Dr. Kim Kimberling has spent over 40 years as a counselor and marriage therapist helping people navigate the things the church often tiptoes around — including the devastating and lasting effects of sexual abuse.

With nearly 4 million people reached through Awesome Marriage, Dr. Kim brings both clinical wisdom and deep faith to one of the most complex topics in human experience. He joins Matt to talk about what sexual abuse actually is, how it hides in plain sight, and what real healing looks like for survivors and their spouses.

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HIGHLIGHTS

✅ Why sexual abuse doesn't have to be violent to be real — and why the church's silence around non-violent abuse leaves so many victims without language for what happened to them.

✅ How unaddressed abuse goes dormant for years, then surfaces in marriage — sometimes as early as the honeymoon — through avoidance, shutdown, and broken trust.

✅ The lie that it's your fault, and the simple but powerful reframe Dr. Kim uses with survivors to help them see themselves the way God does.

✅ How male victims of female abusers experience unique confusion — and why cultural messaging makes it even harder for men to come forward and get help.

✅ Why the "why did God allow this?" question is valid — but why getting stuck there blocks the healing that God actually has for you.

✅ What spouses of survivors need to hear: believe them, don't minimize it, don't try to fix it, and let them lead.

✅ Forgiveness as freedom — why it's a process, not a transaction, and why it has nothing to do with making what happened okay.

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QUOTES

❝Most sexual abuse is perpetrated on someone by somebody that the victim knows and probably trusted to some extent.

❝God didn't design abuse. But sometimes people use the freedom God gives us to do horrible things.

❝When you look at what Jesus did — how he was betrayed and stripped and violated — he's not a distant God that doesn't understand.

❝When we bring things into the light, the shame that goes along with that loses its power.

❝When you forgive, you set a prisoner free — and then you realize it was you.

❝Letting go doesn't mean what that person did was okay at all. It gives you the freedom you deserve.

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RESOURCES

➡️ Awesome Marriage — courses, social media, podcast, and more: awesomemarriage.com

➡️ The Awesome Marriage Podcast

➡️ Marriage Undefiled Course (featuring Restored Ministries) at restoredministries.ca/marriageundefiled

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TAKE ACTION

If you're struggling with sexual sin, pornography, or betrayal and want help, you can experience transformational community and Biblical teaching that has impacted the lives of men around the world. Join The Armory at restoredministries.ca/armory.