Why Read the Bible for Victims of Severe Abuse

Can Reading the Bible Help Victims of Severe Abuse?

Jesus was threatened, tormented, tortured, falsely accused, beaten, laughed at, and betrayed. Yes, Jesus was severely abused. Jesus knows your pain like nobody else, and only He can turn your pain into triumph. This is what you will find out when you read through the pages of the Bible.

You are reading this article because the title caught your attention. Perhaps you or someone you know has been severely abused, and you have a desire to help them. What you may not understand is that the best help you can get or give someone else is an understanding of what is written in the pages of the Bible. I tell people all of the time that if you do not read your Bible, you are not prepared for this life. “Why is it so important, you may ask?”

If you don’t read the Bible, how else will you know how much God, your creator, loves you? This is an important thing to understand — especially for those who have been severely abused and traumatized. If you don’t read your Bible, you may not have any hope of being healed, restored, and washed clean from the evil of this world? And if you don’t read your Bible, you don’t have a clear understanding of who Jesus really is. Jesus is incorrectly portrayed by the religions of the world. The evil actors of this world work very hard to pollute and distort the true nature of our wonderful, merciful Savior.

Here are five verses from the Bible that highlight God’s love for His people. These verses give us a glimpse of the enduring and boundless love that God has for us throughout the Bible:

• Jeremiah 31:3: “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’”

• Romans 8:38–39: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

• 1 John 4:9–10: “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

• Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

• Ephesians 2:4–5: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus is the only solution. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Jesus is not a weak character. He knows who He is, and He knows what He wants. Jesus is the highest authority next to God the Father, but God the Father gave all authority to His son Jesus: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’” (Matthew 28:18, NKJV). Not only is Jesus the highest authority on heaven and earth, He never fails, as He says in this verse: “The LORD is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame.” (Zephaniah 3:5) Isn’t it good to know that our God is all that and more? He is also perfect and worthy of our Trust: “As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30).

I also want to point out as it says in the verse above, the Word of the Lord is proven. The Word of the Lord — the Bible — is the Lord himself. You can actually find Him in the pages of the Bible: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).

So, if you read the Bible, you are reading Jesus, and, as the Psalmist says, your path will be lit up: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Jesus, more than anyone else, understands what you have been through. He was also severely abused and tortured, even to death.

Before Jesus was tried and crucified, he suffered intense persecution and death threats from the Pharisees who were the religious leaders of the day:

• Challenging His Authority: “Then the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to arrest Him.” (John 7:32)

• Questioning His Discipleship: “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him.” (Luke 16:14)

• Accusation of Breaking the Sabbath: “Therefore the Pharisees said to Him, ‘You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.’” (John 8:13)

• Accusation of Blasphemy: “The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God”(John 10:33).

• Confrontation about Washing Hands: “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, ‘Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?’” (Mark 7:5)

• Testing Him with the Question of Taxes: “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk” (Matthew 22:15).

• Questioning His Authority Again: “And when He had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?’” (Matthew 21:23)

• Conspiring to Kill Jesus: “Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” (Mark 3:6)

• Accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of the devil: “Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’”

These instances provide a glimpse into the continual barrage of verbal confrontations, hatred, and murderous intent that Jesus faced from the Pharisees during His ministry. However, nothing they did to Him could stop Him from completing His mission. His mission was to redeem mankind. We who know Him partner with Him in His work of saving, healing, and delivering. Honestly, I fell in love with Jesus because I got to know Him through the pages of the Bible: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8).

To that purpose, I can say a resounding, heartfelt — “YES!” On top of that, there is another aspect of the nature of the Lord that is important to understand. Jesus does not condemn us for our past. He only bids us to come unto Him. Let Him show you the way. Think of Him like a GPS map, if you get lost or take a wrong turn, the map will quickly reroute you. That is how Jesus is. There is no situation too hard for Him to handle. If you seek Him, He will lovingly guide you in the right direction: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1).

There is a beautiful story about a woman who sinned in the Bible and was brought before Jesus in John 8:2–12. His response was so loving and kind:

“Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’ Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”

A key phrase in this passage is where Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you.” When you come to Jesus, He does not condemn you, He gives you light so that you do not have to stumble in the darkness. How wonderful!

So, I challenge you to read your Bible and get to know Him. I guarantee you will never regret it, and you might get set free in the process: “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” (John 8:36).

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