Stronger in The Battle

“Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me;

For I am afflicted and needy.

Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man;

O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.

Be gracious to me, O Lord,

For to You I cry all day long.

Make glad the soul of Your servant,

For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” (Psalm 86:1-4 NASB1995)

There are many people in this world of ours who are being abused, taken advantage of, mistreated, and treated as though they are of no value at all, but as though they are just garbage to be thrown away into the trash and discarded. Some of them are being sexually abused. Others are being lied to, tricked, and deceived into following after a lie and into rejecting the truth. Some are being taken advantage of financially and are being thieved. Others are being faced with physical abuse and beatings and/or death.

But all of this is not just happening out in the world, among those who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ. But much of this is happening among those who claim to be Christians. And the abusers are pastors, elders, deacons, evangelists, missionaries, fathers, mothers, siblings, husbands, wives, children, and the like. Some of the most trusted of preachers and pastors and parents have turned out to be pedophiles, perverts, porn addicts, child molesters, and/or spousal and/or child abusers, and the like.

And then we have pastors and elders of the church, and/or mothers and/or fathers of children, and/or bosses and supervisors in work places who treat those under their authority as dirt to be stomped on, to be taken advantage of, and/or of no value, and so not worth their time and attention. And some pastors are being trained as to who they should want in their gatherings and who they should get rid of, like one pastor said to me that he was warned in his training about people like me, “people with strong convictions.” And he invited me to leave and to go someplace else where I would be a “better fit.”

So much of this is being “shoved under the rug” and not addressed because culture dictates we should not bring such matters out into the open. Or people just don’t want to know about them. Or the church just doesn’t want to have to address these situations going on under the name of “Christian” because it might expose things they don’t want exposed, or it may turn the world away from their gatherings if they start to exercise legitimate biblical church discipline instead of just catering to the perverts and the adulterers.

And I do not say this out of any bitterness of spirit, but out of genuine love and concern for those who are being abused and taken advantage of, and out of love and concern for the ones who are trapped in sinful addiction and who are doing evil to other people. For I was physically and sexually abused by my father, and emotionally neglected by my mother. And then I married a man not knowing of his addiction to what is sexually immoral. And then I had pastors try to hit on me, or to be mean and hateful to me, or to cast me out as unwanted because of my seriousness of my faith in Jesus Christ.

And there was a period of my life when I fell apart, I gave up, and I ran away from what I knew was right, and I did what I knew was wrong. And then God and I had a talk one day 24 years ago, when I was seeking him, and he set me straight. And he let me know I was holding unforgiveness against Jesus for not rescuing me from all my suffering and abuse. So I needed to trust in the sovereignty of God over my life, and I needed to learn to fight Satan with the armor of God and with the sword of the Spirit. So that is what I have been doing ever since then, by the grace of God.

So, if you are someone who is being mistreated, who is being taken advantage of, who is being used and abused and dismissed as though you are worthless, as someone to just be stomped on, remember that is how they treated Jesus, too. And give it all to the Lord. Don’t yield to the evil, but also do not return evil with more evil. Return evil with good. And love those who have mistreated you, and forgive them, and walk with Jesus wherever he leads you from now forward, under his care, in surrender to his will.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

My Cry for Mercy  

Based off Psalm 86

An Original Work / October 31, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Hear my prayer, Lord, I am needy.

Guard my life, for I’m devoted to You.

Save me! I’m Your servant.

You are my God. I trust in You.

O, Lord, have mercy on me,

For I call to You.

Bring joy to me, for to You

I will lift up my soul.

You are giving and forgiving.

You abound in love to all who

Call upon You. Hear my prayer, Lord.

Listen to my cry for mercy.

In days of trouble I call to You,

Knowing that You will 

Do marvelous things,

Because You are my God.

Teach me Your way; I’ll walk in it.

In Your truth, Lord, You will guide me.

A pure heart, Lord, You will give me,

So that I may glorify You.

Turn to me, Lord, and grant 

Strength to Your servant. 

O, Lord, You are my help,

For You love and You comfort me.

Teach me Your way; I’ll walk in it.

In Your truth, Lord, You will guide me.

A pure heart, Lord, You will give me,

So that I may glorify You.

https://vimeo.com/114690984

Stronger in The Battle

An Original Work / February 25, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love