Monday, January 10, 2011

Loss of Dignity and Restoration!

Listening to others will reveal that there are a multitude of broken lives and tragic stories that stand out much more frequently - - than the HAPPY times. 

Why is it that these chronicles of past abuse and horror are more often in the fore front and occupy so much of one’s thinking?

Nightmares, flashbacks continue to terrorize. Why?

I question if the answer is perhaps simply that these persons have suffered a loss of Dignity.  Self-respect and Self-esteem were lost somewhere in their childhood or early life and they were left with a sense of guilt, humiliation and shame!

Rape, physical abuse, absence of security, divorce, death of a loved one, can turn one’s life upside down, spiraling one into a ditch of depression, into the abyss, into a pit.

We have witnessed those trapped in a coal mine that were not able to rescue themselves. It was necessary to call in professional equipment, and those experienced in the rescue field.

Once ensnared in a deep enough hole, it may not be possible to crawl out or climb up by ones self.

Is it possible to heal those once broken and destroyed so terribly?  Can help be found to restore DIGNITY and self worth?

There are many viable solutions. Some rush to take drugs or alcohol to drown out the pain. Others visit the psychiatrist so they can talk out their problems. Often the rehearsing of the events only embeds them deeper into the memory, and magnifies the suffering. 

There may be a simple solution, one that involves allowing Jesus to enter into the picture. If the hurting person can find a quiet place and pray a simple prayer asking Jesus to meet with them as they discover healing.

This may be difficult but next bring to mind the damaging event in the memory and at the same time try to discover the LIE that Satan told them at the time it happened. Did they hear the words, “You are no good, and this is your fault?” Were they overwhelmed with the thought that they were bad or this would not have happened?

It is very important to identify the Lie that Satan whispered to the broken one.  Understand that Satan is the thief, the liar and the Father of all lies.  Planting horrible thoughts is his method to destroy “Dignity” and bring shame and remorse, and Satan expects that it will be a permanent fixture.

While still in the memory mode, realize that the “voice” that was heard at that occasion of hurt, was a LIE from the deceiver, and it is now time to discover TRUTH. While you remain in that time of recall, quietly look around.  Do you see Jesus there? Is He speaking to you? What is Jesus doing or saying?

Each person will have a different answer. Some will say that Jesus approached them and took them in His arms.  Others will say, Jesus spoke and told them that they were Special, that they were beautiful and that He loved them very much.

Allow Jesus to enter that past broken situation and restore to you, your “Dignity.” You will discover that moment by moment you are being changed into the beautiful person that Jesus says you ARE!

Todays post has been entered in “Changing the World One Word at a Time”  Please visit and check out the other great articles at: http://peterpollock.com/2011/01/broken-blog-carnival/
You may also want to read my previous post on my site entitled: Broken, Bruised but not Defeated.

6 comments:

Scott Couchenour said...

"Allow Jesus to enter that past broken situation and restore to you, your “Dignity.”

I love the concept of inviting God into the pain (as opposed to trying to fix ourselves to make us presentable before Him). Thanks for your post today.

Glynn said...

Jesus is ultimately the only way for broken things to be made whole. And the mending can take a lifetime.

Good post.

katdish said...

Love this, Hazel. As long as we believe the liar, we block Jesus from truly restoring us.

Lisa notes... said...

He wants to restore our dignity. Beautiful. We are all created in his image, and he can heal all our brokenness. Thanks for sharing.

Anne Lang Bundy said...

How right you are, that the enemy's lie must be countered with truth! How powerful the endless truths in our God's precious Word.

Cris Ferreira said...

Hazel, you said it well that the enemy of our souls is trying to pull people away from God, and he lies and deceives in order to hide God's truth. So if we are broken or if we are helping someone recover from their brokenness, we need to keep this in mind and be alert, and not buy into his lies. And always trust God and invite Him to our pain (I also loved this concept).
Thanks for the reminder.