If you are experiencing grief, or living with the effects of trauma or abuse, you can be empowered to live with your loss, work through your heartache and regain your strength, hope, and peace.

Most individuals who experience these problems can benefit from seeking appropriate professional help. This is highly recommended when the emotional distress negatively impacts functioning.

For the Christian, the Bible is the most reliable and definitive resource for self-care. God has given instructions in his word for dealing with mental and emotional distress.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Extreme distressing emotions are often unreliable.

Jeremiah 17:9 states

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: “Who can know it?”

Ephesians 6:12

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Three of the most damaging lies and deceptions perpetrated against the people who have been traumatized, or abused are thoughts that they are inadequate, unworthy, or unlovable

You are more than adequate. Philippians 4:13

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

You are worthy because Christ made you worthy.

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. If you believe you are unloved or unlovable, this fosters a sense of rejection and detachment from others. Yet the word of God declares “But God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You did not have to be perfect or do all the right things. God loves you regardless.

You are loved unconditionally by God. Romans 5:8

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Foundational Principles for Healing and Recovery

1. Principal One: Fear cannot protect you. It holds you in bondage. You must have faith in and act on the promises of God. 2 Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

2. Principle Two: Know and believe that you are not alone. Joshua 1:9

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

3. Principle Three: Know and believe that God is doing a new thing. Isaiah 43:19

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

4.Make a commitment to God and yourself to receive the healing and freedom God has promised you. Isaiah 53:5

It is important to remember that healing may not look the way you think it should.

Regardless of what it looks like, you can trust that God has a plan, and he knows what is best.

Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

In summary, you can receive healing from grief, trauma, and abuse. God has a plan. However, you must first embrace foundational principles of healing which include relying on the promises of; knowing and believing that you are not alone; understanding that God is doing a new thing in your life; and believing in the healing power of God.

Where Was God When I Needed Him?

God was there all the time:

Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

We must remind ourselves of who God is:

God is love (1 John 4:16)

God is our Heavenly Father (Romans 8:16)

God is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9)

God is a promise keeper (Revelations 22:13)

God is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelations 22:13)

God is the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2)

God is your provider (Philippians 4:19

God is your healer (Psalms 103:2)

God is your protector (Psalm 91:9-10)

God is your refuge and your strength (Psalm 46:1)

God is still the same God since the beginning of time as we know it:

Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Eve from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. Psalms 90:2

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Why bad things happen to good people:

Original sin of Adam and Eve Genesis 3

God cares about your suffering:

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.(Romans 8:26)

God is always working on your behalf:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

There are four principles from the Bible that will help you overcome challenges and even rise above your circumstances. These four principles are really actions you should take to gain victory over a problem. They are 1) Be transformed in your mind; 2)Trust God; 3) Persist in Prayer; and 4) Seek God’s Presence.

Be Transformed.

You rise above your circumstances. By allowing God to transform you. You start to think and behave in accordance with the will of God. Romans 12:2.

The need to think and behave as God directs is clearly stated in the Bible. God does not think the way we think, and his ways are not our ways. Isaiah 55: 8-9

Trust God

When we Trust God, we have a firm belief in who he is, what he says, and what he will do. You must change your focus from your own understanding by seeking and trusting God. Your focus will then shift from your own limited capabilities to God’s unlimited power. Proverbs 3:5-6.

if things don’t change right away, you can still have God’s power and strength to wait till the change comes. Trusting God makes you strong and powerful. Psalms 125:1,

Persist in prayer

You must pray earnestly and persistently, with faith. Tell God all about it. Seek his direction and his help. Philippians 4:6-7

When you pray, you are not informing God. You are drawing close to him, trusting God, and demonstrating faith in his promises. Pray and speak the promises of God over yourself and your situation. 2 Corinthians 1:20

Seek God’s Presence

The courage, strength, and confidence you need to meet any challenge of life is found in the presence of God. If we seek him we find him. When we find him we find all of who he including his power to change things. Jeremiah 29:13; Isaiah 55:6; Psalm 16:11

Your circumstances can’t hold you back unless you allow it. They can’t destroy what God has created within you for his purpose. Jeremiah 29:11