‘The words from Isaiah 49.13–23 gave me hope at a very, very bad time. I was in an abusive marriage. My husband just wanted to kill me. He tried smothering me when I was in bed, and if it weren’t for my daughter I think I would have gone then.

‘My son met a woman who cut him off from his whole family. For years we didn’t hear from him. We were devastated. Then, my Dad – who was my rock – took his own life. You never get over that. It pushed me over the edge, basically.

‘One day my husband went totally berserk and smashed the house up and was taken to a mental health clinic. The psychiatrist said, “He doesn’t have mental illness, he has behavioural issues and only he can change that.” That was that. I knew I couldn’t have him home. I read Isaiah 49.13–23. It talks about rejoicing, which was the last thing I felt like doing. In it, God says, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands”. That was the bit that struck me. I felt that the worry had been lifted when I read that. I could see myself in God’s hands.

‘It felt prophetic too. It talks about “your sons hasten back” and my son came back. It says “those who laid you waste depart from you” and my husband left.

‘When I read this passage, I trusted and I knew it was going to be OK. It changed my outlook. I became more positive. I think without these verses I wouldn’t be here now. I had got to the point of feeling that my children would be better off without me. These verses gave me hope.’

Do you have a story to share? Email mybible@biblesociety.org.uk

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