Questions and Quandaries: Triumph Over Trauma

Celebrations often come with gifts. They bring packages with brilliant colors and gleaming exteriors. Sometimes, the wrapping heightens the anticipation of what we discover inside. God wraps gifts, too. They come to us in various forms, though the packages don’t always seem to be what we would readily embrace as gift-worthy, such as trauma.

We may not initially recognize it, but the trials we encounter in life are odd and unusual parcels. Considering the exterior, an uncomfortable and often unappealing nature of times marked by suffering, we don’t realize that what God is gifting outweighs the outward appearance of life’s conditions. Each challenge comes pre-packaged with treasure inside. We tend to discover the weight and worth of what’s through the process of unboxing.

As we unpack these mystery packages, we encounter another facet of our Father. We may not always notice His Hand and His Heart through the events and circumstances, but when we pause to reflect, we can see how He has shown His kindness, favor, and protection.

Even in the darkest moments, God is present. While we may acknowledge that He’s everywhere all at the same time, it helps to remember that He is with us specifically. He is near to the broken. That is what Christ does, binds and heals the fragments of minds and lives obliterated by the evil force behind our trauma.

The Healer encounters us where trauma has wounded souls and scarred them with resentment and bitterness. Jesus doesn’t deny the presence of what was intended to steal our peace, kill our spark, and destroy our resolve; Instead, He asserts and reminds us what He came to do and the abundant life He brings to us in exchange.

As we come to terms with the trauma that we experienced in the past, we may find it impossible to rejoice. It can seem out of place to celebrate a God who we say allowed bad things to happen in our lives. Our lives present a contradiction: the age-old questions concerning good and evil resurface alongside the quandary of why they are permitted to coexist.

For all the reasons that one could imagine and try to explain, would any of them truly satisfy our endless appetite for answers? While God doesn’t refuse our questions, sometimes the lack of peace keeps us stewing in the anger and resentment of what happened in the past.

We don’t have to remain entangled and entrapped by the quandary of “what ifs and why nots.” We can go forward from this point, even if we may not see all of the steps of a healing journey marked clearly before us.

Faith, even if it’s fledgling, believes God loves us enough to help. It takes faith to surrender what we don’t know to the One who does. When we ask, the Holy Spirit will believe through us, assisting us where faith seems too weak to move forward in healing.

While we may not be able to answer or completely understand the why behind the trauma history, let’s recognize and advance with what we do know. The enemy works every possible angle of opposition to destroy us. We have a good Father in God, and every good and perfect gift emerges from Him.

With all the adversary has hurled at us, none of it was potent enough to abort or arrest God’s perfect plan. We not only survived the trauma, but we are here to outlive the assignment that darkness has carried out against us.

The fact that we are here to tell the story is a testimony. What we do with that can anchor us in the pain, unable to experience true peace and joy. Or, we can welcome the miraculous healing that transforms us, changing our shape from one distorted by pain into a son or daughter who reflects the light of our glorious Messiah. What we do with our pain has the potential to destroy the works of darkness, when submitted to the Lord. Trusting Him frees us from the bondage of shame, as our healing helps to deliver others from the effects of trauma.

Christian counseling for trauma.

Having a safe space to process trauma is essential. While you can talk with the Lord and even engage a few trusted confidants, some challenges require professional support. You are already here, led by the Lord to this site.

Contact us at Grapevine Christian Counseling in Texas today to schedule an appointment with a counselor to begin the next part of your faith and healing journey. While you may have questions, and experience the quandary of the trauma you have endured, there is a path forward to triumph over what was intended to destroy.