Healing the Past

by Blake Cromwell

Recently I finished a series of teachings about God’s desire to heal us from the wounds of the past. My premise was that we all carry around memories that rob us of joy and sour our disposition. People are affected by hurtful memories of ridicule, of severe criticism or of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. These memories cause oppression that drains us of the abundant life that Christ desires for us.

Where do these hurtful memories come from? Many times they come from those nearest to us—our family members, our siblings, and even from our past playgrounds. In a moment of cruelty, someone near to us unleashed an assault of wounding words or physical blows. After pastoring for more then twenty-five years, I have discovered that everyone has hidden emotional wounds and they take longer to heal then physical ones. The good news is that Jesus desires to heal us of all the bruises of yesterday.

For all those who have gone through a war or lived in a home that was a war zone, God says, “I heals the brokenhearted and bandage their wounds.” For those who are brokenhearted over the death of a loved one or over someone walking out, this verse says God wants to heal your heart. Let me share with you four steps God uses to heal our emotional scars.

First, bring your hurts into the light. The worst thing you can do is to shut down, retreat, and rehearse the offense over and over. This mistaken strategy only amplifies the emotional wound and enlarges the problem. Psalms 32:3 says, “When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me, I moaned all day long.” Constant fatigue can be a sign of an unhealed emotional wound. If you find yourself moaning and sighing throughout your day you might need to deal with suppressed emotional wounds. Find someone you can confide in and begin bringing these hurts into the open. It’s the only way you’ll truly find freedom.