Friday, February 4, 2011

Inside Out: Hope for Men Who Have Been Abused (Part 1 of 2)

Kurt Goff of Family Life interviewed Cecil Murphey in January. He gave us permission to share his blog post and a few comments from listeners.

To listen to the podcast of the interview, visit the Family Life website at this address: http://www.fln.org/sermon/inside-out-hope-for-men-who-have-been-abused/

(By Kurt Goff)

This is not an easy topic to tackle.

But it’s an important one.

The stats are shocking: One in six men have experienced unwanted or abusive sexual experiences before the age of 16.

The lasting effects of this are many and can show up in a man’s life in very destructive ways.

Especially in his closest relationships.

As guys, we just don’t talk about it.

It strikes at the core of our manhood.

But I’m so glad my friend and brother in Christ Cecil Murphey has taken a very brave step and broken the silence.

To be sure, the road he has walked has been a long one.

The burden he has carried... a heavy one.

But now God is using his story to bring healing and forgiveness to so many hurting men and the women who love them.

The book is When a Man You Love Was Abused.

A book is one thing.

The voice and the story behind it is another.

Listen and you’ll soon realize that someone really understands your pain.

Maybe for the first time.

And he wants to point you to the One who runs to meet you where you are today.

Psalm 147:3 (ESV)
"He (God) heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

If you need to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to call Family Life’s FOCUS Counseling Ministry: 1-800-927-9083.

Here are a couple of the listener comments:

(From Sam) Thank God for this. I have been abused and have been recovering from it. Trust is so so hard. I have a hard time trusting and believing people will be good and have the best intentions...God is Great and Gracious. God is timely too. Cecil in the interview talked about Joseph...God has been having me read devotionals, and walking me through the Joseph story right now.
"dont be afraid, Can I do what only God can do? You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done. Genesis 50:20
---By the way, since there are not many books on this topic per the podcast a great book on this topic from a Christian man who also was abused is the Wounded heart by Dan Allender

I long for authentic Male connections... that is not always easy in our rural area or anywhere really....May this report touch others deeply -- thank you FLN


(From Anonymous) thank you... the lord has used this in my life today. I have suspects that my husband has been abused, and it has greatly affected our marriage. I am praying for healing in his life, and that he would be able to disclose the information to me. just trusting God for this pain.

No comments: