In a world searching for answers in all the wrong places, there is a hope that doesn’t just survive the storm—it breaks the chains. His name is Jesus, and He is the reliable witness to the life you were meant to live.
Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28).
Embrace this truth, and He will set you free—free from the slavery to sin that binds us all. I remember a time after leaving the abusive relationship when I believed I was in a good place. Still, I hadn’t told anyone what I had gone through or how I coped with it. I would say I suppressed it and told myself I was okay.
One of my church leaders confronted me about not having seen a counselor and even arranged to pay for my first six visits. This happened after he shared a dream with our group about a child walking with him and a chair with chains in the back of the room. He knew that once he stopped talking to the child, it would go back to the chair. I started crying, realizing the dream was about me.
At one time, I would have returned to the chair or chains. Even though I didn’t tell him the details, I didn’t have to – God worked through him to help me realize that, although I was free from the chains, I needed to peel back some layers and start my healing journey from what I had endured at the hands of an abuser.
Just as the Bible testifies to Christ, this leader witnessed my lingering pain, and you can now witness God’s healing in your own life.
It wasn’t until I had my abuse validated that I felt anger, an emotion necessary to start my journey. God uses this as a warning that something’s wrong.
Are you still chained to something from your past? Christ offers complete freedom and healing. Don’t let it eat away at your insides. That is a miserable existence. You are meant for so much more. Your heart can be transformed from death to life.
My healing journey involved peeling back layers of a painful past. Interestingly, when we examine Jesus’s lineage, we see that He didn’t shy away from ‘layers’ or ‘labels’ either; He directly embraced a family history as complex as ours to show us He truly understands.
Christmastime is approaching, and it’s a good opportunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Some may still question His lineage, but the Bible makes it clear that Jesus was both divine and fully human. His human side experienced the same pain and temptations as we do (Matt 4:1). In other words, you can bring whatever you are going through to Jesus, and He understands (Heb. 4:15). In return, He offers comfort, peace, healing, and shelter from the storms of life. He doesn’t say there won’t be storms but provides hope and peace through them (John 16:33).
In his book, The Case for Christmas, Lee Strobel states, “Jesus lived physically and emotionally on our planet, so when we bring him our problems, worries, and challenges, he can relate to us personally.” He also mentions, “Thanks to Jesus’ divinity, he can provide us with supernatural wisdom and the power of God to assist us.”
You can see Jesus’s lineage in both Matthew and Luke, whose genealogy includes men, women, adulterers, heroes, and Gentiles – showing that Jesus came to be the Savior for all and that His family tree is full of broken people, just like us. (Matt. 1:1-16; Heb. 11:31; Josh. 2:1; James 2:25; Prov. 31).
Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage from Abraham to emphasize His Jewish heritage, whereas Luke traces it back to Adam to show that Jesus fulfills the hope of all humanity (Luke 3:23-38; Acts 17:26).
But don’t just take my word for it. John the Baptist, Moses, and the Scriptures were all witnesses that pointed to Jesus (Biblica Study Bible). Still, the most reliable witness was God Himself. The description of Jesus as God’s Son is supported by His genealogy—in other words, God’s declaration at His baptism, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22, Emphasized), provides clear testimony, with God Himself serving as a trustworthy witness.
The Biblica Study Bible notes that studying and learning all the Scriptures is beneficial, but it’s Jesus who gives meaning to everything Scripture teaches.
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to Me except through me (John 14:6, Emphasis added).
The truth will set you free.
Paul explains how we are all in darkness and are brought to the light when we accept Christ. He encourages us to “walk as children of the light” (Eph. 5:8, Emphasis added) and bear fruit of the light only found in “all that is good and right and true: (v9, Emphasis added). We should not take part in unfruitful works of darkness any longer – instead, there is a different way and another option on the table that we need to consider.
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14, Emphasis added).
Maybe you, like me, feel like you’re in a self-made trance- something that kept me stuck in an abusive relationship for too long, thinking I didn’t have a choice. Once I woke up, I saw that being a Christ follower, or having a relationship with God, is possible. God provides the foundation and strength to break free from the chains and start a new life with Christ at the center.
He brought me from darkness to life. Hope is alive – His name is Jesus Christ. Freedom is real (Rom. 15: 13; Gal. 5:13; John 8:36).
It’s not about what we do for God, but rather an intimate relationship with your heavenly Father who loves you immensely.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Ps. 46:10, Emphasis added)!
Faith Walk Ministries, Inc. 