Ephesians 4:26b-27 Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
A psychological trauma is an extraordinary stress, injury, damage, hurt, wound or pain of the soul. Trauma shatters security and leaves the victim with a sense of weakness, helpless, hopeless, worthless, insecurity and vulnerability. The effects of trauma are withdrawal, pessimism, anger, bitterness, anxiety, timidity or fear. These eventuate as sensitive “pain-points” hidden in the secret chambers of the soul. Pain-points can be triggered by past memories, movies, music, mates; by dialogues, dreams or disclosures. If trauma is not dealt with, exposed and healed, it will affect a person throughout their life with feelings of shame, guilt, disconnection, mistrust, heightened anxiety and depression. The most common reaction to trauma are the “secret anger fits” of the mind.
Have you had angry arguments in your mind with those who inflicted pain, suffering and discrimination, even though they are dead or distanced from you? Have you lost your sleep about an injustice, unfairness or prejudice that you suffered as a child or a young adult? Vulnerability, susceptibility and defencelessness can cause deep, bleeding and painful wounds and affect our character, social behaviour and potential. Trauma is a foothold for the devil!
Three steps to deactivate pain-points and overcome trauma:
1. Recognise: Anger, irritation or exasperation is only a reaction to a hidden pain-point. Moses suffered the trauma of “adoption” as he was growing up in the palace, watching his kith and kin suffering the tyranny of Egypt. His second blow was when his own people rejected him as the leader which led him into the wilderness for 40 years. Withdrawal is a symptom of a hidden trauma. In withdrawal, we have our own mental war rehearsing, replaying and retorting with the abusers which leaves us scared, scathed and succumbed. To overcome trauma, first recognise the secret battles in the mind and surrender them to Jesus. A surrendered trauma will become a testimony.
2. Reset: Secondly reset your mindset. If not, we will be sceptical about new connections and friendships, fearful about the stigma of shame and controlled by the clamour of pain. If a conversation, comment, a portrait or picture, a sensitive smell or scent; an emotional sorrowful movie clip, a silly comment or sorrowful emotion triggers the pain-point, then the wound is still very raw, bleeding and infected. The balm that heals trauma is the “blood of Jesus”. There is no wound that Jesus cannot heal because He has suffered rejection, abuse and shame just like you and me. The blood will replace the wickedness, wrongness and weariness into rightness. Blood bathed mind will reset the pain-points into power-points.
3. Replace: Trauma can cause fear of rejection, anxiety of acceptance and anticipation of abashment. Most introverts have very little self-worth and self-confidence. When trauma rules the mind, and fear grips the heart, it gives a foothold for the devil to manoeuvre us to become “people pleasers”, “compromisers” and “silent observers”. When trauma rules our soul, the devil will control our mind and manipulate us with the negative emotional surges. Replace the negativity of “I can’t” with “I can do all things through Christ Jesus”. Replace pain-points with the promises of God.
Trauma leaves us with sensitive pain-points that can be triggered by comments, criticisms and circumstances and a constant fear of being misjudged, mistreated and misled. When we expose and surrender the secret battles of our mind, the blood of Jesus will heal and replace the pain-points with power packed promises. Do not let trauma give the devil a foothold in your life.
Proverbs 29:25 Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.
Prayer: My Loving Heavenly Father, where our earthly relationships have failed, help me to lean on you and draw strength from you. Help me to overcome the manipulation of traumatic experiences. Amen
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