Quote from Forum Archives on October 25, 2002, 2:35 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Neil Anderson, in his daily devotional series from Freedom in
Christ Ministries, has written another well balanced message.
This time he writes about dealing with hidden hurts. This
message is a good complement to the previous message about
resolving a past conflict, so I'd like to share it with you as
we close out a work week.

Dear Lord, I've known what it's like to experience hurt and have
to deal with the pain, (both the visible things that others can
see and the invisible things that only You can see). I thank you
for being the strength in my life in all things. Please guide me
each day through this lifelong process, that my life may be one
of joy and peace, completed in You, and that I may be an
encouragement to others, too.

Your Brother in Christ,

Brian

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N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

October 25, 2002

THE HIDDEN HURTS

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious
thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me
in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23, 24).

Most people I deal with have had major traumas. Some have been
ritualistically abused to such an extent that they have no
conscious memory of their experiences. Others constantly avoid
anything that will stimulate those memories. All of these people
have had their emotions traumatized--and many are stuck there.
Unable to process those experiences from the past, they have
sought to survive and cope with life through a myriad of defense
mechanisms. Some live in denial, others rationalize or try to
suppress the pain with food, drugs or sex.

This is not God's way, however. God does everything in the
light. Knowing this, you can always count on God to bring your
past conflicts to the surface at the right time so that
everything can be brought into the light and dealt with. I have
noticed that when a person's conflict is deeply traumatic, God
allows that person to mature to the point where he is able to
face the reality of the past. I have prayed with many that God
would reveal anything in the past which is keeping them in
bondage--and God has answered those prayers. Why don't we pray
this way more often in counseling? I'm disappointed at how often
the "Wonderful Counselor" is left out of Christian ministry.

I am personally against drug-induced programs or hypnosis that
attempt to restore a repressed memory by bypassing the mind of
the person involved. Everything I read in Scripture about the
mind challenges believers to be mentally active, not passive.
Getting ahead of God in the healing process through drugs or
hypnosis can throw some into a quagmire of despair they can't
escape.

I believe the first step in God's answer for repressed trauma is
found in Psalm 139:23, 24. God knows about the hidden hurts
within you which you may not be able to see. When you ask God to
search your heart, He will expose those dark areas of your past
and bring them to light at the right time.

Search my heart today, O God, and know my troubled thoughts.
Lead me in the everlasting way.

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Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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