What has you bound? Do you still find yourself ensnared by the thoughts and feelings of other’s just when you’re about to take a huge leap of faith in a particular area of your life? Can you still hear the words of “You can’t.” “You won’t and will never be.”, chasing you, no matter how far you run?
“They’re just words,” you think, “I should be over that by now.” But you’re not because you can still hear the admonishments, criticisms and jesting, months, even years, later.
Usually, we’re taught that words are just that, words. That they have neither the power to kill us and harm us in any way, but is that true? We say we don’t have to be a product of our environment, and in part, it’s true with God’s grace and love we can rise above the most deplorable and egregious life circumstances to achieve all that God has for us. But have we let go? Have we completely healed, so that our heart, soul, and mind holds no residue of the damage left behind by someone else?
The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21(ERV)
21 The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings.
Power: This power can be used to speak life, positivity, light and God’s love, but what happens when someone uses this power with ill intent and uses their words to emotionally and psychologically, batter and torture someone else. The victim’s life is then defined and shaped by words that cut at them. Imagine it’s not just by one person or a single incident, but done by multiple people, a community of people who neglected to help turned a blind eye and dismissed the victim’s hurt as school-yard bullying. With the rampant use of social media, bullying has extended way beyond the school-yard, and a child may feel that have no means of escape.
There has been a rise in youth suicides in this country over the last year, of young people taking their lives because of school violence and emotional abuse inside and outside the home. For that reason, I want to raise awareness of what a day in the life of someone who is school-aged minor might be experiencing on a daily basis. I grew up with Mild Cerebral Palsy and every day it seemed like a fight, and some days it actually was, (not that I’m condoning violence). We often say it takes a village to raise a child, what we mean is a community made of family, neighbors coaches, troupes, squads, teachers and family members that help mold us into the people we are to become and what these people, peers, and adults included, who make up a child’s inner circle say, have influence over them so if it’s one disparaging thing, thought or belief repeated over and over again, and it’s all they ever hear… and those thoughts are seemingly confirmed, it can feel like they live in a world of injustices, and in their circle, it may difficult to find someone they can trust and is confident loves them and believes them when they’re honest about what they are enduring.
However, to every child, tween, and teenager out there being bullied, I want you to remember that you are loved. Know that your life is worthy of being lived, and even when it feels like the world is against you, and you have nowhere else to turn to, turn to God. He will affirm His love for you. You don’t have to live in a cycle of abuse. There is hope. Psalms 3:3 became one of my favorite scriptures.
Psalm 3:3English Standard Version (ESV)
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
It reminded me that God loved me and despite the bullying and mistreatment of others. YOU are LOVED by GOD It doesn’t matter what you’re going through if your bruises are visible or less visible, God knows and he will be your voice. He hears you.
When we examine the story of Ishmael, Abraham’s first son, we see an example of God’s love and saving power. Ishmael was not supposed to be Abraham’s first son. Isaac was supposed to be born first. So, when Abraham had Ishmael with Sarah’s maid Hagar, his birth caused a lot turmoil and he was banished from his home. Which is what it can feel like when you’re being bullied or abused. The people who are supposed to protect you haven’t and don’t notice your suffering. The Bible says that Hagar cried out to God for help but it was Ishmael’s cry He heard. It was  Ishmael’s cry that moved Him. Genesis 21: 16-17 reads:
16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
God hears your cry!!! And he will lift you up and help you break free from the cycle of abuse and bullying, even if that child is no longer a child….but still, yearns to be free. God wants you to be free. All you to do is take His hand. Have the courage to trust in Him above all else. Have the courage to be free.