In the last few posts, we have been looking at an important question that comes up for many victims of abuse: “Am I losing my faith?” We’ve had a brief look at some of the impact of depression and anxiety. These conditions can express themselves in a huge variety of...
Category: Isaiah
The Paraclete
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from?” Two of the most powerful tools of abusers are to isolate, and to confuse. Or, really, to disrupt our capacity to hear from others, from our innermost self, and from...
Has God forgotten me?
Have you ever wondered, "Has God forgotten me?" If so, you are not the first. This is not a new experience. We find the same question expressed over and over again in the Bible. For example, David cried out: How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will...
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long
We don’t all have the same experience of God in suffering. For some, their primary experience of him through trauma is a sense of being close to him, that he is present with them in it. For others, there can be a deep sense of abandonment or doubt about God’s...
Your children will be like olive shoots
“Blessed are all who fear Yahweh, who walk in his ways”
The Old Testament has a pretty long list of instructions on how to live well. While many are about relating well to God, most are about how to care for each other, and how to create a society where people thrive. It includes many instructions about caring for the poor and vulnerable, preventing homelessness, looking after refugees and immigrants, food security, respect for property, and making restitution.
When people lived by those rules, it meant they treated each other with dignity and respect. A broad commitment to ethical behaviour meant things went well in their society, and in Psalm 128 that’s particularly reflected in the family.