Recovering From Traumatic Experiences

At some point in our lives, we will face trauma. Some of us already have our own story of trauma, and for others, trauma will come at some future time. Our present-day culture tries to categorize trauma either as big traumas or little traumas… but whether big or small, trauma is still trauma. Trauma is any experience, event, or feeling which leaves us overwhelmed, fearful, or helpless. Trauma comes from a variety of sources—abuse, abandonment, mistreatment, betrayal, rejection, loss of a loved one, divorce, or any deeply distressing event in our lives.

In 2 Samuel 13:1–20, we read the story of David’s son Amnon, who fell in love with his half-sister Tamar (sister of Absalom). Amnon was so obsessed with Tamar that he hatched a plan with his advisor Jonadab to have her. He raped her, and his “love” immediately turned to hatred. He sent her away in disgrace. When her brother Absalom found out, he told her in 2 Samuel 13:20, “…Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” Why does he say this? The real essence of who we are happens at heart level. Like Tamar, we are more than the trauma we have been through.

What does God say about trauma and evil? As humans, we often ask, If God is truly loving and truly good, why doesn’t He just get rid of evil? Before we answer, let’s define evil. Evil is anything that opposes God, rebels against God, disobeys God, rejects God, or ignores God. One day, God is going to wipe out all evil—sending it to hell. Why not now? He could, but eliminating evil would take away our freedom to choose, and we all know evil comes from our bad choices.

God created humans with free will. Why? Love cannot be forced; it must be voluntary, willing, a choice. Without choice, there is no love—making free will our greatest blessing and our greatest curse. The truth is, we don’t always choose right and often choose wrong (take Amnon’s decision as an example). Everything on earth is broken by sin and evil—nothing works perfectly here. This week, let’s strive to pray for every decision and use our free will gift to choose right over wrong.