When I reviewed Rid of My Disgrace, I mentioned that it genuinely confronts the question of where God is in sexual assault. This is different from the question of how God might work his purposes out despite or through it. It is instead the grieved cry of asking where God was in the very moment of disgrace; why he was silent to the agonized prayer, ‘Help me God! Rescue me God!’

Here are 5 things I learnt:

1. Sexual assault is an assault on God because it is an assault on the dignity of his image bearer.
2. Suffering does not repel God – it draws God near.
3. God sees, hears, cares and knows our pain.
4. God is grieved by and angry at what happened to you. He is even more grieved and angry than you are, so you are invited to participate with God in his grief and anger.
5. Laments are a refusal to settle for the ways things are. They are acts of relentless hope that believes no situation falls outside Yahweh’s capacity for transformation. No situation falls outside of Yahweh’s responsibility.

These are not easy answers. Heck, they may not even seem like answers. But I think there’s healing in these truths. They remind me of how Amy Grant handles the issue in this song.

Categories: Written by Tamie

Tagged as: Amy Grant Book grace lament Rid of My Disgrace sexual assault suffering

Tamie Davis

Tamie Davis is an Aussie living in Tanzania, writing at meetjesusatuni.com.