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
