There are some traumas we experience in life that don't require an ambulance, an operating room, or a specialty surgeon. We experience traumas that most can't even see from the outside looking in, silent issues that haunt us every day. It's easy to tell someone to "cast their cares on Jesus" or "He'll never put more on you than you can bear" but those proverbs are often silenced over the sound of trouble. Almost everyone knows the phrase, "What goes on in this house, stays in this house!" and so we learned that regardless of how you feel, you should never alert anyone that you're hurting.
When we relocated to Dallas, TX and opened our church, The Potter's House, it was our mission to show people the power of God through healing. Sunday after Sunday, our church filled with broken people opening their lives and hearts to the amazing power of God, searching for help. Above all, people wanted to know how they could move on from the traumas of life. Our parishioners wanted to know how they could begin healing.
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised, for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5
Most people focus on the "we are healed" part of this scripture and miss the beauty of the text, your healing has already been bought! Your life, your heart, your future means so much that He shed his own blood to see you overcome. The first thing you have to do is change your mindset. You can no longer focus on the trauma that halted you, but look at the future you have left to live.
Even if you can't stop the pain or run from the memories, start telling yourself, I am healed. Tell yourself you're healed, even when you're sick. Use your faith to beat the thing, that's beating you! We know that faith without works is dead. It's not enough to want to be healed; you have to start speaking to those broken pieces inside of you. Use that same voice that tells you, "You can't move on" to start pushing towards greatness. The first step in overcoming is deciding it's time for change.
Once you move your mind, you have to get active. The road ahead of you may seem hard and at times it may seem like it's not worth it; but there is another, joy-filled, pain-free, YOU standing at the end of this journey, waiting for your embrace. We often shy away from things that may help us because of what other people may think. You cannot continue to be tormented on the inside, so that you look perfect on the outside. Whether the trauma you are facing has left physical or emotional residue, you have to begin to face those issues straight on.
If you are tormented by memories of the past, seek a Christian counselor in your community and let them know that you need help. Experiencing pain from an accident? Then, it's time to call your doctor. Whatever your issue may be, you have to begin to align yourself with people who can help you. If you do not open your mouth and cry out for help, things cannot get better. God has only given us one life to live and it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves. Jesus said in John 10:10 "I come that that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." He knew that there would be some who may not take advantage of the opportunity to have life and have it more abundantly but the mere possibility of you living your life to the fullest was enough for Him to shed His blood. God believes in you, its time for you to start believing in yourself.
Do not allow the whispers on the outside, to pick at the trauma you've had and give you an infection. Guard yourself from those who aren't helping you to overcome. If you have to be by yourself, do it. You'd rather be alone while you go through this than risk an infection. You have to remove any obstacle in your life making it hard for you to live the life you were predestined to live. It's time for you to prosper, time for you to stop allowing this trauma to control your future. "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 3 John 1:2
During my studies, I learned that flesh wounds heal from the inside out. Have you ever had a wound that still looked fresh from the outside but it started itching, and you knew that, that was a sign it was healing? Your life may look like its broken from the outside, others may look at it and wonder what happened, what went wrong. But you feel something that they don't, you feel that itch down on the inside, telling you your healing is on the way.
Serita Jakes has been involved in Christian ministry all of her adult life and has served alongside her husband, Bishop T.D. Jakes, throughout their entire marriage of nearly 30 years. In addition to raising three sons and two daughters, she is executive director of the WoMan-To-Woman Ministries of The Potters House of Dallas. Serita Jakes is the author of "The Princess Within: Restoring the Soul of a Woman" (2002); "Beside Every Good Man: Loving Myself While Standing by Him" (2004); and the newly released novel, "The Crossing" (2011).