Combat trauma can leave us feeling disoriented, confused, and alone. God desires to step into our pain with us and guide us to healing. In this five-day plan, you’ll discover biblical principles that combine insights from medical and psychiatric communities to begin the process of healing from combat trauma.
Ben Bennett, Resolution Movement, and Cru Military.
Day 1
Scriptures: Psalms 56:8, John 11:30-36, John 3:16
Where was God?
When a person experiences a horrible event, when evil seems to triumph, the innocent are harmed, or a random, unexpected incident results in destruction and death, it’s natural to ask, “Where was God? Why didn’t He prevent this?” This is a normal response to tragedy. If you’ve ever asked this question, you are not alone.
“Where was God when I got shot?” “Where was He when that IED flipped our Humvee, killing my best friends?” “Did He go AWOL? Is He a deserter?” It might have felt like that, but He was right there with you, weeping over your dead friends just as He wept at the tomb of His friend, Lazarus (John 11:30-36). While there is a day coming when Jesus will eliminate all evil, death, and tragedy, in the meantime, He is walking beside you and anguishing over the pain you are experiencing. He is not distant. He is not disinterested. He is more present than you can imagine.
While tragedy did strike, He has and is protecting you in countless other ways. You may be well aware of the bullets and shrapnel – both literal and metaphorical – that wounded your body and your mind, but do you know about all the ones He deflected to keep you alive? One thing’s for sure: if you belong to God, you have never been outside of His sovereign care and protection. You may not know about all the things God has protected you from on this side of heaven. He is always with you, carefully orchestrating the chaos of life, combat, and everything in between to keep you alive and bring glory to Himself.
God is and has always been in control, but He’s not controlling. We all know “control freaks” who seem invested in your life but don’t really care about you—they just want to control you. God is the opposite of a control freak. His control isn’t about forcing you to do anything. He loves you, and He wants your love in return. No strings attached. And His love can begin to heal the wounds of the trauma you’ve experienced. You may have wondered, “Where was God?” The answer is, He was always there. Loving you.
Thought of the Day: Through the darkest moments of combat and the deepest hurts of my life, God has always been with me, loving me, protecting me, and guiding me through.
Day 2
Scriptures: Psalms 32:3, Job 12:22, Psalms 34:18
Proactive Remembering
We all have a place in our minds where we hide what we don’t want to remember, a secret chamber where those things are hidden away. Things like alcohol, drugs, or thrill-seeking behaviors may help us keep the secret chamber door shut tight. That seems easier than remembering what happened during combat. Remembering is painful, difficult, stress-producing, and absolutely no fun at all. So, why do it? Without doing so, we cannot move forward into healing.
When you experience the horrors of war, your brain switches into defensive mode in order to keep you alive. These traumatic events were put on the back burner. Some things needed to be examined, felt, responded to, mourned, accepted or rejected, and filed away properly. Your brain took those events and put them on your brain’s hard drive, along with all the soul-ripping emotions that went along with them. But they weren’t meant to stay there. Unaddressed feelings and painful memories can become like computer viruses, disrupting your system at the most inconvenient times. They can leak into other compartments of your hard drive and corrupt them. If they aren’t discovered, brought out, and dealt with, they’ll worsen, and the whole system will suffer. But if they are exposed to the light of God, their power over you can be weakened and removed.
Jesus Christ wants access to every area of your life – not to impose Himself and dominate you, but to bring healing and victory. Like a patrol in Fallujah searching from house to house, checking every nook, cranny, and shadow for terrorists, He wants to enter even your darkest, most ominous corners to conquer the foes lurking there – whether they are physiological, psychological, philosophical, or real spiritual entities.
We have no secrets from the all-knowing God. There is no safer place than prayer to begin remembering what happened and allowing Him to comfort us. In addition, talking and praying with others who have experienced similar trauma opens our hidden wounds to God’s healing power through being seen, known, understood, and comforted.
Thought of the Day: Stuffing away painful memories may seem like the easiest and safest thing to do, but the truth is, the safest I’ll ever be is within God’s love and grace. I can invite Him into those painful places and experience healing from my past.
Day 3
Scriptures: Jeremiah 31:3, 2 Timothy 1:7, John 15:15
Perception and Self-Perception
Our identity is extremely important. It is not something that we or those around us should be confused about. Both perception and self-perception must be accurate.
When a person experiences severe trauma, their self-perception is often shaken to the core. Before trauma, a person may see themself as rational, self-sufficient, adaptive, strong, and worthy. But after trauma, that image of self can be torpedoed. Feelings of fear, confusion, powerlessness, and helplessness may overshadow the positive characteristics. The effects of this negative transformation of your self-image don’t remain in the psychological realm. They bleed into your behavior too – your plans, activities, priorities, reactions, values, hopes, dreams, ambition, social interaction … the list goes on and on.
That’s why knowing who you are in Christ is so important. Read the statements below to remind yourself who God says you are in His Word. Come back to these truths daily to renew your mind.
· I am regarded -I am a friend of the Almighty God of heaven and earth. (John 15:15)
· I am important -I have been rightly called a child of God. (John 1:12)
· I am forgiven -I am no longer condemned. (Romans 8:1)
· I am valued -God loves me with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)
· I am accepted -I am accepted in Christ. (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV)
· I am powerful -God has given me the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
· I am lovable -I am loved by God and nothing will keep us apart. (Romans 8:38,39)
· I am connected -I am intimately attached to Christ and bearing fruit. (John 15:5)
· I am a member of God’s eternal family– I have been adopted as a child of God, and I have brothers and sisters in Christ who can love and encourage me through my journey of healing. (Galatians 3:26)
Thought of the Day: Trauma may try to tell me who I am, but only God determines who I really am. That’s why I will hold tightly to the truth of my God-given identity, an identity that no trauma can ever take away from me.
Day 4
Scriptures: Exodus 15:26, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Mark 2:1-12
Bridges To Healing
God is your Healer (Exodus 15:26), but the healing He does in your heart and mind may not happen instantly. Even when you don’t feel it, He’s at work, making you whole one piece at a time. He does this in many ways, and one way is through community. If you haven’t already done so, find a community of Christians who can support you on your journey. God has given us brothers and sisters in Christ who help us out when we get into trouble or find ourselves struggling with the effects of our trauma. Friends help us bridge the gap between fear and faith or failure and feasibility. There is safety and strength in numbers, so get around other believers to fortify your faith.
When you get the opportunity, read Mark 2:1-12. This is the story of a paralyzed man and four of his friends. The word had gotten around to Jesus being at a house in Capernaum, healing people. These four men immediately thought of their paralyzed friend. They rushed to his house, put him on a stretcher, and carried him to Jesus. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones who had heard about the Healer. The house was crammed full of people and surrounded by hundreds more. The four men cared about their incapacitated friend too much to give up. They decided to bridge the gap between their friend and the Healer. They hoisted their friend up on top of the house, tore up the roof, and lowered him through the hole down to Jesus! Then, Jesus – seeing the faith of his friends – healed the paralyzed man immediately.
There are faith-filled people who want to do that for you. Let them. Don’t let your pride get in the way. If you know you need help, there’s no shame in seeking it out. Whether that means seeing a counselor, joining a support group, or inviting friends into your healing journey. Every one of us needs to seek help. There is no shame in this. The shame would be in remaining paralyzed because you’re too proud to accept the help of others. If you need help, reach out to someone today. Help is out there. Don’t be afraid to find it.
Thought of the Day: God has provided the gift of community, friendship, and medical professionals. Today, I will reach out to others to find help and encouragement.
Day 5
Scriptures: Isaiah 45:3, Isaiah 61:3
Restoration
In northern Italy, there is a village that produces vases worth ten times more than any other goods sold in the area. To create these vases, an artisan smashes a simple vase on the ground, shattering it into dozens of pieces. Then, with the greatest care and skill, the artisan laboriously reassembles the vase using glue mixed with gold. When finished, every golden vein becomes a magnificent element in the once-broken vase, adding to its beauty and value. This technique is also practiced in Japan and is known as kintsugi.
This process is similar to how God heals and restores the brokenness of combat trauma. He can bring beauty and value from the pain you have experienced. He will likely do this in ways you cannot fathom. The resurrected Christ retained His scars, even in His glorified body. Maybe in eternity, we will see those scars and behold with our own eyes the evidence of His ultimate sacrifice of love. Our scars, the ones we bear in our bodies and hearts, will also be transformed in heaven. We will see them in the light of God’s love and His final victory over evil.
You have been in some dark places since your traumatic experiences. God desires to help you. What God said to His servant King Cyrus in Isaiah 45:2-3 can be a promise to you as well. God knows your name. He has called you. He’ll see to it that neither mountains, gates of bronze, bars of iron, or the blackest darkness keep you from where He wants you to go. And there are treasures hidden in that darkness that He wants to give you. As you receive them, you’ll know for sure that the God of the Bible is the One who has been with you in that dark cave of trauma. Those who have not entered the darkness will never touch the treasures reserved for you. God is offering them to you. May He give you the sight to see, accept, and use them for your healing and the glory of the Kingdom of God. And may the golden veins of your restored soul be evident to all, for all eternity.
Thought of the Day: I am so thankful that God is a God who restores. I will trust the brokenness of my life into His hands. I know He can make something beautiful out of something broken.