The following excerpt was extracted with permission from David Powlison’s book Cure After Abortion, Series Aconselhamento, published in August 2018.
The problem with silence is that what you keep hidden becomes darker, more confusing and threatening over time. Maybe you’ve noticed before. You have to put your abortion before a confession, but who are you going to confess to?And who has the power to forgive him? These questions can only be answered in the context of your relationship with God.
- Because God created you.
- You have to answer him.
- God can measure the weight of the many factors that influenced your decision.
- He saw the difficult situation you were in and understand the pressure you’ve been under.
- However.
- God sees beyond all the nuances of the situation.
- Grey.
- All difficult situations.
- All rationalizations.
- Although you faced a difficult circumstance.
- Considering it from God’s final point of view.
- Your abortion was one or the other: or a good decision.
- That you can be proud of.
- Or a bad decision.
- For which you need His mercy.
So, put aside all the reasons for your abortion, your age, your school plans, your financial problems, how was your pregnancy, the pressure of your partner and / or your family, how ashamed did you feel about the pregnancy? And ask yourself: What does God think of my abortion? The truth is that God is opposed to taking innocent life from the body of a person who was created to care for and nurture this life, just as God created you, created the life that you led (Ps 139: 13-16). The power of life and death belongs only to him. It is not our right to end an innocent life, be it shameful or unwanted.
But the God who sees us clearly is full of mercy, he does not want you to live the rest of your life full of guilt, remorse and shameful silence, he wants you to face the gravity of what happened so that you can return to Him and find mercy. Does he want this moment to be a turning point in your life? The moment you abandon yourself and end up being found by his love and mercy. James 4. 6 explains this moment in this way: “Does God oppose the proud? (Those who do not admit the need they have), but does he grant grace to the humble? (Those who recognize your need). In fact, in this Same verse, James means that God “gives us more grace. ” No matter how serious the problem is, grace can go further, higher and further.
Does God find you exactly where you are? In your silence, in your humiliation, in your guilt and in your shame. Throughout the Bible, God promises that anyone who comes to him and asks for mercy will not be ashamed. He said: “Do not fear, you will not be ashamed, do not fear shame, you will not be humiliated, will you forget the shame of your youth? (Is 54,4).
God asks you to come out of your hiding place and talk honestly to him. This gives you powerful reasons not to be afraid and forget the shame of what you’ve done. These reasons aren’t on your shoulders. You will forget your shame for who God is and what He has done for you. God is your Redeemer (Is 54:5). A redeemer personally enters a painful and dark situation and overthrows it; turns evil into good. Turn darkness into light. Where there is shame, he brings mercy. And when his mercy enters your life, gratitude and courage replace shame.
And how does God do that?To redeem himself. He entered into our sadness, our sin, our sickness, and our pain and put everything upon himself. He died on a cross for your sins, including the one that now weighs on you. The promise of God’s mercy is upon the fallen body of His Son, the death of Jesus is your guarantee that when you come to God and confess your sins, you will receive mercy. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for those who are conscious and admit their sins (1 John 1. 8-9).
Jesus’ death and resurrection assures you that God will accept your confession and grant you forgiveness and protection.
Because Jesus paid the price for your sins with his death, you can ask God to set you free and protect you from being caught in a whirlwind of shame and darkness. David expresses this feeling as follows: “To you, Lord, I lift up my soul. I trust you, O my Dieu. Net, let me humiliate [?] None of those who await you will be disappointed?(Ps 25:1-3).
Shame makes you feel unprotected, vulnerable, and frightened by humiliation when you appear in public. David knows this feeling, so he pleads with God: “Save my life and deliver me!Don’t let me down, because I’m taking refuge in you? (Salt 25,20).