In our final day of 16 Days of Activism Pastor and family lawyer Todd Darvas, shares how God is at work breaking through broken relationships to bring restorative hope and how Christians can help create pathways to safety, dignity, and healing.
When people think about domestic and family violence, they often think only about the harm. And yes — the harm is real. It leaves deep wounds, not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and socially.
But harm is not the end of the story.
In Scripture, restoration is never about pretending pain didn’t happen. It isn’t spiritual bypassing. It is the slow, brave, and often costly work of bringing life where violence and control once reigned.
In my work coming alongside people experiencing domestic and family violence, I am often struck by how powerfully restorative hope can be. Hope doesn’t usually appear in the form of a quick or neat solution to someone’s deep and complex problem. More often, it shows up as something more fragile: a small step towards safety. A decision to tell the truth after years of silence. A desperate prayer uttered in trust. The courage to imagine life could be different.
When I witness these moments, where hope breaks through the pain and despair of family violence, I feel like I’m on holy ground. God is showing up, and he’s beginning his restorative work.
Throughout the Bible, God’s heart is not only to condemn injustice, but to restore what has been broken. In Joel, God speaks to a people devastated by loss and promises, “I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25). This is not just poetic language. It is a picture of God’s deep commitment to healing what violence and destruction have taken.
Jesus embodies this restoration in flesh and blood.
He meets people whose lives have been shattered — by sickness, shame, oppression, and exclusion — and he doesn’t just offer them spiritual comfort. He offers them dignity. Belonging. Agency. A future. He restores them to themselves, their communities, and their worth as God’s beloved children.
This has powerful implications when we think about domestic and family violence.
Restoration does not mean returning to unsafe situations or excusing harm in the name of forgiveness. God’s restoration never asks people to put themselves back in danger. In fact, it creates space for safety, truth, and justice to be held together with grace.
For some, restoration will look like justice through the legal system. For others, it might look like long-term healing through counselling and community. For many, it’s simply learning — slowly — to trust again, to believe that life without fear is possible, to rediscover joy.
And hope? Hope is not wishful thinking. Biblical hope is not “things will magically work out.” It is the confident trust that God is at work even when the road to healing is long.
In a world where gender-based violence tries to strip people of their power, identity, and future, hope becomes an act of defiance. It says: this violence will not have the final word.
As Christians, we are called to be people who participate in that restoring work — not by offering simplistic answers, but by walking patiently with those on the long road to healing, advocating for their safety, and helping to build communities where violence has no place.
Because restoration is not just something God does for individuals. It is something God longs to do through us.
Reflection
How might you embody restorative hope for yourself or others?
How might God's restorative justice bring healing to you or others you know who are hurting?
How can you be walking with those on the long road to healing?
Prayer
Dear God, Lord of all.
You see and feel our pain,
and You pursue our healing.
You hate all that is evil —
the violence in our world,
the ways people harm one another,
the abuse of power meant for serving and love.
As we close these 16 Days,
we hold before You all who live with fear, wounds, or uncertainty.
Bring safety where there is danger,
truth where there has been silence,
and hope where despair has taken root.
Restore what violence has taken.
Give courage for the small, brave steps toward freedom and healing.
Strengthen all who walk alongside survivors —
advocates, friends, churches, and communities.
Make us people who reflect Your heart:
who seek justice, protect the vulnerable,
and embody Your restoring love.
Amen.
Todd Darvas is the Lead Pastor of H3O Church on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, and a family lawyer at Horizons Family Law Centre, a community legal centre that provides free legal help to people experiencing domestic violence and family breakdown.
Healthy Relationships is Common Grace's daily blog series during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, 25 November to 10 December 2025. Encourage your friends, family and faith community to sign up here.
The following Domestic and Family Violence support services are available:
Learn more about Domestic and Family Violence from Common Grace's SAFER Resource
In our final day of 16 Days of Activism Pastor and family lawyer Todd Darvas, shares how God is at work breaking through broken relationships to bring restorative hope and how Christians can help create pathways to safety, dignity, and healing.
Louise explores how love and fear go hand-in-hand in abusive relationships.
Victoria, a survivor of domestic and family violence, reflects on how healthy relationships allow stories to be shared, and listened to.
