Giving Him Time

In her book In Pursuit of Love, Rebecca Bender shares how she was lured by a boyfriend from the safety of friends and family into a life filled with flashy clothes, expensive trips, and every perceived comfort the world has to offer. Or so she thought. After six years of being trafficked by other men, Bender recognized that her only hope of salvation came through Christ. But she also discovered she wouldn’t be rid of the habits and beliefs she’d formed in order to survive so easily. After deciding to leave “the life” for good, Rebecca reached a moment of despair. She writes, “And then God whispered something that would change everything. ‘If you give me the same amount of time you gave the enemy, I will never be outdone.’ God challenged me. He was right” (Rebecca Bender, In Pursuit of Love [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020], 212). Today Bender works alongside law enforcement and advocates to educate communities, assist in trial cases, and help survivors of sex trafficking break the chains of their past so they can step into a new, restored life. (More of Rebecca’s story can be seen in this four-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHcoEY6gJJ0.)