You are not a victim!

You are not a victim!

“It is up to you to decide to be a victim of this deception or to refuse it.” This is the statement that I have made one day to a woman in her early 30’s woman; she was victim of a serious love deception by a pastor. It was simply unbelievable that she could be a victim of love deception from this pastor that she respected so much.

By telling her that she has the right to refuse to be a victim, I did not intend to ask her to deny the pains caused by the deception because deny the pains means telling lies, and it prevents from getting totally healed from it.

Sorrows of life, mourning, persecutions, failures, abuses, are mountains in our lives which lead us sometimes to feel that we are victim of a system, if not, victim of a kind favoritism from God.

When we find ourselves ugly in comparison to someone else for example, or when we find that someone has more success in life than us, we may have the feelings that others have privileges in the eyes of God than others, which is not true.

By reading the Bible and discovering the examples of the prophets who have suffered, I came to the conclusion that “ Every time that I will see something disgusting, I won’t flee from it; instead I will look for the beauty that the disgusting thing may hide; and this is only possible through God.” Indeed, I came to realize that every disgusting thing has an unspeakable and invaluable beauty which is just waiting to be discovered.

The case of Jesus is an interesting one. Before his birth, he was presented by God to his parents as the one who will save His people. However, events which happened at his birth may let someone think that he was a kid victim of a curse. First of all he was born in a pigsty in the middle of straw with shepherd as first visitors. How come God could not make that Mary gives birth to His First and Only Son in a hotel instead of an unattractive place? As it was not enough, his parents have to flee to Egypt, the country where his ancestors were slaves, and because of him (Jesus), kids who had less than 2 years of the place where he was born got killed.

If his parents became tired and decided to abandon him, Mary his mother would not have had the privilege to witness his first miracle. Anyway, all these things which happened at Jesus’ birthday could not let someone foresee that He was the Son of the Living God, and that he is going to heal sick people. 

In addition to all these, we should not forget his death. This is how his death has been described by the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 53: 1 Who has believed our message

       and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

       and like a root out of dry ground.

       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

 3 He was despised and rejected by men,

       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

       Like one from whom men hide their faces

       he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 4 …,

       yet we considered him stricken by God,

       smitten by him, and afflicted.

…

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

       yet he did not open his mouth;

       he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

       and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

       so he did not open his mouth.

 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

       And who can speak of his descendants?

       For he was cut off from the land of the living;

      for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 

 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

       and with the rich in his death,

       though he had done no violence,

       nor was any deceit in his mouth.

 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

       and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,

       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

If you are complaining that you have no beauty, tell to yourself that Jesus also had no beauty despite the fact that he was the Son of God. If you complain that some people did not respect you, tell to yourself that Jesus’ case was worst than yours despite the fact that He was and he is God, has healed sick people, and has accomplished a lot of miracles; he was denied by his own people.

If you complain that God has forsaken you, and some people even tell you that you are the last person God may think about, tell to yourself that Jesus was abandoned by God. He even shouted on the cross: "My God, my God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"

If you have been mistreated humiliated, abused by people that you loved and who were supposed to protect you, tell to yourself that Jesus experienced it more than you; he did till death.

Jesus has been a victim of more things than us, and if someone looked at his misfortune, he could not imagine that behind this misery an inestimable treasure was hiding itself. This is what the prophet says,

Isaiah 53: “10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

       and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,

       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

 11 After the suffering of his soul,

       he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;

       by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

       and he will bear their iniquities.

 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, 

       and he will divide the spoils with the strong, 

       because he poured out his life unto death,

       and was numbered with the transgressors.

       For he bore the sin of many,

       and made intercession for the transgressors.”

The apostle Paul talking about Jesus even said in Philippians 2:6-11,

“6Who, being in very nature[a] God,

      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

 7but made himself nothing,

      taking the very nature[b] of a servant,

      being made in human likeness.

 8And being found in appearance as a man,

      he humbled himself

      and became obedient to death—

         even death on a cross!

 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

      and gave him the name that is above every name,

 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

      to the glory of God the Father.”

With the course of time, I have discovered that the suffering of a man is only vain if he gives up and refuses to submit his life into God’s hands because every suffering or mountains of life have a hidden mine of gold and diamonds. And we have to know that the mountains of our lives can only be smoothed by the Holy Spirit as it is written in Zacharias 4:6-7: “6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

 7 "What [a] are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!' " ” David also said in Psalm 97: 5 “The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,

       before the Lord of all the earth.”

As I was saying above, refusing to be a victim does not mean that someone has to deny the pains and to deny the fact that he is facing a mountain. This is because the Lord wants to strengthen us in front of this mountain so that with the power of His Spirit we could be able to melt the mountain like a wax and discover the mine of gold and diamonds it hides. If we want the Lord to fortify us, then we have to cry unto him. Although Jesus was the Son of God, he did it when he was on pains. So why should not we do the same thing? As Jesus, we should cry unto God, but cry with respect and submission in front of our Heavenly Father, not as if He is obliged to do something, but with the aim to look and do His Will. (See Lucas 22. 42-43: “"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”)

It is important not to stay in a constant lamentation state, but we have to remember that we are called to be heroes as it is said in Judges 5: 13 "Then the men who were left

       came down to the nobles;

       the people of the LORD

       came to me with the mighty.”

So where others have given up, or have triumphed, we have to triumph better, so that the glory will be given to God and His name exalted among the nations; for we live not for us anymore, but for Him.

This is to say, after crying, shouting to God, seeking His face to discover His Will in this state of suffering in which we find ourselves, and after having accepted to be a perfect instrument for His Kingdom; for we are not from here, but for the Jerusalem of heaven, and we will go back to where we belong when the Lord Jesus will come back; since our great hope and great joy is to see Him, he have to accept to suffer at least a bit on earth in order to be elevated when the time will come.

Jesus knew why he had to suffer so much, and despite the pains he had, he had refused to remain a victim. He had refused to remain in anxiety, but he woke up after crying to God and praying for His (Father’s) Will to be done. He knew that through the suffering he was facing, he will be called the Hero of heroes. 

We should have the same thought as Jesus in front of difficulties. We should shout to God, pray in order to receive His power which will strengthen us in a way that we will stand firm in front of any kind of storm, and His Spirit will melt like wax the mountains of our lives.

When I sometimes look at my past and the suffering I went through, I bless the Lord for the fact that I have not remained a victim all my life. It was unbelievable to think that behind this mountain of problems of multiple rapes, abandon of the family when I was facing my miseries, illnesses, and suicides attempts a mine of gold and diamonds was hiding itself. But everyday, I discover and enjoy the happiness of the treasure I found when I came out from my state of victim that I was, to come into a state of heroin for Jesus.

Some will ask me the question to know which kinds of mine of gold and diamonds I have found. Because I want each one to have his own experience with Jesus, I prefer to keep it from me.

In love,

Eugenie of Jesus