Spouse Abuse: Renew Your Mind

Living Free Every Day®

Friday, October 10, 2014

Today's Scripture

"We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments." (2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT)

Thoughts for Today

Learned helplessness comes from repeated unsuccessful attempts to control the violence in our home. As victims, we eventually become depressed and helpless. Those feelings destroy our motivation to do something different.

We must learn new methods of survival. Using God's Word as our guide, we need to take all thoughts captive to Christ, cast down human reasoning, and replace false arguments with God's promises to us.

God does not transform us by removing our problems but by renewing our minds. By teaching us to depend on him instead of those around us. By applying the Word of God to our life, we learn to change our inner thoughts to produce healthier thinking.

The key to eliminating worry is to place our trust in something solid, predictable, and helpful for growth: the Word of God!

Consider this …

A major step in changing destructive thoughts is to claim the promises of God by believing he is trustworthy.

To change our thinking, we must understand the nature of faith. Faith is acting on knowledge. We must exercise our mind, choose to believe God is who he says he is, to believe he can deliver what he promises, and then to act on our faith.

We must act on our new beliefs, our new thoughts. We must stop worrying and trust God.

We can overcome our overdependence on a spouse by renewing our mind and acting according to our faith in God.

Prayer

Father, forgive me for placing my faith in everything except you and your promises. Help me to renew my thinking by reading and absorbing your Word. In Jesus' name . . .

These thoughts were drawn from …

Restoring Families: Overcoming Abusive Relationships through Christ by Janet M. Lerner, D.S.W. This study helps to minister to families caught in the cycle of abusive relationships. The curriculum deals with overcoming these abusive relationships through Christ and is recommended for use in support groups and Christian counseling.

Ministers to families from abusive relationships
Ministers to victims of family violence
Deals with wounded emotions
Deals with control and intimacy issues
Presents a strong message of Christ as healer of abusive relationships

Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups, and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.

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