Set Me Free: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryPrøve

SET ME FREE FROM COMPULSIONS: ABUSE People don't dream of becoming alcoholics when they grow up, and I really doubt that they fantasize about how they will beat their wives and children someday. Where does abusive behavior come from? It comes from insecurity. From a desire to control others. From a cheap desire to shift blame from me to you. From a failure to learn to control anger and temper. From an addiction to the adrenaline rush that comes with losing it. From intense selfishness. From fear. From a pathetic need to cover up one's own failures. "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). How can you be set free from the sickness of family violence? Listen. Listen to the voice of your God, who accepts and loves you and encourages you to be at peace with yourself. You are forgiven and freed from the shame of your past. Listen to the voices of your spouse and children. Listen to the generation older than you. Listen to friends and neighbors. Fight the urge to control other people. Instead, by love and leadership, allow their God-given potential to blossom and flourish.