Power Tool
Keeping God’s Word Close
The other day I was putting a new license plate on my car. I had picked the most freezing day of winter and was on a mission to complete it in record time. Running into the garage I grabbed the first screwdriver I found and ran back out into the tundra to make a quick finish of the task. However, as I leaned over to remove the old plate, I realized my scramble in the toolbox had turned up the wrong tool for the job.
Ever feel that way when processing your hard circumstances in life? There are so many self-help books, a variety of opinions from those around you, and a swirling brain of confusion. It seems like options are endless and impossible all at the same time and you long to speed through the process to find relief.
The hurdles aren’t set out in careful increments to give you the greatest potential for success. They are random with short sprints, where you can hardly catch your breath, wrapped in a marathon of never-ending fears and anxieties.
And, honestly, who can read a full page and retain it when “trauma brain” reigns supreme!? The words float into space and leave no trail to follow or they turn into a black muted mass that has no recognizable lettering. Weariness takes over and the next thing you know you are sleeping yet again. After all, sleeping becomes your refuge from the chaos.
Trauma is hard and demands to be recognized. It inhibits your ability to live freely and at full capacity. It plagues your days and nights and the cycle leaves you moving through your responsibilities in a haze. You know you are working to accomplish something, but the battle in your heart and mind distracts you from even the simplest of tasks.
Of course, there’s the flipside. Some would rather shut out the pain and stay busy ignoring the explosion that took place. They move so fast and furious with an intensity to “pretend normal” that they imagine they are outrunning the reality of what devastated their life. What they don’t realize is the rubble has to be cleared and wounds have to be healed or any rebuilding will topple on the aftermath that was ignored.
Neither scenario is healthy. Each needs security, hope and healing.
God actually gave us the perfect POWER tool. The Word of God. It’s a tool that fits any challenge. It’s a tool that can assist in getting “the job” done.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
I have lots of questions as I journey through pain. I’ve wrestled to make sense of the blows this life has given. But in the middle of the wrestle and questions I have leaned into the Word of God.
For those who are hurting. God’s Word can speak truth and sort through the chaos of your trauma. It is the POWER tool that can find the infection, clean out the wound, administer the balm and bring true healing and stability to your life.
Here’s a good place to start as you seek to find healing for your hurting heart.
- Grab a 3×5 card and write a verse on each card. Carry it with you or put it in prominent places
- “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
- “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Psalm 56:3
- “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9
- “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” I John 4:4b
- “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
- “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37
- “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
- Listen to an audio Bible app; start with Psalm 23, Psalm 91 or Psalm 139
- Find a church that teaches the Bible and make a point to go and glean from the Word of God; you don’t even have to engage with people that much. Just worship and hear the Word.
