"I was hurt by church, so God must have abandoned me there."
How it sounds in your head: If God really loved me, He wouldn't have let that leader abuse their power. He wouldn't have let them gossip about my family. He wouldn't have let me get wounded in His own house. Where was He when I needed protection?
"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."
-- Psalm 34:18Source: Trauma in a place that was supposed to be safe, causing confusion between people's sin and God's character, believing His silence was absence.
The wound happened in GOD'S HOUSE, in His name, by His people—so the betrayal feels like it came from Him. The pain is compounded because the place meant to be refuge became the source of injury, and that makes God feel complicit.
Joseph's own BROTHERS (God's chosen family) sold him into slavery, and he spent 13 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Yet God was WITH him the entire time, and later Joseph declared, 'You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good'—instant vindication and promotion came, making him second in command of Egypt.
I REFUSE the lie that God abandoned me when I was hurt. IT IS WRITTEN that the Lord is NEAR to the brokenhearted. When they wounded me, He didn't cause it—He GRIEVED it. Joseph's own brothers sold him into slavery, and he spent 13 years suffering—but God was WITH him every moment, and turned it for GOOD. IT IS WRITTEN in Romans 8:28 that 'all things work together for good to those who love God.' God doesn't waste pain. He is redeeming every second of that hurt. I am the BARAK blessed, and even when HIS PEOPLE failed me, the blessing STAYED because it's based on covenant, not their behavior. God never left. He was close the whole time, fighting for my healing and setting up my vindication.
The Father whispers with tears, 'I saw every moment. I felt every wound. I was RIGHT THERE, and My heart shattered with yours. I didn't cause it—but I've been plotting your comeback since the second it happened. What they meant for harm, I'm turning for your good. Trust Me with this.' He's already orchestrating the vindication, the healing, the restoration that will make the enemy regret ever touching you.