THE HEALER OF EMOTIONAL WOUNDS

HOPE FOR THE HURTING

HEAL MY PEOPLE

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 (KJV).

WHO IS THIS GREAT HEALER?

Heal me O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved. Jeremiah 17:14

Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people .

News about Him spread all over Syria and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures and the paralyzed, and he healed them.

THE GREAT HEALER

God is such that His heart intensely yearns to heal and repair his creation.

Mankind has become so terribly marred by sin, sorrow, evil and countless disorders which affects the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual components of man’s being.

Men suffer from sickness, birth defects, emotional illness, death and bereavement, loneliness, behavioural dysfunction and a lot of heartaches and problems known to man.

God wants to repair these blotches on His beautiful handiwork. Since these wounds abound world wide, healing, repair and restoration can never be far from God’s thoughts.

Thus, he has pledged repeatedly in both Testaments that he will completely repair the earth and all creation. He will heal the world’s uncountable sorrows and restore the human race to a position of nobility

EMOTIONAL WOUND HEALING

What is an emotional wound? What is healing? Why promote healing? Signs of emotional wounding Causes of emotional wounds Steps to promote healing The Great healer

AN EMOTIONAL WOUND

From a physical point of view, the word “wound” refers to a living or body tissue that is damaged. It is visible and one can see if it is a big or small wound.

When the word is linked to emotions, it refers to the damage to one’s emotions. Such damage is not visible to one’s eyes and people may not be aware of the injury.

A wounded heart occurs when someone or something brings hurt to your emotions.

“ The words of a talebearer are as wounds and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Proverbs 26:22

WHAT IS HEALING?

The Hebrew word for “heal” is the verb rapha pronounced “raw-faw” which means to repair, restore health, heal, mend, fix or cure.

Rapha occurs more than 60 times in the Old Testament. In Genesis 20:17 Abram prayed to God for Abimelech’s healing and God healed him and his household.

In Exodus 15:26 the Lord says; “ I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Rapha also occurs in many well known verses such as Psalm 103:3 referring to the Lord “who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.” Psalm 107:20 says:” he sent His word, and healed them”. In Isaiah 53:5, the Bible says we are healed by the stripes of God’s sacrificed Lamb, Jesus the Messiah

In Psalm 41:4 David says:’ Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.” The human soul often needs healing. Brokenness, injury of the soul can be caused by sin and an act of God’s mercy brings healing to the soul.

Mental health professionals deal with multitudes of mentally injured or traumatized people. Sometimes they succeed in promoting healing and sometimes they do not when such healing is beyond human hands.

WHY PROMOTE HEALING?

To get rid of an emotional pain. To prevent the wound from festering and

getting worse. Healed wounds promote self-confidence,

emotional intelligence, spiritual maturity, contentment and honest relationships.

UNHEALED WOUNDS

An unhealed wound has a sabotaging effect or detrimental effect on both physical and mental health such as flattened positive feelings or not performing at our best.

The price you pay for not attending to your hurts is what happens later in the different areas of your life like relationships, marriage and work.

UNTREATED EMOTIONAL WOUNDS

Cause physical, mental, emotional and spiritual impairment.

They can set off mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and addiction.

They can wipe out relationships, add to job failures, obscure life’s purposes and ultimately destroy life.

SIGNS OF EMOTIONAL WOUNDING

Anger, sadness, fear, anxiety, shame, bitterness, cynical, selfishness, vengeful, depression or obsessive behaviour.

Negative interpretation of events Low self esteem Over-sensitivity to a critical comment. The more wounds you have, the less happy you feel

because now and then something will touch your wounds and make you feel bad.

CAUSES OF EMOTIONAL WOUNDS

Rejection, retrenchment or disappointment. Abuse: physical (rape & domestic violence)

and emotional abuse Betrayal or an affair Divorce or a break of a close relationship Death of a loved one Chronic or life threatening illness A traumatic event

CAUSES OF EMOTIONAL WOUNDS

A wide range of life factors can cause emotional wounds and open emotional sores.

Most however are caused by someone or an event that emotionally hurts you.

Those caused by people; someone saying or doing things to hurt you, spreading rumours to discredit a person, rude degrading remarks and abuse of any form

CAUSES OF EMOTIONAL WOUNDS

Emotional wounds caused by events

- Death of a loved one, physical impairment due to an accident or illness, loss of material possession, an affair, trauma, persecution, violence or war

Wounds that do not heal can contaminate every aspect of your life.

Open wounds affect how you view the world, how you relate to others and how you conduct your life in general

MOST COMMON CAUSES

Disappointment Rejection An affair Divorce Death Domestic violence Rape children

TREATING YOUR WOUND

Attending to the hurt, letting the injustice go, forgiving and acquiring proper emotional self- defence skills will minimise the risk of further infection and maximise the healing process.

“ you cannot prevent the birds of sadness from flying over your head but you can prevent them from

nesting in your hair.”

Chinese Proverb

STEPS TO PROMOTE HEALING

These differ according to the causes of the wounds. Healing from infidelity or divorce may differ from bereavement, rape or domestic violence

GENERAL STEPS

The exploration of hurt, (what happened and how),

Expression of feelings (anger, hurt, sadness), Getting caring attention and hope, Gaining perspective on your hurt, (why and the

true significance of it or the bigger picture Forgiveness (move on without negative

feelings towards the person who hurt you)

HEALING AFTER THE TRAUMA OF DIVORCE OR DEATH OF A LOVED

ONE

Shock Denial. You refuse to believe it has

happened. You believe it is a mistake Bargaining/appeasement. You apologize,

comply, try to win her/him back Depression. Feelings of gloom,

hopelessness and sadness, The journey may differ from person to person

Christ can bring hope to those who are hurting and are in great pain because of illness, loss and disappointment in their lives.

He promised to be with us when we go through difficulties. “ when you pass through the waters, I will be with you and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned the flames will not set you ablaze.

When you are emotionally wounded, he promises to be with you. He is there in your pain and He understands it and will help you heal.

It might be a pain of a chronic illness, depression, divorce, a stormy marriage, wayward children or death of a loved one.

Expect the help of God as you struggle to heal. He is there all the time.

JESUS CHRIST THE HEALER

The great Physician heals both emotional and physical disorders. An Old hymn states “ There is a balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole…to heal the sin-sick soul.”

Jesus healed those who were physically and mentally sick who came to him. He will do the same for us if we come to Him in prayer. We should only believe.

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.

Come to me all you who have emotional wounds and I will give you healing.

The Great Healer. He is a healer to me.

THANK YOU

GOD BLESS