who God was. How could He allow such a terrible thing to occur in my life?
Since I was in church a lot as a child, I heard over and over again the message of purity. I didn’t fully understand what was happening to me, but I knew I felt soiled and ruined. The message of the world taught me that my womanhood itself was a temptation. Because of that, I struggled to accept the Gospel and I believed I was not worthy of love at all. My mind led me to believe I was to be blamed for my abuse.
I had friends who continued to drag me to church on Sunday mornings, to vacation Bible school and youth events but I had a hardness around my heart that took many years to soften. Any time I began to let my guard down I ended up hurt by broken people in the Church and this kept the wall up around my heart for a long time.
Observation: The emotional crisis many people found themselves dates back to their traumatic family background which was further compounded by sexual abuse, worst still, amongst wolves in sheep clothing who have not crucified their flesh.
Quote: The family is the basic unit of the society. A traumatic family will always produce traumatic children.
Prophetic Decree: I break the chain of every evil programming in your emotional state, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. My Father, heal every broken home in the name of Jesus.
2. I scatter by fire any evil divination programmed to scatter families, in Jesus name.
3. Witchcraft curses issued to scatter Christian homes, be annul by the power in the Blood of Jesus.
4. Any evil verdict against Christian homes, be cancelled by the atoning Blood of Jesus, in Jesus name.
5. Every wolf in sheep clothing, be exposed and disgraced in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Corinthians 5-8
