April is Child Abuse Awareness Month

Holy Ground 

Have you ever felt like you were standing on holy ground? 

Many of us long for an experience that deepens our awareness of God’s presence, but God’s invitation may come differently than we expect. 

The first account of holy ground appears in the opening pages of Exodus. Moses, a man born to an Israelite slave but raised in Pharaoh’s palace, committed murder and became a fugitive. As he tended to sheep in the desert, he stumbled upon a burning bush that was not consumed (Ex 3:2) 

Standing before the bush, the LORD called to Moses, instructing him to remove his shoes. Moses hid his face as he stood in the presence of God.   

As God revealed Himself to Moses, He also revealed His purpose for this profound encounter: injustice. 

After four hundred years of slavery in Egypt, the people of God called out for rescue. God heard them, remembered them, saw them, and knew (Exodus 2:24). When God hears, He acts, and so, He sent Moses.  

Moses was not unaware of the injustices happening in Egypt, and neither are we unaware of the injustices occurring in our cities. We can simply slide open our phones, and injustice rolls through our feeds. 

The volume of need might paralyze us, but God still calls us to advocate for the voiceless and the vulnerable. But how? 

First, we notice. 

The LORD waited for Moses to notice the bush and to turn towards it (Ex 3:3). In our distracted, anxious world, we might miss the small and subtle ways God beckons us to advocate for the oppressed. 

Social media may scream at us about injustices, but other victims go unheard and unseen. Specifically, children. 

One in seven children experiences abuse in the United States. 

Those numbers should shock us. How many children who are abused have we passed every day? 

To notice, we must be like Moses—curious about the abnormal. If you notice a child with unexplained injuries, changes in behavior, fear of going home, alterations in sleeping or eating, lack of personal care, or inappropriate sexual behaviors, you should make an official report to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Otherwise, who will? 

But we also must notice the Spirit of God leading and prompting us. Jesus tells us that the Spirit will be an advocate and a comforter (John 14:26). We often assume that means the Spirit advocates only for us. But if our merciful God hears the cries of the oppressed and moves toward them, could it be that the Spirit within us also advocates for us for others? Do we notice when the Spirit invites us to notice children who are abused? 

Second, we must act. 

God equipped Moses for what would come (Ex 3:12). One by one, God addressed Moses’s own fears, ultimately empowering Moses with his presence. But Moses still had to move his feet back to Egypt. 

In some cases, acting means reporting suspected abuse to the authorities. Other times, we may need to be proactive, ensuring that systems and processes are in place to protect vulnerable children. And at other times, after abuse has been discovered, we need to provide children with the support and resources they need. 

Lastly, we stay. 

As Moses’s leadership journey continued, he stumbled along the way and sometimes grew frustrated with the process and the people. 

Children who have endured abuse often live with lifelong ramifications. Abuse or neglect puts them at an increased risk for “future victimization and perpetration, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, delayed brain development, lower educational attainment, and limited employment opportunities.”

Clearly, we want to intervene before the abuse, but in the absence of intervention, we must be willing to walk with victims of child abuse in the aftermath. This may be a lifelong endeavor, but when accompanied and strengthened by God, we stay. 

Moses died at the age of 120 with undimmed eyes and unabated vigor (Ex 34:7). You would think that a lifetime of advocacy, desert living, and leading a stubborn people would wear an old man out. But Moses knew the secret to advocacy— God. God knew the cries of His people and God knew the cries of Moses. In turn, Moses knew God and allowed God to lead him as he led the people. 

As child after child silently cries to the heavens, God hears, and he will use you and me to respond. 

So, will you notice? Will you act? And will you stay? 

For the LORD beckons to you from the burning bush. You’re standing on holy ground.