An excruciatingly painful memory invaded my mind this past weekend and sent deeply emotional jabs ricocheting through my consciousness. It felt like my life’s plane had been hijacked to a deserted and dark location. It was a triggering experience that dropped me to my knees in prayer. AND GOD ANSWERED.
After my prayers produced some calming relief, I began to think what a Christian—me, you, all believers—should do when painful memories take us back to times of trouble, travail, or tragedy.
Turning to God and giving him the pain is what we must do, of course. But we all know that is in the easier-said-than-done category. So let’s walk through the FIVE STEPS I took this past weekend after being felled by a painful memory.
STEP 1: CONSEQUENCES
I start with remembering what happens if this kind of pain goes UNRESOLVED. It triggers a devastating cycle of despair and distress that pilfers any chance of living the unforced rhythms of grace walking with Christ. That’s what we are trying to avoid so we can restore our intimacy and trust in God.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
STEP 2: TRUST
The next step I take is looking at the triggered pain as a GLORIOUS INTERRUPTION to trust that God will use it for some kind of good in my life. Glorious, really? Yep. Glorious because it lets us know that those memories are UNRESOLVED and destined to continually haunt us in the future by consuming our joy in Christ unless we process them correctly with God.
Viewing our pain through the Gospel’s lens allows us to reflect on 1) how God has sustained us in the past; and 2) how we can become “comforted comforters” for others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
The goal here is to focus on trusting God and take myself out of the picture early because we cannot do any of this on our own. I want to acknowledge and release my pain to him and receive his compassion, comfort, unconditional love, and desire to heal me.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
STEP 3: GOD’S WORD
God wants us to acknowledge and address our triggered pain as REALITY and not bury it in our mind and heart. He wants us to take that reality straight to HIS Word for HIS perspective. When the hard memories are triggered, we should replace each lie with God’s truth.
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105
STEP 4: FORGIVENESS
My next action is asking Jesus to help me forgive my offenders, cover them with his love, and bathe them in his living water. And then I ask him to forgive myself for any wrong thought or action on my part.
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32
STEP 5: RELIEF IN HEAVEN
This process is complete when we realize that all of our suffering on earth will eventually be healed and forgotten when God sets us free for eternity in Heaven.
“I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” Isaiah 65:17
