In this series of posts, I will be speaking to you about your ability to overcome horrific trauma through the power of God’s Word. The event itself cannot be erased from your memory but the after effects of this traumatic injury to your soul can be healed through letting God’s Word wash over you and through prayer with others.
First, I am deeply sorry that you have had to face this horror in your life. May God strengthen you. It is my hope that you will find greater emotional health through this process.
I will discuss this issue in the framework of how this trauma is an injury to your soul. I define the soul as the mind, emotions and will of a person. Much like being in a car accident where you are injured and that injury through a rehabilitative process is restored, the soul can also be restored through a deliberate process. Often, the soul’s healing is ignored in a traumatic event because we don’t know how to get that healing. For many though, you can’t conceive of God being that interested in you or that he would get that involved in your life. Or else we don’t believe in the existence of God or the inspiration of the Bible. It is the last place many of us will look for help. But folks, God has the answers. If you are worn out by the dead ends you have found in searching for relief and healing, give God and his word a chance. He is amazing in that he welcomes all comers. No matter how skeptical you are, if you allow him an opening, he will prove to you that he is trustworthy. He loves you that much.
God has designed us and created us. He gave each of us a soul. God gave us the Bible as a type of manual. The answers to your need are in this manual. If a guy buys a new car, the first thing he often does is read through the car’s manual to know what kind of gas to use, how much air to put in the tires and to figure out how all the buttons work. We are going to explore God’s manual together and figure out how to help you finding healing.
For a number of years, I have been involved with helping military personnel and veterans overcome PTSD. I have consulted with leading psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists. As they sincerely grapple with finding a cure for this horrific imprint on the soul, a number of them have concluded and told me that the spiritual aspect of this is central to healing the soldier or veteran. Science is coming around to the Bible for answers to PTSD. Why not? He created us. He knows how we operate. And has the answers to our problems.
Your soul’s injury can be a type of Post Traumatic Shock. You may be reliving the event, triggered by a number of non-related circumstances, sounds or smells. Your soul is bringing back the event, in my opinion and as difficult as that is, as a way to find healing for itself. On a minute scale, after a serious car accident, I had a dream and several bad flashbacks of the event. My soul was reliving what happened, trying to process it.
I will attempt to help you through what others and I have learned from the Bible about the soul and it’s healing through God’s Word. I believe that you can attain a wonderful life beyond the traumatic event that you have been through. There is hope in God through his word for you to overcome this tragedy.
-Richard Glickstein, President of the National Bible Association