From Trauma to Triumph: A Non-preachy, Faith-based Guide to Healing & Restoration
Trauma leaves us feeling shattered, disconnected, and searching for meaning in the pain. But what if healing isn’t just about surviving—but about being restored? Faith has the power to transform trauma into triumph, helping us reclaim our identity, peace, and joy. And I’m not talking “take two verses and call me in the morning.” Trite faith does nothing for us. I’m talking the real, in the dirt, lamenting and crying out to Jesus variety of faith.
If you’re struggling with emotional wounds, know this: God sees you, He loves you, and He desires your healing - even if you are actively screaming toward heaven, “Oh yeah?! Then where are You?!”
In this guide, we’ll explore a faith-based approach to healing trauma, offering spiritual insights, practical tools, and encouragement for your journey from brokenness to restoration.
Understanding Brokenness Through a Faith Lens
When we experience trauma, we often feel distant from God, questioning His presence in our pain. God knows that. He gives us Scripture to remind and comfort us:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3
Brokenness is part and parcel of living in a fallen world where some days it feels like evil just wins and wins. However, brokenness is not the end of our story. It can be a starting point for deeper connection with God. The enemy wants you to believe that your trauma defines you and things will be this way forever, but God declares restoration over your life. Your wounds do not disqualify you from His love—they are the very places He longs to heal and an invitation to be close to Him. And while that doesn’t mean it’ll all be rainbows and unicorns, it does mean we can see His goodness here in the land of the living (Psalm 27).
Reflection: Have you ever believed the lie that your pain is too great for God to redeem? Or that God simply doesn’t want to heal you? What does Psalm 147:3 reveal about His heart for you?
Inviting God Into Your Healing Journey
Healing requires more than time—it requires intention. Inviting God into your trauma recovery isn’t about ignoring the pain; it’s about allowing Him to meet you in it. And I know that for many your trauma came at the hands of someone who professed to know God and maybe even speak for Him. That can make inviting God in very tricky. Go slow - God isn’t upset by slow at all!
Some practical ways to invite God into your healing journey:
✅ Talk to God Through Prayer – Be honest with Him. Tell Him your fears, your anger, your confusion. Healing starts with vulnerability. And you don’t have to be clean or neat or whatever. God is cool with grimy and colorful. Cry out with honesty.
✅ Meditate on Scripture – Read verses that remind you of God’s promise to restore what has been broken (Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 11:28). Read them or listen to them in a version that works for you. If you were harmed by people using a particular translation, try another one. Even a children’s Bible is a good place to start (I love the Jesus Storybook Bible).
✅ Seek Faith-based Counseling – A good, Christian therapist or mentor can help you process trauma through a biblical lens. Find someone who will not spiritually bypass you. Any decent counselor, licensed or biblical, should be open to questions about how they practice and incorporate faith.
✅ Practice Gratitude – Even in suffering, gratitude shifts your focus from pain to God’s presence. (Check out the Hey Tabi Podcast episode The Miracle of the Mundane to learn more about how to incorporate gratitude practice.)
📌 Action Step: Choose one way to invite God into your healing today—whether through prayer, Scripture, or seeking support.
Practical Faith-based Tools for Trauma Recovery
Faith isn’t just a belief—it’s a practice. And I don’t mean a hard and fast, legalistic practice. It’s more like an invitation to hang out with Someone who loves you deeply. Here are some powerful tools that can help you heal:
🔥 Journaling with God – Write letters to God, pouring out your thoughts and emotions. Let Him speak back through Scripture or His Spirit. And like prayer, don’t sanitize it. Just go for it - pour it out in full color. He already knows and He’s okay with you being super real.
🔥 Healing Scriptures for Daily Meditation – Speak God’s promises over yourself (Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 5:17). Again, this in’t a legalistic bent. Find ones that really mean something, not that you’re using to punish yourself with. If you’ve been really harmed and spiritually abused, this practice may take time. Do it when you’re ready.
🔥 Community Support – Healing happens in community and it’s important to find safe enough relationships. There is always risk of a relationship having a rupture, but in healthy relationships learning to work through them can actually be a strengthener. Consider joining a solid, faith-based support group or Bible study.
🔥 Breath Prayers – A simple way to calm your nervous system while staying spiritually connected. Breath prayers help us slow our physiology and also refocus our mind. You can use Scriptures or statements about God’s character that are meaningful to you. (Example: Breathe in, “God is my refuge”… Breathe out, “I am safe in His presence.”)
🙌 Invitation: Pick one of these tools and invite yourself to practice it for the next 7 days.
Overcoming Shame and Embracing God’s Grace
Shame is a thief and it thrives in darkness. It keeps you trapped in the past, whispering lies that you are unworthy, too broken, beyond redemption. But God says:
“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1
If God does not condemn you, why condemn yourself? I know it’s super easy to do that, though. Especially if abusers spoke evil over you and you learned to believe it. I call those curses (the lie spoken over you) and vows (when you began to believe the curse). Your trauma does not define you. God’s grace does. We can break vows we made with those curses.
Break the cycle of shame by:
✅ Renouncing the curse (e.g., “I am unworthy” → “I am a child of God”).
✅ Speaking truth over yourself and breaking the vow (“I am fully known and deeply loved”).
✅ Receiving grace daily or even by the second—because healing is a journey, not a one-time event. We’ll need to do this over and over.
💡 Reflection: What curses (lies) about your worth have you believed and made vows with? How can you replace them with God’s truth?
Living a Restored Life Through Faith
Restoration isn’t about pretending the pain never happened—it’s about allowing God to redeem it. The Bible is filled with stories of restoration:
✨ Joseph – Betrayed, imprisoned, and forgotten… but restored to lead a nation.
✨ Job – Lost everything… but God gave him back more than he ever imagined.
✨ You – Your story isn’t over. God is working behind the scenes, even now.
Restoration means:
✔️ Reclaiming your identity in Christ. Again, not in a trite way. This is really seeing who you are for real, not what an abuser or trauma has said to you.
✔️ Finding joy in the present. It may be a tiny sliver, but there are moments of joy if we look. Sometimes we have to orient ourselves to the looking.
✔️ Walking in freedom, no longer controlled by the past. This is a journey and it happens bit by bit. Give yourself enormous grace in the process.
🙏 Prayer for Restoration:
"Lord, I surrender my brokenness to You. Heal my wounds, restore my heart, and lead me into the fullness of life You’ve promised me. And help me believe You truly do care and want to heal me. Amen."
Conclusion: Take the First Step Toward Healing
Healing from trauma is a journey of faith, resilience, and grace. If you’re ready to take the next step, here’s how:
💌 Download Your Free Healing Scripture Guide – Start meditating on God’s promises today!
📝 Reach Out for Support – Connect with our clinical or coaching team to help you get on your journey.
📖 Get Tabitha’s Book – If sexual harm is part of your story, Tabitha wrote a book to help you. Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control may be just what you need to undo the shattering you’ve experienced.
You are not alone. You are seen. You are loved. And you are on a path to restoration.
Your healing begins today. ❤️✨
