Rick Warren's Blog, page 571

Integrity vs. Popularity

One day, you���ll give an account of your life before God. When you keep that in mind and have that kind of long-term thinking, it���s going to change what you say, what you do, and who you try to impress. It���s the people-pleaser antidote.

How to Get Past Regrets

How often do you play the ���If only��� game?

��� If only I could do it over again.
��� If only I had listened sooner.
��� If only I could erase the past.
��� If only I could forgive myself.

Get to Know Your Healer

Nothing crushes the spirit more than abuse ��� to feel devalued, unimportant, and misused. Jesus knows that. And he says, ���I will care for you.���

God Wants to Give You Freedom

The world defines freedom as a life without any restraint ��� ���I can do anything I want to do and say anything I want to say without anybody telling me what to do.��� You may burn everybody else, but you get to do it your own way. The world says you can have your freedom, but only by being totally selfish.

The Abuse Epidemic: Silent No More

I said . . . ‘I will not say anything while evil people are near.’ I kept quiet, not saying a word . . . But my suffering only grew worse, and I was overcome with anxiety. The more I thought, the more troubled I became; I could not keep from asking: ‘Lord, how long will I live? When will I die? Tell me how soon my life will end’” (Psalm 39:1-4 GNT).

The first step in breaking free from abuse, whether it’s sexual or physical or verbal or emotional, is sharing with someone who can help you break free.

Jesus said in John 8:32, “The truth will set you free” (NLT, second edition). Freedom comes when you open up and admit your pain to someone else.

In a study of 10 nations, it was discovered that between 55 to 95 percent of women who have been abused by their partners have never told anybody, and men are even less likely to talk about it or get help.

Abuse is often called the silent epidemic because it’s the big, pink elephant in many marriages that nobody wants to talk about. People suffer in silence.

If anyone in the Bible understood abuse, it was King David. He was the king who wrote most of the book of Psalms and who also spent much of his life dealing with abuse, because there were people who wanted to hurt, kill, abuse, defame, and ridicule him — all kinds of abuse.

In more than 100 passages in the book of Psalms, David expresses his hurt, frustration, and anger at his enemies. He uses the word “enemies” nearly 100 times in the New International Version. He talks about the abuse that they heaped on his life.

But one of the things David modeled for us is this: Don’t hold it in. In Psalm 39:1-4, David explains what happened when he tried to keep his struggles a secret: “I said . . . ‘I will not say anything while evil people are near.’ I kept quiet, not saying a word . . . But my suffering only grew worse, and I was overcome with anxiety. The more I thought, the more troubled I became; I could not keep from asking: ‘Lord, how long will I live? When will I die? Tell me how soon my life will end’” (GNT).

This is a classic response to abuse. David was afraid to talk about it in the presence of his abusers, but his silence only made it worse: “I kept quiet, not saying a word . . . But my suffering only grew worse, and I was overcome with anxiety.”

If you are experiencing this right now, I want you to know that God cares about you. I care about you. And there is hope. You don’t have to stay in that cycle of pain, anxiety, and fear.

But first you’ve got to stop being silent. You’ve got to speak up and tell someone you trust. You’ve got to bring it into the light so that God can begin to lead you to healing.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

What are the signs of emotional abuse? How can you help a friend who may be suffering?
Why do you think many people who have suffered abuse find it difficult to accept God’s love?
Why do we suffer more when we keep our pain hidden?

Your Pain Often Reveals God���s Purpose

Your pain often reveals God���s purpose for you. God never wastes a hurt! If you���ve gone through a hurt, he wants you to help other people going through a similar hurt. He wants you to share it. God can use the problems in your life to give you a ministry to others. In fact, the very thing you���re most ashamed of in your life and resent the most, could become your greatest ministry in helping other people.

God���s Grace in Full Force

Regardless of your circumstances and how you feel, hang on to God���s unchanging character.

Don���t Give in to Your Fears

God is watching over you, so don���t listen to your fears. This is a choice: Trust God, and don���t give in to your fears.

God Can Use Dark Times for Good

Did Jesus suffer? Was he sometimes lonely? Was he tempted to be discouraged? Was he misunderstood, maligned, and criticized unjustly?

How Do You Forgive?

In 1956, five American missionaries headed to the rainforest of the eastern Amazon in Ecuador to make a second visit to the Huaorani tribe, which anthropologists said was the most vicious, violent society on the face of the earth. They had a culture of killing, and studies showed 60 percent of the tribe died by homicide.