Question:
Dear
I
was severely sexually abused as a child from 5 years old and upward.
I prayed to God every time my father would do the painful things, but God
never once stopped him. Can you
explain to me why God let me be punished by my father?
What did I do wrong?
Thank
you,
Cathy
Answer: Dear Cathy,
You
did nothing wrong that caused God to allow these horrible things to happen to
you. The Bible tells us that God
loves us all, without reservation, unconditionally.
At the same time, God loves us in an imperfect world of sin, corruption
and abuse. He does not stop sin,
war, pain, suffering and evil—for that is the nature of what human beings have
done with the choice God has given them.
God’s
will, according to the Bible, from the beginning, was to give human beings
choice—we may choose good or evil. He
does not interfere, for it is not a perfect world into which we are born.
He has, however, redeemed the world from its sin and suffering by coming,
in the person of Jesus, to forgive, heal, bind up wounds and comfort.
Jesus came into this corrupt world and lived a perfect life, never
harming anyone—and was, in return, crucified by our world.
He paid a debt he did not owe, because all of us owed a debt we could not
pay.
The
fact of what happened to you is not God’s fault, and certainly was not
something he wanted to have happen to you because you did something wrong.
You can find healing and love at the cross of Christ.
You may also benefit from personal, professional help and counseling that
this website cannot provide.
God
does love you, Cathy. He loves us
all in spite of our imperfections and the bad things that have happened to us.
He loves us with his perfect, unconditional love.
He wants to be part of your life, if he is not already.
In
Christ,