Hurting people go in one of three directions: they clam up
and become a loner, hoping to avoid any more pain; or they strike out like a
bully, injuring others as badly as they are hurting inside; or they hate the
pain they are inflicted with, and they never want anyone else to hurt as much
as they do, so they help to carry someone else's burden.
I have no idea what causes people to react in such
different ways. Maybe their personality, or their inability to bear any more
pain, or the example of others in their life, or an instinctive desire to help
someone else will fuel their behavior. Regardless of their reaction, however, they
all have one thing in common. They are wounded beyond the ability of their soul
to handle any more pain.
Sometimes our anguish is so intense, that we do not want to
admit it, even to our self; pain that we are afraid to verbalize, in fear that
we will feel the ache all over again, or even more intensely than we felt it
the first time. We may not even know or remember the incident, which inflicted
this trauma. We may have disassociated from the event, so that we can forget it
in the hopes of stopping the pain.
A good method of releasing this pent-up torment is to write
about it on a piece of paper - to keep a journal in which we write truthfully
and often. We allow our soul to express the cause of our pain and the profound
feelings we keep buried deeply within our soul. There is no need to write a
whole paragraph, a phrase or a sentence will do.
Reading it to someone else is your option, but not a
necessity. Just one sentence is all we need, in order to diffuse the terrifying
emotion, which is keeping us in bondage. If you do not remember the incident,
then just list the negative emotions rampant in your soul right now: anger,
bitterness, revenge, brokenness, depression, discouragement, hopelessness, etc.
Then, ask God to disclose the source of these emotions; to
reveal the lies, which Satan planted in this experience; and then to express
His truth about this hidden pain. God knows the end of our life from the
beginning (Isaiah 46:10). He was there when we experienced
this pain. He wants us to lay our pain at the Cross, and to ask Jesus to make
us a new creation; so that He can care for us (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1
Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22).
Prayer:
Father God, it takes courage for us to go hunting in the
recesses of the jungle of our mind. Weeds, vines and underbrush wall in our
pain; and we will have to break through these barriers in order to expose the
anguish all over again. Pour out Your love upon us as we embark on this
journey. Pull out the splinters of pain that have festered over the years from
neglect. Renew a right spirit within us and give us Your joy as our strength (Psalm
28:7, 51:10, 71:26, 94:19; Nehemiah 8:10). Then help us to help other
hurting people to find freedom in Your love as well.
Thought for the Day:
As we draw nearer to God, we can resist the devil and he
will have to run from us. - James 4:7-8
Read these three free chapters offering freedom from the
debilitating pain: http://theophostic.com/page13051343.aspx
