Sexual Abuse: Beauty for Ashes—Quotes of Note
In yesterday’s post, I shared about the release of my new booklet by P & R Publications, Sexual Abuse: Beauty for Ashes.
To learn more about the book, visit the Sexual Abuse: Beauty for Ashes Page. 
To order a copy on sale at 10% off, or bulk copies at 20% off, visit the RPM Store.
Today I’m sharing select Quotes of Note from Sexual Abuse: Beauty for Ashes.
Quotes of Note
“Sexual abuse ravages the soul. It causes unimaginable distress, damage, and disgrace. It is faced honestly and openly in the Bible. Yet, we either mistreat it or ignore it. This is to our shame. It is time for a change.”
“We want to learn how to face sexual abuse face-to-face with Christ. We want to understand how the Evil One attempts to use sexual abuse to destroy faith, hope, peace, and love.”
“We want to obtain wise counsel from the divine Counselor through His Word which teaches us that grace is God’s prescription for the disgrace of sexual abuse.”
“We want to journey together on God’s pathway from loss of trust to faith, from powerlessness to hope, from shame to shalom and peace, and from being used and feeling useless to love.”
“The Bible is the most honest, realistic, earthy book ever written. God’s Word is not an advertisement for a trouble free life. Instead, it is an advertisement for our need for God’s grace because of our continual struggle with suffering and sin.”
“God’s Word provides us with robust, relevant, relational wisdom for addressing the horrors of sexual abuse.”
“One-another ministry is defective unless we apply Christ’ grace to deal both with the evils we have suffered and with the sins we have committed.”
“We need a clear picture of the prime strategy of the Evil One. The Prince of Darkness is our most radical enemy. It is his strategy to use the horrors of sexual abuse to attempt to destroy that which enables us to be most human: faith, hope, peace, and love.”
“To win the battle in Christ, through Christ, and by Christ, we must first name the damage that has been done to us as bearers of the image of God.”
“Satan loves to feed our distrust of God by having those who ought to be trustworthy, betray us. He wants faith to look foolish.”
“Evil wins the battle for our soul to the extent that we experience trust in others and in God as dangerous and foolish.”
“Sexual abuse is not only physical abuse; it is not only spiritual abuse; it is not only relational abuse; it is also gender abuse. God created us as female image bearers or male image bearers. We are female or male not only in our bodies, but also in the essence of our souls, our selves, our personhood. Sexual abuse abuses a female soul and body or a male soul and body.”
“God’s Word does not pretend. It presents a real and raw picture of the damage done in the life of the sexual abuse victim. At the same time, God’s Word offers authoritative, sufficient, relevant, and profound wisdom for the ongoing journey from victim to victor in Christ.”
“Shared sorrow is endurable sorrow.”
“Lament psalms enable us to face the reality that life is bad—evil, horrible while clinging to the reality that God is good—gracious and compassionate.”
“We must never minimize sin, but we must always realize how minuscule sin is when compared with God’s grace. The enormity of sin is wildly overwhelmed by the infinite grace of God.”
“One of the first ways we overwhelm sin with grace is by not being afraid to call the abuse what it is—evil, sinful, wicked, and foolish. We must join the victim of sexual abuse by calling the abuse wicked, evil, folly, despicable—totally apart from the holiness and love of God.”
“Sexual abuse victims need to hear us express our righteous anger over the evil that was done to them.”
“Dear reader, never forget who you are in Christ. You are the King’s daughter or son. You are God’s workmanship, His epic poem, His opus, His masterpiece.”
“All the evil you have ever suffered, God in Christ has been weaving together for good—for beauty, for splendor.”
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Which Quote of Note most stands out to you?
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The quote that stuck out most to me is: “Satan loves to feed our distrust of God by having those who ought to be trustworthy, betray us. He wants faith to look foolish.”
While doing the work that God has entrusted me to do, more often than not, I have found that this statement (quote) is unfortunately very accurate. Attacking areas where faith and trust in God is a requirement (which covers all areas!) becomes one of Satan’s most ‘logical, yet very cunning’ routes leading to painful confusion and destruction; especially because there is often times no natural (physical) evidence or ‘confirmation’ that would indicate ‘security in faith’ is not a foolish thing (outside of God’s written word, such as clarified in Heb 11:1).