I believe God heals and he still does miracles. I believe because I follow the same Jesus who“ cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick”( Matt. 8:16 NLT). But what about deep wounds left by trauma? And what if those wounds are caused by a parent or a spouse, someone we should have been able to trust, someone who should have been a safe place? We all know those wounds go so much deeper.
When asked whether God can heal emotional trauma, Christians might give the knee-jerk church answer, something like,“ Yes, and won’ t he do it!” We want to assure others— and maybe ourselves— that we’ re saved and believe without doubts. We tend to avoid asking difficult questions because, as Christians, we’ re not sure it’ s allowed.
My perspective is that honest faith does ask questions, but it doesn’ t question who God says he is. That might sound contradictory, but it’ s not. God wants authenticity, but at the same time we must trust him even when we’ re in painful experiences. When we’ re authentic and trust, God reveals the chains that bind us so we can lay them at the foot of the cross and walk away in freedom.
That’ s easier said than done. Especially if those chains were put there by people we once considered safe, or by a parent or spouse whom we should have been able to trust.
My father was an extremely broken man. He should have been a loving, protective image of God in my life, but he was the exact opposite. He was a pastor and as we traveled
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