Healing From Trauma: The Science & the Scriptures

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

I often get asked – does the Bible even speak to trauma? To mental illness? 

And the answer is a loud YES! God’s heart for us extends to our deep pain and suffering. 

We see this in scripture, and as science and research into trauma healing develops, it showcases God’s incredible design in creation. 

Over the next few days we are going to look at a few of the important intersections in trauma healing –bringing together the science and the scripture. My prayer is that we will find hope that healing is possible, see how the Bible beautifully speaks into our healing in practical ways and have a roadmap of the steps you need to take on your own journey. 

First, let’s talk briefly about what trauma is. 

We are usually quite familiar with what is considered “big T” trauma: war, an accident, a natural disaster, an assault, etc. 

But we aren’t always aware that we can be deeply impacted by “little t” traumas: growing up in an unstable household, being exposed to the silent treatment often by parents, ongoing bullying, etc. 

These “little t” traumas still have BIG effects on how our brain is formed, the visceral core beliefs we hold about ourselves, God, the world, and the relationships we have. 

God is with us in our pain. 

Jesus himself experienced pain, trauma, and suffering. His compassion for us is beyond what we could fathom. 

And the good news is he doesn’t turn us over to our pain but rescues us instead.

We cannot change the past. And the longer we live in the past, the longer we stay in bondage to what hurt us. Christ came to set us free. 

But we must accept what has happened. Acceptance does not mean it was okay. Acceptance doesn’t mean justice is not required. Acceptance means that you don’t remain in the state of being a victim. 

We are called to run our race (Hebrews 12:1). We cannot run our forward moving race while looking backwards. 

The Science: When we fail to accept what was and remain living in the past, it has detrimental effects to our mental, spiritual, relational, and physical health. The inability to move forward has been linked to increased anxiety and depression, instability in relationships and a failure to operate at one’s potential. When we operate outside of scripture, even in our healing, everything is impacted. 

The Scripture: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Isaiah 43:19

God is calling us to look forward to the NEW thing he is creating –a spring in our wilderness, hope in the desert places. In fact, he has completed this great new thing at the cross of calvary. There, we can lay down our hurts and pains and pick up the freedom that Jesus bought for us. That includes the bondage unacceptance has in our life. God is calling us to look at his new mercies each morning. To look at His grace which is sufficient for us. To look to His love that is molding us to be more like Jesus.

We cannot side step our grief, even when it feels hard and heavy. In trauma, there are a lot of things to grieve. We grieve what happened. We grieve the impact it may have on our future. We grieve what was lost. Grief is a human emotion given to us by God that allows us to process our pain. 

Even Jesus grieved. He grieved at the impact of sin as he approached Lazarus’ tomb, even knowing that he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. 

It’s been said that we can’t heal what we don’t allow ourselves to feel. Grief is how we feel our way through the pain. 

The Science: Grief impacts the wiring of the brain. When stuck in fight or flight because of trauma, going through the stages of grief in a healthy way allows the brain to process the event and gives space for positive rewiring of the brain. It leads to improved coping skills, an ability to envision future possibilities, and a decrease in anxiety. 

The Scripture: ‘There is a time for everything…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

Solomon, the wisest person who ever lived, is usually credited to writing Ecclesiates. In this book, he looks at the transient nature of the human experience – especially outside of God. He recognizes that everything apart from God is ultimately futile. But in God – in Christ – we have hope and purpose. There is a time in every human experience to grieve. Know that you are not alone in this process. Know that in Christ, he works on our behalf to bring purpose to our pain (Romans 8:28) as we confront it, inviting the Holy Spirit in to walk with us. The pain of grieving may last the night, but joy WILL come in the morning.

Forgiving those who hurt us is a huge stumbling block for many. I think, in part, it is because we attach meaning towards others to the act of forgiveness. For example, we fear that forgiveness means that what they did wasn’t harmful. Or forgiveness means that they are off the hook and your pain doesn’t matter anymore. 

Really, forgiveness is about us. What it means for our growth and transformation in Christ. Forgiveness means no longer being a slave to bitterness. Forgiveness means tearing down any wall you might have built between you and God. Forgiveness means changing your identity from victim to overcomer in Christ. 

At the heart of it, forgiveness is a choice we make. And continue to make with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

The Science: Tons of research has gone into the topic of forgiveness. And what we see is forgiveness leading to improved mental health, less anxiety, stress, and hostility, fewer symptoms of depression, lower blood pressure, and a stronger immune system. This shouldn’t surprise us though; forgiveness is an act of obedience and there is blessing in obedience. 

The Scripture: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15

Forgiveness is a big deal to God. Why? Because WE are a big deal to God. He knows the devastating impact unforgiveness has on us on ALL fronts – spiritual, emotional, physical. Freely God has given us forgiveness through Jesus. We are called to freely give it in return lest God withholds it from us. This stipulation is an act of love from our good Father, knowing that blessing and freedom lie in our obedience.

To truly break free from the bondage of trauma, we have to change the messaging that trauma wired in our brain. Messages like we are unloved, not enough, broken, damaged, and so much more. 

God knows that the greatest battles we would experience are going to be in the mind. That’s why he calls us to put on the helmet of salvation – to put on Christ himself to guard our mind. It’s why he instructs us to take thoughts captive and put them in obedience to Christ. 

And what’s cool is that the emerging work in neuroplasticity shows how God designed our brains to make this possible! 

The Science: Neuroplasticity reveals how we can create new neural pathways of thinking and weaken other pathways of thinking. So when the thought “I’m too broken” comes, we can call it out and replace it with the truth of God’s word – that we are a NEW creation, God’s masterpiece designed for good works. As we repeat biblical truth (scripture memorization is great for this), we strengthen those neural pathways until they are strong enough to be more predominant than the old way of thinking. 

The Scripture: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

It can be hard to cut through the noise of trauma and see God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. But he made this possible and gave us the manual on how to do it. He has shown us how we can become set apart from the world by renewing our minds. By taking control of our thoughts and meditating on that which is pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy. 

Try this exercise for yourself: List the lies that are recurring in your thoughts. Search the scripture for Biblical truth and rewrite those thoughts in a way that reflects God’s truth. Say this new list of thoughts out loud to yourself daily, and see how your mind begins to be renewed.

I know that in my own journey to healing and working with my clients through their trauma, the question WHY often emerges. 

Why did God allow this? 

It can be hard to reconcile a good Father with the pain we experience in the world. 

Here is what the Holy Spirit has revealed to be in my searching: 

• We cannot understand everything on this side of eternity, and to demand God explain it is to try and elevate ourselves above him. 
• The world is full of brokenness because of sin. The Christian walk does not exempt us from encountering the effects of brokenness, but it does give us access to the Great Comforter. 
• The real question to ask is WHO. Who is my safe place in the storm? Who is my anchor and strong tower? Who is my savior and redeemer? Who has promised us victory? 
• Doubt, discouragement, and disappointment are bound to happen as we experience pain. You have to decide if you will allow that to lead you away from God or towards God. 

Often, it is our hardships that keep us tethered to the goodness of God. 

And that is a good thing. Because our God’s character does not change. He is for you. 

“Even though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil, thy rod and thy staff comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

Let God comfort you today as you heal. As you grow. As you prepare to walk in renewed purpose.