This morning, @idahosalaurie and I are praying for this to be your testimony.
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For those of us who have gone through trauma, for those of us who have been held down by fear, for those of us who have gone through and overcome pain, seeing a resemblance of our experience happen to someone else often painfully causes us to identify with them. It can bring up feelings of anger and cries for justice. It can reopen old wounds.
Pain is an interesting phenomenon because by its design, it is really meant to protect. If, for example, your hand is placed on or near a heat source, your brain immediately tells your body to pull it away in order to prevent more damage to your hand and perhaps other parts of your body.
Pain will cause a person to pull back from the source of pain in order to prevent more damage. But what happens when the damage has already been done? The pain remains as a reminder and teacher for next time—the next time you see the heat source you know what not to do.
The healing process has also been intricately designed by God. It has 3 stages: stage one, cleansing-dead, necrotic tissue. Stage two, granulation—deep defects cannot regenerate so a defect must be filled with new tissues and healed from the inside. Stage three, epithelisation—surface cells are in the process of completing the wound closure but are still vulnerable to negative effects.
This entire process is very close to what happens to us emotionally.If things happen which reopen wounds, it can cause further pain but also can bring a deeper healing to the affected areas. Wounds have the ability to heal quickly if treated right, but scars always take longer.
Our focus today is not so much about the events of yesterday, but instead is on those who had to live again through pain which they may have forgotten, repressed, or were told was their fault. We want you to be healed from trauma, shame, or guilt.
Jesus doesn’t point fingers...He asked the condemned woman where her accusers were, and then released her to live a life that was different. The Apostle Paul told us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit which is in Jesus has actually come to set us free. That same Spirit is the One who brings comfort, Justice, and healing.
We are praying for you today, that God will lead you to find healing from the inside. We are praying for you, that whatever the enemy had wanted to use against you will instead become a source of strength for you and for those who hear your story.
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The Word of God promises in Jer 30.17, “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal,“ even if they called you an outcast, saying “..it is (insert name here), for whom no one cares,” God wants you to know today that He cares and wants to remove your shame.
You are probably familiar with the verse in Isaiah which says, for your shame, you will have double. But here is the same verse from the Bible In Basic English,
[Isaiah 61:7 (BBE)] “As they had twice as much grief, and marks of shame were their heritage, so in their land they will be rewarded twice over, and will have eternal joy.”
The Message version puts it this way, “Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, Your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever.
That same chapter talks about how God loves justice, letting us know that God will bring justice on your behalf. However, the focus of that chapter is healing and restoration. God wants your restoration.
What the church in Nigeria needs now is restoration and healing for those who have been victims both from within and outside the church. Once again, my focus today is healing. God wants you healed. If you would like to read further, please click on the link in my bio to read further about how heal from trauma, but know this: you are being prayed for today. If God allowed pain in your past, it is because He knew you would be strong enough to one day stand on the other side of it, healed. Stronger. And with power for the future.
#IStandForHealing
