In this brief pastoral dialogue, Speaker A references Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to ask how survivors of abuse can find hope in Christ. Speaker B responds by emphasizing that abuse victims must approach God with truthful, honest expression of their pain, anger, and fear. Because abuse often involves manipulation and a distorted father figure, the transition to seeing God as a compassionate Father can be difficult. Speaker B reassures that God welcomes honest emotion, is "big enough" to receive their hurt, and offers a character—comfort, safety, and love—that contrasts sharply with the abusive earthly father. The conversation underscores the theological basis (blessed are the persecuted, the mourners) and provides practical pastoral guidance for survivors seeking spiritual healing.
Chapters
Yeah, boy, that reminds me of, you know, when Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we know from Matthew 5, was saying, blessed are those who, and he listed a number of characteristics, right? Those who mourn, those who are persecuted, those who, you know, are poor in spirit, for they, and then he talked about the ways that they would specifically experience God's ministry to them. And part of what I hear you saying is that You know, Jesus would say, blessed are you though you've been abused, for you will experience the comfort of Jesus' presence in the pain. You know, things like that. And is there a way that you would say that differently, or maybe say to someone who's experienced abuse, what can they, when they turn to Jesus, what can they expect to receive instead of more abuse, what will they see in him?
I think that it's important that they know when they turn to Jesus that they have to be willing and get good, accurate, truthful information that they can be honest with God. I think because of just the dynamics of abuse where there's so much manipulation and fear element involved, that they have to know that God wants them to come to Him honestly, and they can expect Him to have the character that they haven't had before. And so, and that's difficult. And so the dynamics of abuse right away, a lot of times abuse, especially like in childhood abuse where it can be the father, and then to come to God the Father, that's quite a transition. So I think that you have to know that you've got this person that whether they're an adult or still dealing, you know, like if they get pulled out of the home and now they're a teenager or something, that they're coming to God fearful. You know, it was a father that did this and it was a man that did this, whether they're a boy or a girl. And God is, you know, the father image. And they haven't been able to deal with truth because it would have got them in more trouble. And they're fearful and they don't think they can maybe approach honestly. And that's not true. God, you can approach honestly. You can be very expressive with the anger, with the pain, with the hurt. And God is big enough to take that.
