God's Protective Power by Kelly Liberto

Have you ever heard from other people that they could not accept a loving God when there is so much evil in this world? They have a certain perspective on God, all evil is His fault, yet, how do they explain the good, even great things that happen in our lives?

You cannot predetermine a belief based merely on one aspect of the evil in our world today.
Let me take this thinking one step further, and suggest that God DOES bring good out of evil. I know having experienced sexual molestation at age nine, as well as battling choriocarcinoma some thirty years later.

I will suggest to you that God does allow suffering in this world, however, much good can come out of the suffering that we experience.

Case in point, at the very naïve age of nine, I entered my brother’s bedroom when a childhood friend called me in. It was not uncommon for me to play with my brother and his friends as we are twins and I was a bit of a tomboy.

What happened next was so traumatic to me, that I could not even think about it for the next thirty years. I “blocked” the incident from my memory.

The years after this experience were marred by a constant sense that I was dirty, that I was unworthy. My grades suffered, as well as my sense of security in other people. After all, this was a boy who I thought was my brother. He took my trust and smashed it, along with my innocence in one thoughtless act of selfishness.

Though my mom and dad are Christians, I had no concept of a protecting, loving God. Unbeknownst to them, I learned in church that God was a miserable, demanding tyrant. So, at the time of the molesting, I felt completely alone. My abuser threatened me if I told anyone what had happened.

Fast forward to my forties~ I have a family, a wonderful husband and had accepted the Lord as my savior. Many would look at my life and see a very blessed, happy homemaker with a full life.

I have three beautiful daughters, and managed to bury my fears, raising them was the joy of my life. Once in awhile, feelings of unworthiness, fear, self doubt would kick in, but, I just assumed that everyone struggled with these things.

At forty years old, my “normal” world came crashing to the ground at the sound of my doctor’s voice telling me that I had cancer.

Thankfully, and miraculously after three months of heavy duty chemotherapy, I was declared “cancer free”.

While God had delivered me from cancer, I could still not shake the sense of doom and gloom or
the sense of being unprotected.

I had nightmares at night where a shadowy figure was pursuing me. At forty years old, there was still a sense of urgency in dark places, like parking lots and other public places. I had a morbid fear that someday I would be attacked and raped.

As these fears and panic attacks intensified, I attempted to resume some normalcy in my life. My doctors put the anxiety down to the chemically induced premature menopause that I was thrown into from the chemotherapy. All the while, experts were amazed by my quick healing and lack of side effects from the drugs.

A friend of mine approached me in 2005, four years after my battle with cancer. She asked me if I would like to study biblical counseling with her. I accepted.

As a result of studying the word of God and applying it to my fears, the molestation surfaced and the process of healing began.

I felt that I needed to deal with the irrational fears that I struggled with on a daily basis, as well as needing to understand the word better while speaking at different places on how God had healed me from cancer.

I wanted to be ready with an answer for those who had questions about why God allows such tragedies to exist.

Today, I am free from the anxieties that plagued me through my youth, and I’ve been set free from any residual trauma of having been molested. I rarely feel afraid for no reason at all.
And, I know a peace and a joy that I have not ever known before. It is a peace and joy grounded in the knowledge that God is my protector.
The biblical counseling has helped me to encourage others through similar traumas. The world needs overcomers to show others that though we walk through the valley of death , we can fear no evil.

It is possible because our great and mighty God is there to sustain us. He simply wants us to know him through the trials and tribulations that we go through.
God is a God of impossibilities. He has taken a broken little girl and brought her back to wholeness as a grown woman.

Would I want to go through the trials and suffering all over again? No, probably not. But, I can’t help but be grateful that God used these trials to help me experience him on a deeper level.
It’s a mystery for sure. And, I sure do love mysteries.

Psalm 121
1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
from where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

Faith to Fight by Shana Minervini

Faith – In the dictionary the word faith means a couple of things. The first one is confidence or trust in a person or thing. The second is belief that is not based on proof. And the last definition is belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. My question to you is this... what does faith mean to you? All throughout the Bible we hear so many scriptures regarding faith. We read that Jesus heals many because of the faith. People approached Jesus having faith that just his words alone can bring healing to their child.

In Matthew 17:20 (NLT) “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds and a mountain is one of the biggest things on earth.

One of my favorite stories from the Bible is Jesus walking on the water. Peter and the disciples were in the boat together and they were in trouble. Strong winds were blowing and they were battling gigantic waves. In the early hours of the morning Jesus approached them walking on the water. When the disciples saw this they were afraid. In their fear they screamed “It’s a ghost!" Jesus said to them “Don't be afraid, take courage I am here!” Peter said to Jesus “Lord, if it’s really you ask me to come toward you on the water.” Jesus said “Come." Peter went to the edge of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. The winds picked up again and the waves were crashing against the boat, Peter was scared and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus reached his hand out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith," Jesus said “Why did you doubt me?"

Have you ever been through a trial or rough time in your life and feel like you are on that very same boat? I have been there myself. Through my trials or hardship I like to imagine myself walking toward Jesus. Peter sank because he was to occupied with what was going on around him. In our lives when Jesus allows the trial, we are called to step out of that boat. It strengthens our faith and walk with Him. During some of my trials I will admit I have jumped out of the boat with a tube around my waist shaped like a duck with swimmies on my arms! When we step out of the boat, we should step out with our God given authority. Hold your head up high and fix your eyes directly on Jesus. Don’t listen to the lies that try to creep in. Just step out of the boat and reach your hand out and Jesus will be there to grab it. Let your faith kick in and remain in his arms and He will give you the peace and comfort you need to get through trial. He’s waiting...

Psalm 68:19 (NLT) For each day he carries us in His arms.