“I never knew suffering like this existed.”
Hearing these simple words whispered from a dying friend is gut-wrenching. All the love in the world cannot stop the painful reality that things are not as they are supposed to be. In this life, profound suffering pulls at the threads of your faith until you are left undone and turned inside out. In particular, facing the trauma of death and its finality can create an internal anguish that can barely be spoken out loud.
As Diane Langberg says in her book, Suffering and the Heart of God, “Trauma is extraordinary, not because it rarely happens but because it swallows up and destroys normal human ways of living.”
Losing a loved one to death is just one kind of trauma you will face in life and may cause you to question many things, including your faith. Learning to make sense of the internal turbulence that trauma creates is a common reason why people seek counseling. This is why the With You in the Weeds podcast created a series on this topic called “Surviving and Thriving After Trauma”.
A simple definition of trauma is any experience that overwhelms your ability to cope on your own. Though the ways people experience trauma are endless, With You in the Weeds covered these specific issues:
Trauma is not only the event itself but what happens to you as a result of the event and how you come to interpret the event. Trauma is the lingering emotional and mental impact that is disruptive, distressing, and disorienting and, therefore, often difficult to process.
To make matters worse, the aftermath of experiencing a traumatic event can leave you feeling alone, abandoned, and misunderstood. You may blame God for allowing it, others for not protecting you, and yourself for causing it (even if it was not your fault). That sense of shame and the self-condemning narrative that gets layered on top of the event itself can push you down a dark path.
The bottom line is that trauma disrupts the flourishing God intends for his creation, and it’s part of living in a fallen world.
Although the Bible has a category to acknowledge and include trauma, the authors and original audience used other language. The Bible uses words like trials, hardships, affliction, calamities, and sufferings, all of which today might be referred to as “traumatic” events. Biblical writing also uses metaphors to evoke the experience of trauma, such as walking through a dark valley, wandering in the wilderness, or being parched in a desert. These images speak to how we experience life with sin, suffering and death.
When Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds,” this isn’t just a reference to literal physical wounds but also to emotional, psychological, and relational wounds.
Scripture is an extended litany of trauma that began with the first family in the Garden of Eden and won’t find resolution until Jesus returns.
One reason you can have confidence that the biblical writers understood the powerful effects of trauma is how they speak to the fact that our experiences of suffering, hardship, and trials can make it harder to trust God.
That’s why there are many passages that proclaim and seek to convince you of God’s love: because when you encounter trauma, loss, or pain, you naturally believe that God doesn’t care, doesn’t love you, and is far away from you.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth nor any other created thing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:38-39)
This passage in Romans lists every possible example of separation, pain, grief, trial, or wounding that threatens to push you further from the source of life and love. And the author, Paul, finishes this long chapter of naming these various sufferings by saying, “No matter what happens, you cannot be separated from the love of your Father because of what Jesus the Son has accomplished for you in his body on the cross.”
Paul wants you to know that there is no trauma so deep that it can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus! How different would your life be if you believed God’s love cannot be lost, no matter what happens?
The assurances of God’s love may sound empty when you are enduring hardship, but those promises are important anchors when the storms of life come. These words have power because God sent Jesus to enter your sufferings, bear your shame, and declare you forgiven, cleansed, redeemed, delighted in, and restored into fellowship with himself.
Think about this: even though Jesus did life the right way, he himself is called “A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). His perfect obedience didn’t protect him from sadness and anguish.
Instead of moving further away from you, Jesus enters the weeds of your human experience to conquer the ultimate trauma: the power of death.
He did this by confronting evil on the cross and enduring the shame and suffering of the crucifixion. He took on your judgment and condemnation and rose on the third day which guarantees your future resurrection when he returns.
Not only does he understand your pain, but he also stays with you in it and gives you grace to endure and remain faithful to him to the end.
The Christian faith provides a message so hopeful that it seems too good to be true.
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and those who believe in him will one day be victoriously raised as well.
And not just raised from death, but given a new, glorified body that will be restored and transformed into the full likeness of Christ. Your resurrected body will be free from trouble, heartache, disease, pain, and sin.
Not only will your physical wounds be fully healed, but you will also be restored mentally, emotionally, and relationally, too. Any earthly injustice you’ve experienced will be dealt with at Jesus’s return. No one will get away with anything. All that is sad will come undone, and you can be assured that trauma as you know it will come to an end
Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Let that sink in: Jesus will wipe away your tears individually because he knows how you have personally suffered.
Is there a more glorious, comforting hope than that?
Until that day, you can experience much joy and growth in this life. The healing power of God might come to you through others– community, friendship, counseling, and support from safe people who can help carry your burdens.
The reality of the resurrection helps you face suffering today because you can be assured of a hopeful future.
Whether you are facing chronic pain, the death of a loved one, betrayal, or a broken relationship, you can be comforted by the hope that there is joy to come. Trauma, as unbearable as it may be, can be a catalyst for your soul to realize that you no longer have an earthly home. Your eternal home, which will be free from pain, is beyond this life.
True health and wholeness will be realized when you are fully united with Christ after death. And being assured of this promise, we say, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come”.
The With You in the Weeds team consists of John Tinnin, MDiv MFT, Lynn Roush, LPC, Shay Roush, MDiv and Austin Conner, MDiv PLPC, who provide professional Christian counseling at The Crossing in Columbia, MO.
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