Previous posts on Joy:
Reminder: joy isn’t the absence of difficulties, or sorrow. Joy doesn’t minimize the realities of life, but sustains us with a gentle reminder of His Presence. Trauma leads to grief as cited in this article. Images from Canva Pro, Night Cafe Studion, bible passages from Berean Standard Bible (BSB) available online through bible hub. This article seeks to encourage you with various perspectives. Trauma recovery calls for professional treatment and a supportive community: consider reaching out to your local mental health provider(s) for professional assistance.
Finding Joy in Life
https://wordpress.com/post/wordsofencouragementinchrist.com/7502
Risk to Hope Again
Quote Sources: Helpful Articles Cited
1. Annie Dalby Healing Our Hearts From Trauma
https://cornerstoneofhope.org/healing-our-hearts-from-trauma
2. Dave Zuleger: God Brings Us Suffering for Others’ Sake
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/god-brings-us-suffering-for-others-sake
Picking up the pieces.
Shattered
Experiencing trauma leaves a person “shattered”. Annie describes this process and the grief that follows using the illustration of dropping a priceless antique.
“It’s like holding the world’s most precious antiquity in your hands, which is then ripped violently from your grasp and dropped to the ground where it explodes into millions of pieces. You crawl on the floor, blind and bleeding, and all the while the broken pieces keep slicing and piercing when you least expect it and are never prepared to handle it.”
The pain comes in waves causing more injury. We seek meaning and purpose for these difficult experiences, but there are few satisfactory answers. During the course of our journeys, it’s possible and likely that we will be shattered multiple times by a variety of losses, trials, setbacks, etc. Trauma comes upon a person and continues to cause injury after the immediate aftermath.
Griefs ebbs and flows through our experience–at times feeling like waves crashing down on a once, sunny, warm beach.
Grief Follows Trauma
“What I’ve learned about traumatic loss and the grief that follows is that you never do find all the pieces. You find some, but they never again fit like they once did. You build the container of your life and for the longest time it springs leaks, and you mourn all over again as you watch the memories flow. It can take a very long time to accept the new vessel that is your life, the one with the bruises and wounds and jagged edges and missing pieces. And beauty, because beauty can still happen even in the worst of circumstances.” Anne Dalby
Trauma fundamentally changes a person and how he/she perceives self and reality of life. A person who experiences trauma will be changed. Recovery from trauma involves reconstruction. As things begin to come back together in life, one works to accept good and bad memories. Life changes for those who suffer. How does one find comfort in these seasons of difficulty?
Light shines upon a flower in bloom. A.I. generated image
God’s Comfort
“The Bible speaks extensively about comfort, offering us a variety of ways to find peace and strength in the midst of trials and tribulations. As we navigate the ups and downs of life, may we hold fast to these truths and discover the peace that “transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).”
2 Corinthians 1:3-5: BSB
The God of All Comfort
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
Commentary on meaning of God of all comfort:
https://www.gotquestions.org/God-of-all-comfort.html
We Don’t Suffer Alone: God Knows and is Present!
Pastor Dave Zuleger explains how God comforts us.
“There’s no affliction that God is unaware of or distant from. God is infinitely interested in the care and comfort of his sons and daughters in all their afflictions. So you are never alone in your suffering, whatever the pain or loss might be.”
Purpose in Suffering and Receiving Comfort: To Comfort and Love Others
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.
When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.
The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.”
― Fred Rogers
“But notice God’s purpose for his comfort. As we look to God for comfort and hope in suffering, He means to spur us on to comfort others who are being afflicted with the same comfort we’ve received from God.”
God Himself comforts us! He comforts us so that we can likewise comfort others.
A man gently embraces another in need of presence. The Light represents God’s presence and active work through these men’s lives.
We’re Comforted to Comfort Others
“God comforts us so that we can comfort others.
God grants us mercy so that we can be merciful to others.
God stands whole-heartedly with us in our suffering so that we will stand whole-heartedly with others who are suffering.
God never leaves us alone in our suffering so that we won’t leave others alone in theirs.”
Our painful experiences are avenues for service (ministry) to others God daily places in our path. Active listening and being present are helpful to others. Need some guidance on active listening:
https://psychcentral.com/lib/become-a-better-listener-active-listening#active-listening-steps
Gospel Living
“We beautifully display the goodness of the gospel as we turn our eyes upward to God and then outward to others to be his means of comfort for them. Then, we will redeem our suffering — or better, we will realize one of God’s good purposes for it.”
Are you trusting God to redeem your sorrows and past traumatic experiences? Do you seek to be a resource and comforter to others?
The warm sun shines on the bench awaiting the weary traveler. God’s presence is Abundant Life-a source that sustains, cleanses, and refreshes the weary pilgrim.
Hope: Critical Component of Comfort
Hope is vital to the process of trauma recovery: specifically trusting that God will restore and heal.
Romans 15:13: God fills us with hope-a hope that sustains and overflows!
The Bible also speaks about comfort through the topic of hope. Romans 15:13 is a benediction: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This hope is not wishful thinking or naïve optimism.
To the contrary, it is a hope that sustains us through trials and tribulations, giving us the strength to persevere and the comfort to endure.
It is a hope that reminds us that our present sufferings are not the end of the story (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17); rather, they are a part of the greater plan that God is working out in our lives (Romans 8:28).
Source: Got Questions “What Does the Bible Say About Comfort”
Three main ideas on hope relating to trauma. First, God fill us with joy and peace through His presence (Holy Spirit). Secondly, joy and peace overflows through our lives onto others! This overflowing allows us to endure and stand firm in faith while healing and moving ahead in our spiritual journeys. Finally, Romans reminds us that our sorrows and “shattering” have a purpose: God working in our lives.
These truths don’t minimize or deny intense emotions. God understands intimately our sorrows, loss, and feelings of anger, disappointment, and confusion.
Count it All Joy: James 1:2
What does it mean to count it all joy?
Rejoicing in Trials
(Philippians 1:12–20)
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
What does the term count mean in this context?
The word count is a financial term, and it means “to evaluate.” When James says to “count it all joy,” he encourages his readers to evaluate the way they look at trials.
He calls believers to develop a new and improved attitude that considers trials from God’s perspective.
Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/count-it-all-joy.html
A Changed Perspective on Trials and Difficulties: Faith into Action
Knowing there is a bigger picture, we can consider trials as things to rejoice in.
Even though joy is contrary to our normal reaction, James urges us to work on changing our attitude toward troubles from dread to positive expectation, faith, trust, and even joy.
God faithfully comforts us and leads us on the path of joy! Joy and Hope are related. John Piper unpacks this connection is his article version of a sermon series: “The Fruit of Hope: Joy”
But it is true to say that Christian joy is deep and firm rather than superficial and flimsy. The reason we know this is that the Bible describes Christian joy as flourishing right in the midst of pain and suffering.
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-fruit-of-hope-joy
Link to John Piper’s series on Hope
*Note: this author doesn’t agree with all aspects of John Piper’s theology and ministry practice, but includes these references as his exposition is helpful for this particular topic.
https://www.desiringgod.org/series/hope-in-god/messages
May God’s grace, mercy, and loving-kindness warm your soul as you courageously push ahead in your journey of faith!
Words of Grace & Hope 