False Beliefs That Keep You From Thriving
Sexual abuse and sexual violence that has been inflicted upon you will not only strip you from your humanity and leave you feeling numb and empty. It will also burden you with a new set of belief systems that happen to be false.
Damaged Goods
When your body has been violated, there is a sensation of disgust that you begin to have towards yourself. You learn to despise your body because it has been harmed. When you know, something has been harmed you automatically associate with something that needs to be repaired because it’s damaged. Survivors have a broken perception of themselves, and they will feel like damaged goods.
The experience of being sexually abused will diminish your capacity to see your body and your identity as valuable and worthy. These are false beliefs that are automatically adopted after one has been sexually abused.
Understand that the shame and guilt that you feel are not your own to bear. Although the self-blame keeps you guarded and isolated, you must fight to break out of the prison of lies by pursuing a relationship with God. A relationship with God can release you from those false beliefs that have been forced on you. Why? Because in God’s word you will get to know who you are and whom you belong to.
Enemy Seeks to Destroy
Understandably, your identity may feel distorted. You may even compartmentalize your body parts as being pieces instead of identifying your body parts as part of a whole. Identity distortion is common in sexual abuse survivors.
Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
You must understand the following. Your identity is like a springboard, and it can either launch you to purpose or spring you to self-destruction. The enemy knows this, which is why he seeks to destroy your identity. If the enemy succeeds to break down and make you think less of yourself or make you doubt who you are, then he knows he’s shaking down your foundation. The enemy knows that if he attacks your foundation, your identity, then he’s paralyzing you from walking the plans that God has for your life.
Your healing journey is a must. You must fight the good fight of faith and fight for your life. Your battle is not only a physical one. It’s also a spiritual one, and the only way to defeat the darkness is via spiritual weapons — all of which are found in the word of God.
Matthew 4:1-4, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Satan tried to make Jesus question his identity as the son of God. The only way Jesus was able to fight off the enemy was by using the word of God as his response. Therefore, you must do your due diligence in meditating on the word of God and discover your true identity in Jesus Christ.
Who Are YOU
Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Despite what you currently feel and believe about yourself, which is entirely valid, be encouraged to learn about how God sees you. Learn about the love of God and the magnitude of the love he has for you. The scriptures say that he knew you before he even knitted you in your mother’s womb. You were chosen before you were even conceived to be sent out into the world with a purpose for impact.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Meditate in his love. When your internal mirror is distorted, and your self-concepts are not aligned to what God says about you, it’s time to turn to scripture to heal your identity. His love for you goes beyond his need to protect his son. Instead, God desired intimacy with you to the extent that he gave up his only son to restore eternal relationship between Him and people. God loves you and desires to connect with you because you are his child.
Purpose
Did you know that God wants to bless you? God already has fantastic plans for your life. Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.” What the world meant to use against you, God will use as a platform to launch you into divine purpose.
