“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57
“It isn’t my fault. He made me do it.”
“She can’t help it -after what’s happened to her.”
How often do we hear this—in our homes, in our courts, in our educational and medical systems. We’re a society of victim thinkers. But victim thinking is not new. It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.
Instead of taking responsibility and making an honest confession, Adam and Eve blamed their disobedient action on someone else.
When God asked Adam, “Have you eaten of the tree I commanded you not to eat from?” Adam replied, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit and I did eat it. It’s her fault, God. Come to think of it, it’s your fault too. You put this woman here.”
Eve blamed the serpent. “He deceived me, and I ate.”
God wants us to take responsibility for our decisions and actions. Why? That’s the way to hope and healing, forgiveness and change.
After all, if somebody else is responsible for my decisions and behavior, then I can’t do anything about it. Somebody else is to blame for my unhappiness and the mess I’m in.
Hope comes when we realize we do have a choice. Yes, the abuse did happen. The injustice is real. I may have inherited some bad genes. But it doesn’t have to ruin my life. I can give it all to God and rise above it. I can move on to better things.
When the risen, living, Lord Jesus Christ is within me, I have the power to rise above the negative stuff in my life. The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians. 5:17)
Let’s thank God for this victory and act on it–every day. It isn’t what’s happened to us, but the attitude we have toward what’s happened to us, that makes the difference.
Used by Permssion
To read more of Helen’s writings go to http://www.helenlescheid.com
If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you can learn how to start one at this link:
https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws
Email Visitors, please visit our webpage to leave a comment. We warmly invite your thoughts on this devotional.