Why Trauma is A Part of the Christian Journey

Trauma. This buzz word that the world is putting a lot of emphasis on. The reality is that trauma has been around sense the beginning of time. I mean have you ever read the Bible? If Adam and Eve lived today people wouldn’t stop talking about the traumatic situation they experienced.

Unfortunately, trauma is a tough reality that all humans have to go through.

No matter what, all of us will suffer from trauma at some point in our life. For some of us the experience with trauma will be more intense and possibly over a longer period of time. For others they may have a short encounter. No matter what your experience has been, I am sure that at one point there was a part of you that asked God, why. Why were you experiencing trauma? Why did it have to be that long? What is the point? And so on. All of those questions were fair.

Unfortunately, as a Christian clinician I find this is the time when people are the most susceptible to being swayed from their faith. There is this sense of doubt that starts to creep in to a person. It can look a little something like this, “I know the Bible tells me that God is good and loving, but if that is the case why am I going through such hard times?” “God tells me that he will provide for me, but I am drowning and don’t feel like He is trying to help.”

These thoughts can start off faint. However, after a while of going through struggles those thoughts can start to feel like a megahorn in your ears. Trust me, I know, I have been there. As these thoughts intensify it can lead a lot of us to also start questioning how God can be loving and allow us to go through trauma. Questions such as these are what prompted me to write this blog. So, let’s dive into why trauma is a part of the Christian journey.

I find there are three main reasons why trauma occurs in our lives. The first is freewill.

Freewill is this fickle mistress that we all want until we start going through hard times in life. When that happens, we raise our hands to the sky and scream, “Why God!” But, God has nothing to do with this. God doesn’t wake up in the morning and decide today is the day when I want trauma to eat you alive. It is the complete opposite! God doesn’t want to see his children hurting. However, He cannot come in an intervene only when things are going bad in our lives. If we want freewill, we have to have it at all times, in good and in bad.

In this season it can lead to creating negative beliefs about how God feels about you. The top one I hear about is the idea that if bad happens to you it means that God doesn’t love you and doesn’t care about you. In our human understanding we think that if someone or something loves us then they should be showering us with good all of the time. The reality is that love doesn’t always make us feel good. Now before you scoff at your screen thinking I am wrong, hear me out.  

Did your parents ever punish you or give you boundaries in your home? At the time you probably didn’t like it and thought it was unfair or unloving. When in reality, all your parents were doing was loving you fiercely. God does the same thing with trauma.

Before we go any further, I want you to know that I am not telling you that you have to like your trauma. I am not telling you that when trauma happens to you that means you need to walk through it happy. I am not saying any of that! What I am saying is that no matter how much bad you go through God is there and He is not wishing this upon you.

While God hears us He also knows how we are designed. He knows that at the core of humans we want to feel happy and comfortable. As a therapist I see this every day. A reality that I have to sit with is that most people would prefer to put their head in the sand and pretend they have no problems.

Which brings me to the next reason why trauma happens, because without it we all would not grow.

If you don’t believe me, I want you to take one week and observe your life. Where are the places in your life that you know you need do to something about it, but you don’t because it isn’t effecting you bad enough? Trauma is a reality for all of our lives because let’s be honest, we won’t learn or listen unless we get slapped across the face with the problem.

For those of you reading this thinking, “Amanda I was sexually assaulted or physically abused how could you tell me I had to go through this to grow?” I hear you and I want to explain. I want you to think about the person you are today. Without that trauma do you think you would be the person you are? Furthermore, look at your relationship with God. Without that trauma do you think you would have this relationship with God? I know I wouldn’t.

While I know it is not easy, I want you to think about your trauma as a steppingstone of growth that brings you closer to the calling God created you with. As believers we have to accept that there is a calling that has been put on all of our lives. For some of us that calling is going to make us go through some really harsh times. Those times are not going to be fun. They may almost break us, but God wants to use our suffering to help others. Much like, Christ’s suffering helps us. Think about how powerful that is! God believes in you and trust you so much that He wants to use you for His work!!!

The amazing thing is that after trauma, if you allow yourself to grow, there is this beautiful transformative experience that happens for a lot of us.

Which is the last reason that trauma happens. To open up a space within us for transformation.

According to https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/transformation Transformation is, “a complete change in the appearance or character of something or someone, especially so that that thing or person is improved.”  

Something all of us believers forget or push aside is that God always wants us to be transforming. That doesn’t mean you have to be a completely different person. What it means is we should always be seeking to be the best version of ourselves so we can be the best vessels for God.

Afterall, one of the top things that God calls us to do is further His name.

Trauma is hard! And it can be especially hard if you are trying to navigate it yourself. If you are in a place where you want help to heal from the traumas that are holding you back, I would love to help you! Click this link to fill out my contact page and begin the process in healing.