Surviving TraumaSampel

King David felt shocked and rejected by his friends, family, and God. But he never gave up hope that God would lead him out of despair. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night, and am not silent” (Psalm 22:1-2).

In the mid-1990 I was deployed for 6 months flying daily missions to protect the USS Constellation CV-64 aircraft carrier airwing and battle group. One morning, my crew was briefing for a plane guard flight, where we fly patterns to the starboard (right) side of the carrier during flight operations, ready for any potential rescues from fixed-wing mishaps. Our briefing officer informed us that a helicopter from a sister squadron crashed the night prior, killing all on board. We all were impacted since we knew and worked with the deceased crew.

We all experienced shock from the news but quickly pivoted to suppressing the information to continue our military-obligated duties. Denial is a natural numbing defense mechanism, which allows time to absorb the news and process it at a later time. However, the key is to actually process the news later to deal with the trauma and grief. Otherwise, the trauma eventually surfaces in unhealthy forms, both physically and emotionally.

Romans 8:26-27 says even when we don’t know the right words or feelings at the moment that the Holy Spirit is there to pray with us. With God helping us pray we should have the confidence that He will answer. He guides us through times of shock and denial to provide us with what we need at that moment to survive and begin healing. We must get out of our own heads and allow Him to intercede; to take complete control of our life.

Daily Journal

Continue to get your thoughts out in your journal. Think back to times you were in shock and denial of the trauma you experienced. How did you react in those moments? Did you seek the Lord or did you try to get through it on your own?

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