Beauty for Ashes - Where Faith Meets Trauma

Do you ever feel that you must put a mask on in church?

“I’m fine”

“God is good”

All this might be true but underneath there may be trauma, loss and deep pain. Questions and disappointment leading to doubt and insecurity or even a questioning of our faith.

We need to talk about the ashes. The reality is that trauma happens and the statistics are high. Rejection, abuse, relationship breakdown, bereavement or other forms of adversity. Hard though it may be, we need to ask those difficult questions and consider thoughtfully how to respond not only Biblically but also practically. It can be difficult to join up the dots between faith in Jesus, the redemption He brings and the reality that many of us do experience tragedy and trauma.

Jesus wasn’t afraid of sorrow. The Bible talks about suffering often. The well-known Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53 describes Jesus as man of sorrows acquainted with grief, despised and rejected. The Psalms are full of deep expressions of pain and suffering. Jesus wept when his friend died and he got in touch with the depths of people’s pain when he ministered to the sick, the outcasts and those caught in difficult patterns of sin.

Jesus wasn’t afraid of mess, so why should the church be?

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus experienced the weight of suffering. Prior to the crucifixion and acutely aware of what was coming, he told his disciples that his heart was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. In prayer to his father, he said “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will but as you will”.

Jesus didn’t pretend he wasn’t afraid or deny his anguish.

As we know, Jesus went on to be betrayed, to endure the pain of the cross and total separation from his father. The events of human redemption began to unfold. Gethsemane was a garden:

a place where we normally expect to see beauty and life but here in the midst of beauty came fear, anguish, pain and rejection.

The story of suffering began in another garden: Eden, when Adam and Eve rejected God’s instructions and best plan for them. It certainly is a hard one to swallow when the consequences of their wrongdoing impacted the whole human race. Sitting with that does not mean that suffering and pain are always punishment, nor does it mean that trauma must have the final word. It is immensely reassuring that all along God knew what was about to happen and had a redemptive plan.

God’s plan for redemption shows us his heart to restore. He has a bigger picture. Reflecting on the well-known passage of Isaiah 61, I am stirred by God’s heart:

To comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” -Isaiah 61:1-3

Jesus later stood in the synagogue and read these words, applying them to His own ministry: the ministry where people were heard at their point of pain, honoured in whatever state they were in and healing followed for many.

Ashes symbolise death and yet this passage talks about beauty coming from ashes.

God certainly doesn’t say “there were no ashes“ nor does he minimise the mourning or pretend pain didn’t happen. He meets us in the ashes and then he begins the restoration process: at our pace and without barging in.

We can have the courage to say, “Trauma doesn’t have the final word”.

Another truth that God wants us to recover is that fear doesn’t have the power over us.

Trauma often means that fear becomes a way of life and pairs up with our nervous system to create symptoms such as racing heart, altered breathing, panic attacks, muscle tension, sensory sensitivities and more. We get used to the bodily sensations and the thought processes that fear produces. We might put up protective defences, such as to control, avoid, explode, or stay small. These made sense when we were in threatening situations but with the right help these can change. God’s love has the power to change lives, and he came to bring healing and to set captives free but often he works through wise and skilled people.

Sometimes faith looks like getting out of a dangerous situation, going for therapy or setting a boundary.

Jesus came proclaiming freedom, life in all its fullness, not just survival.

Often people say phrases like “it all happens for a reason”, The Bible says “God works all things together for good” (and he does for those who love him – Romans 8:28). Trauma specialists sometimes talk about how trauma can result in post-traumatic growth: the possibility that people can experience positive change following adversity, including greater self-awareness, deeper relationships and a renewed sense of meaning. We never want to minimise trauma and no one should feel pressurised to find something positive in their suffering.

God doesn’t always erase the scars.

We see after Jesus’ resurrection he still had the scars from the nails in his hands, BUT death had not won the victory. The scars remain but no longer tell the same story.

What does this mean for our churches?

If we truly believe in the gospel message, churches need to be places where:

· People don’t have to pretend everything is ok when it’s not

· Lament is important

· Grief isn’t rushed

· Fear isn’t shamed

· Professional help is not seen as lack of faith

· Children are listened to

· Safeguarding matters

· Trauma is understood

· Theology meets practical wisdom

Let’s explore how our churches can join the dots between:

· Theology and psychology.

· Faith and practical wisdom.

· Suffering and hope.

· What has happened to us and who God says we can become.

· And ultimately, between ashes and beauty.

If you're interested in finding out more, we'd love to hear from you!