How Pain Can Disappear

If you could eradicate emotional pain instead of simply managing it, would you?

You actually can. We are often taught that relief for pain comes from a quick fix. If I have a headache or a cold, I take medicine. The problem is that these pain relievers don't actually cure. Your headache isn't gone just because you can't feel it for a few hours; it has a source that must be dealt with.

It's the same with emotional pain. We're taught to manage it, but let's understand that emotional pain can morph, grow, and eventually pop up where we least expect (or desire) it! It's like trying to push a beach ball under water! Pain is actually a healthy mechanism that tells us when we need to fix something. If we ignore or suppress it, we'll end up with unattended issues beyond our control!

One major way we manage a hurting heart is distraction. We may take a vacation, go shopping, or avoid people/situations that bring up emotions we dislike. I once worked for an organization that cared for traumatized youth. One of our girls had some serious emotional scars from a father who abandoned her when she was a teenager. We were told do help her deal with the pain by saying, "Too bad that happened. Anyway, let's work on this puzzle, etc. right now." Basically, we were to change the subject. But that only teaches her to suppress her feelings. How many times can we change the subject before her hurt becomes unmanageable anger?

What she needs is to admit that her father hurt her. She then needs to figure out what she can do about it. If he's a fairly safe person to talk to, she can open the door to reconciliation by confronting him. If he's not a safe person yet, she can choose to forgive him, and to set up healthy boundaries that only allow him close when he accounts for his actions. She can recognize that God created her and loves her, and that if her dad chooses to miss the gift of being in her life, that reflects his brokenness and not her worthlessness. Thus, she has allowed the pain to surface, and she has found a way to dispose of the toxins safely.

This solution is borne out of hope! If she assumes she is not worth anything, or she believes that her pain could never be healed, she won't even try. But I want to assure anyone who feels this way. There is NO pain known to man that God is unable to heal! I know what it feels like to be in the depths of depression, fear, anger, and so many things. There are people worldwide and throughout generations who have undergone horrors of every kind. Yet many such people have stories of healing, miracles, and glorious joy that comes from God stepping into their lives! He does this for all of us.

If you are in emotional pain right now, I encourage you to close your eyes and talk to God. Whether you have a close relationship with Him, or you've never prayed before, He is near. He wants to heal your heart. And when He heals, nothing can take it away from you. Will you?