Articles and Testimonials

Truth is somewhat of an elusive concept. What one person considers to be true another may not. Witness the debate over things like evolution, creation, the existence of God, the Big Bang Theory, and so forth. I hold God to be true. An atheist does not.

But for the purpose of this article, we will define truth as: ‘exposing that which is hidden.’

In essence, that is what all truth is. It is an attempt to bring into the light that which has lain hidden or covered. Deception, or a lie, is an attempt to hide, to bury, to cover up something. Truth, therefore, is a type of confession, a revealing of a pain or an injury that needs to be exposed in order to heal.

Proverbs 16:6 – By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

After a decade of counseling as a pastor, I’ve learned that emotional injuries need, nay, must, be exposed in order to begin the healing process. The guilt that is always associated with the emotional trauma will never be purged, never be reconciled until it comes out into the light.

The common method of dealing with emotional trauma is to bury it, to hide it, to cover it up, and then to hopefully ignore it. But it can’t be ignored. An infection-and that is what guilt is-can’t be ignored. It will spread and damage so many other areas.

The Bible says in another place:

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Notice that the cleansing of the wound cannot begin until the wound is first exposed, confessed. It is the act of revealing the wound to God, as our Great Physician, that He can set about cleansing the wound from the infection, unrighteousness, or guilt.

This is a Biblical model that is taught throughout Scripture. Observe:

James 5:16 – Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The word ‘faults’ does mean sins or transgression. More than that, it is the emotional wound, or guilt, that always accompanies that wound. So many people-especially victims-carry guilt about what either they did or what happened to them.

Most victims believe that what happened to them was in some way their own fault. They deserved what happened. They feel shame for what happened. They feel dirty for what happened. They feel sinful for what happened. In many cases, they were just children and a terrible crime was perpetuated on them. Still, these children carry the guilt of what happened into adulthood. It is an infection that, buried, never healed.

This guilt has to be purged. It begins with truth, the exposure of what happened, the revealing of what-in most cases-happened years and years ago.

If you have something in your past that has emotionally traumatized you, you must get it out. You need to talk to someone about it and allow the healing process to begin. I understand that you fear the exposure of this wound. You’ve buried it for so long, but the infection is only spreading. It now effects your marriage, your child rearing ability, and your other relationships.

A boy falls off his bike and scrapes his arm up pretty bad. His instinct is to run to mom, but in so doing he puts his hand over the wound and covers it up. The very first thing that mom says is, “Let me see it.” The boy needs to reveal the wound for inspection, reveal the injury so that it can be cleansed. But often, children don’t want to do that. Revealing the wound seems to bring about more pain. But it is necessary in order for mom to begin the healing process properly.

Your emotional wounds are the same way. If you come to me, for instance, I will say, “Let me see it.” I need to see the wound in order to help begin the healing process. God needs you to reveal the wound to Him, to confess the fault, confess the sin, and confess the guilt. Without the truth being known, you cannot heal properly.

If you are married, sit down with your spouse and tell them those things that happened to you that, up to date, you’ve never revealed to anyone. You may feel that these wounds are better off buried, but that simply isn’t true. You are deceiving yourself. You are perpetuating a deception on yourself and the wound never gets healed.

John 8:32 - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

It’s time that you free yourself from these emotional injuries and begin the healing process. What is described here is a start. Healing takes time. But the truth, the exposure of what you’ve hidden, will make you free.

Find someone to talk to and then talk to God about it. Healing will, and can, take place for you.