Psalm 37: 1-9;
- Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
- For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
- Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
- Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
- Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
- And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
- Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
- Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
- For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
How can we live by the Scriptures, the Word of God, in all circumstances of life, but especially while being in an abusive relationship? There are varying degrees of abuse but in this instance, I’m talking about my story where there was physical abuse but mostly emotional and verbal abuse. When I finally received Jesus into my life, I did so simply because I wanted the abuse to stop. Nobody else had been able to “rescue me.” I had endured abuse since birth and it carried over into my adult life. So, I wanted it stopped. It didn’t for many years.
That is because God and I weren’t on the same page. He kept giving me Scriptures to live by, like Psalm 37:1-9. He was trying to show me how to live by His Word, not by the events and circumstances of my life. He was trying to show me to trust Him and as I learned to trust Him and live by His Word, He would change my entire life. Look at these Scriptures. Fret not thyself. Trust in the Lord. Delight thyself in Him. Trust in Him. Commit thy way unto Him. Rest in Him.
Jesus doesn’t stop at telling us to trust Him. The Scripture goes on to show us the cycle of anger. The vicious cycle that keeps us going around in circles, over and over and over. These Scriptures tells us when we “fret” (worry, agonize) about what others are doing, even when it affects our own circumstances, we aren’t “ceasing form anger”. In fact, we are doing the same thing, but expecting different results.
Cease from anger. How do we do that when somebody is abusing us? I had to learn the hard way. I would get angry at what was being done to me and try to “get even”. That only made the situation worse for me and I would get hurt even more. God eventually took me out of the abusive marriage I was in, because I wasn’t getting what He was trying to teach me. Cease from anger. It means to stop constantly thinking of what was done to you. Think instead on God’s Word and do what it is telling you to do.
And forsake wrath. When we continue to think on what was done, it leads us down a dangerous path. It changes who we are and makes us just like the ones abusing and hurting us. After telling us to forsake wrath, it tells us not to do evil. Once the thought comes to our mind, we become increasingly angry. Wrath is the next step. Wrath means “heat, rage, hot displeasure, indignation, anger, wrath, poison”. After wrath, an action is taken. One that takes us even further from God. Sin takes us down a path where we no longer have control. It takes us further away from the answer we are seeking. It fills us with hate and anger and bitterness.
Jesus was trying to change me into His image. Because I didn’t trust Him, it caused me to waste many years of my life. Trying to “get even” made me become somebody I didn’t like. Not until I started “doing” what His Word was telling me, did I see a change in myself. I’m thankful and extremely grateful for the grace and mercy of God that eventually turned my whole life around.