It is hard to imagine being someone who had to experience one of the traumatic events which have occurred in recent days. To be a student where there was another deadly school shooting. To be riding on a rollercoaster when someone fell off the ride and plunged to his death. And then there are those tragic situations that don’t always make the news – a car accident, a drowning, a house fire. It is not only the victims, their families, and witnesses who have to deal with those events, but also first responders and medical personnel. Likewise, those in the military in times of war have to live with images of what they encountered. It is easy to tell people to move on and to put the past behind them, but some things we see can’t be easily unseen or forgotten.
How do we deal with traumatic events that can haunt us? There are no simple answers. Some people need to seek professional counseling to assist them. Time can sometimes lessen the effects, but it doesn’t always resolve the issues. Does the Bible give us any guidance in this matter? Certainly, there are general principles we can look to, such as faith, trust, and hope in the Lord. But can we draw any more specific wisdom from the pages of scripture to address this particular issue?
As I considered this, I thought about the disciples of Jesus. They certainly faced a traumatic experience when Jesus was arrested and executed. Not only did they experience the loss of a close friend, a mentor, and the One they believed to be the Anointed One of God, but they had their hopes and dreams dashed to the ground. Additionally, one or more of them actually witnessed the horrific suffering and death that Jesus endured. If they didn’t see it firsthand, they knew about the cruelties of being crucified from previous encounters. No doubt they were heartbroken to think of Jesus having to go through such pain and suffering.
How did the disciples come through this trauma? We can look not only at what they did immediately after the crucifixion, but later on as well, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension had somewhat softened the blow. But even at that point it was still traumatic to face a world in which everything had changed and Jesus was no longer present with them. What did they do? They stuck together, finding support from being with others who had gone through the same experience. Maybe some of us could benefit from support groups or from talking to others who have had similar experiences as ourselves. Additionally, those disciples prayed and looked to God for help and guidance. The Lord is near to assist those who will call on Him. He can give us strength that we can’t get anywhere else. The disciples also continued to do what Jesus had instructed them to do. They waited in Jerusalem until they received the empowerment they needed from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They took it one step at a time, one day at a time. They couldn’t see everything ahead, but they just put one foot in front of the other and kept going in the meantime. Maybe that is what we need to do too. It is easy to isolate ourselves or to pull away from our responsibilities when we have been traumatized. However, with God’s help, we need to keep living and doing. We may not be able to see very far up the road, but we just keep taking the next step and trust the Lord to help us take the next step after that, and the next.
Tragedies occur in this fallen world. And they can greatly affect us. But the Lord can be with us and help us make it through.
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