How to Surrender Your Trauma to God and Allow Him to Heal Your Soul

You cannot always control what happened to you, but you can bring the wounds it left behind to God and allow Him to begin the work of healing.

Have you ever gone through something so painful that, even years later, you still hear the words people said to you? Maybe you have moved on physically, but whenever you want to do something new, those memories come back. You begin to doubt yourself. You become afraid of failing. You wonder whether you are really capable of doing what God has called you to do.

I want to talk about something that I believe is important for anyone who wants to move forward in life and fulfil what God has called them to do: healing from trauma and surrendering the wounds of your past to God.

As I have shared before, I have a course called The Healing of the Soul, which I have included in my Broke to Blessed and 100 Fold Transformation programmes. This is something I believe we need to pay attention to because sometimes, what we have gone through in the past continues to affect how we see ourselves, how we make decisions, and how we respond to the opportunities God brings our way.

So, how do we begin to heal?

1. Understand that your past does not have to define your future

One of the things I have come to understand is that the enemy can use the things we have experienced to keep us bound in fear, discouragement and insecurity.

Think about it. Sometimes, you want to step out and do something new, but you remember what happened the last time you tried. Maybe someone told you that you were not good enough. Maybe you experienced rejection. Maybe you went through a difficult relationship, a painful season at work, or an experience that left you questioning your worth.

Now, every time you want to take another step, you hear those same words in your mind.

You begin to think, What if I fail? What if it happens again? What if I am not good enough?

Without even realising it, you allow what happened yesterday to influence what you believe is possible tomorrow.

But the Bible tells us in Isaiah 43:18–19:

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” (KJV)

God is speaking about doing a new thing. Yet, if we keep looking backwards and allowing the things of the past to determine how we see ourselves, we can struggle to recognise what He is doing in the present.

This does not mean that what happened to you was insignificant. It does not mean you should pretend the pain never happened. It means that you do not have to remain trapped in what happened.

Your past may be part of your story, but it does not have to dictate your future.

When you come into Christ, you have a new identity. You are not defined by what someone said about you, what someone did to you, or the painful experiences you went through.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

You can acknowledge what happened without allowing it to become the foundation of how you see yourself.

2. The first thing you need to do is surrender it to God

When you have gone through trauma, one of the most important things you can do is surrender those experiences to God.

You might be thinking, But God, I have already prayed about this. Why does it still hurt? Why do I still remember what happened?

I want you to understand something: surrendering something to God does not mean you have to pretend you are okay when you are not.

You can go to God honestly.

You can say, “God, I went through this. What happened hurt me. There are things that were said to me that I still remember. There are experiences I wish I had never gone through. But I do not want these things to continue controlling how I see myself or how I live my life. Help me heal.”

You do not have to hide your wounds from the One who can help you through them.

Psalm 34:18 tells us:

“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (KJV)

Look at that. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.

He does not tell you to come back when you have fixed yourself. He does not tell you to come back when you have figured everything out.

But He says:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” — Matthew 11:28–30 (KJV)

His yoke is easy and His burden is light, meaning you can cast all your cares, wounds and pain upon Him. He is able to sustain you, and He cares.

He draws near to the brokenhearted. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 KJV

Isaiah 42:3 also tells us that a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench. In other words, even when you feel weak, wounded or as though your light is barely burning, God is not going to cast you away because you are struggling. So, bring your pain to Him.

You do not need to possess the perfect words. You do not have to know how to explain everything. Start where you are, and allow Him to meet you there. He saves everyone who calls upon His Name.

3. Allow God to heal the way you see yourself

I have been hurt before.

When I was doing my PhD, I went through a lot of difficult experiences. My relationship with my supervisor was challenging, and some of the things I experienced affected me more deeply than I realised at the time.

I do not say this to blame him. He may have been going through his own issues, too. But the reality is that those experiences left wounds in me.

For a long time, those wounds affected my life, every project I wanted to undertake and every or opportunity I wanted to pursue.

Whenever I wanted to step out and try something new, I would remember the words of discouragement I had heard. I would remember the unpleasant experiences I had gone through and the negative words he had said to me.

I would begin to think, Oh how, can I really do this? What if I fail? What if I am not capable?

Even when I wanted to move forward, those experiences were still speaking to me.

Then I came to a point where I had to surrender it to God.

I remember praying and telling Him, “God, I am here. Help me deal with this. Help me overcome what I have been carrying these five years because I know that You have not called me to live in fear.”

“There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].” — 1 John 4:18 (AMPC)

I began to ask God to help me understand His love for me. I asked Him to fill the places where fear had taken root with the knowledge of His love.

As I continued walking with Him, I began to see changes in the way I approached things. I started taking steps again. I started trusting Him with what He was asking me to do.

I was learning that my past experiences did not have to determine what I could do next.

Healing is not just about remembering what happened differently. It is also about allowing God to transform the way you see yourself because of what happened.

You might have been made to feel inferior, but that does not mean you are inferior.

You might have been told you could never amount to anything, but that does not mean those words have the final say over your life.

You might have experienced rejection, but rejection does not determine your worth.

Allow God to reveal to you how He sees you.

4. Ask God to reveal the wounds you may not even realise you are carrying

There was a particular dream I had that caused me to reflect deeply on how I saw myself.

In the dream, I had a baby who was supposed to be older, but the baby was unusually small. The baby escaped from me and went to a hospital. When I found the baby, there were needles all over the baby's body. The baby looked almost like a porcupine because of all the needles.

I went to God and asked Him what the dream meant.

As I prayed and reflected on it, God revealed to me that it was a picture of how wounded and inferior I had come to feel. It represented how deeply the things people had said and done had affected the way I saw myself.

It was as though I had allowed those experiences to pierce me, and I was carrying those wounds into other areas of my life.

That experience caused me to go back to God and say, “Lord, now that I can see these things, help me overcome them. Help me deal with the insecurities and the wounds I have been carrying.”

I share this because sometimes, we do not realise just how much an experience has affected us until we begin to examine our reactions.

Why are you so afraid of trying something new?

Why do you struggle to receive correction without feeling as though you have failed?

Why do you keep expecting rejection, even when you are entering a new environment?

Why do you keep hearing the voice of someone who discouraged you years ago?

These questions are not an invitation to condemn yourself. They are an opportunity to seek understanding and healing.

Ask God to help you recognise the things you have been carrying. Ask Him to show you where you need healing and to teach you how to move forward.

Remember, you do not have to figure everything out in one day.

5. Replace the lies with the truth of God's Word

Philippians 4:8 tells us:

“Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (KJV)

Our thoughts matter.

If you continually replay the words of someone who discouraged you, those words can begin to shape your expectations. You may find yourself anticipating failure before you have even started.

But can you learn to respond to those thoughts with the truth of God's Word?

When the thought comes: I am not good enough, remind yourself that your worth is not determined by another person's opinion. Instead silence it with the truth of God's Word; I am a masterpiece created for good works. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am a fruitful garden and I am loved with an everlasting love of Jesus Christ.

When the thought comes, I will fail because I failed before, remind yourself that a previous experience does not determine every future outcome. God is within me, I will not fail. He will help me at the break of dawn.

When you remember what someone said about you, remind yourself that their words are not the ultimate authority over your identity. I am who God says you I am.

When you are afraid, return to the truth that God loves you and that you can seek His wisdom as you take your next step. God says "For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

This is not about pretending that painful thoughts never come back. Sometimes, they do. But you can learn not to treat every thought as the truth. Let God be true and every man a liar.

You can acknowledge the thought, bring it to God, and choose to respond according to His Word.

If the memories are overwhelming, persistent or affecting your daily life, seeking help from a qualified counsellor or trauma-informed mental health professional can be part of that healing journey, too. You do not have to walk through it alone.

6. When the memories come back, remind yourself that you are no longer where you were

One thing I have learnt is that healing does not always mean you will never remember what happened.

Sometimes, a memory comes back. You hear a familiar phrase, encounter a similar situation, or find yourself facing an opportunity that reminds you of a previous painful experience.

When that happens, you can remind yourself that you are in a different season now.

You can say, “Yes, that happened to me. Yes, those words were spoken. But I do not have to allow that experience to determine what I do today.”

You can take that memory to God again. You can remind yourself of what He has taught you. You can choose to take the next step even when you feel a little afraid.

For me, I had to learn to step out again and trust God with the things He was calling me to do. I had to learn to stop allowing those past experiences to dictate my decisions.

As I continued to walk with God, I began to look back at some of those experiences differently.

There were things that once made me afraid to move forward that no longer had the same hold over me.

I could look back and think, Look at that. The enemy thought he could use this to keep me bound, but it does not have the final say over my life.

Psalm 103:12 says:

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (KJV)

This verse speaks about God's forgiveness of our sins, but it also reminds us of the freedom we have in His mercy. When God forgives us, we do not have to keep living under the condemnation of what He has forgiven.

In the same way, as we work through the wounds of our past, we can learn to stop treating those experiences as though they have the authority to define who we are today.

You are allowed to grow. You are allowed to heal. You are allowed to try again.

7. Let God's Word bring life to the places that have been wounded

John 4 tells us about the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well.

She had a story. She had experiences that were part of her life, and Jesus knew her story. Yet, He spoke to her about the living water He could give.

What stands out to me is that Jesus did not reduce her to her past. He engaged with her, revealed truth to her, and offered her something that went beyond her circumstances.

After their encounter, the woman went into the city and spoke to others about Jesus.

Her encounter with Him became an opportunity for her to share what she had experienced. I am convinced that Jesus did not condemn her, as John 3:17 tells us that God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but for the world to be saved through Him.

Likewise, Jesus did not condemn the Samaritan woman. Rather, He revealed the good in her, and she went out and called the whole village to come to Jesus.

This reminds me that what we have been through does not have to be the end of our story.

God can meet us in the middle of our pain. Through His Word, His love, and the work He does in us, we can begin to see ourselves differently and take steps towards a new future.

Sometimes, the very area where you once struggled may become an area in which you can encourage someone else. Not because the pain was good, or because what happened to you was acceptable, but because your story does not have to end with what hurt you.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement), Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.”

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (AMPC)

You can heal. You can grow. You can move forward.

You can do so while still being honest about the journey.

A prayer for healing from trauma

If you are carrying painful memories or experiences from your past, I want to encourage you to take a moment and pray.

Heavenly Father,

I come before You just as I am. You know the things I have been through, the words that have been spoken over me, and the experiences that have left me wounded.

Lord, I surrender these things to You. I do not want to continue carrying the pain, fear and insecurity that have come from my past experiences.

Help me understand how You see me. Where I have believed lies about myself, teach me Your truth. Where I have allowed fear to control my decisions, help me walk in Your love and wisdom.

Father, reveal the areas of my heart that need healing. Give me the courage to face what I need to face, the wisdom to seek the right support, and the grace to take each step at the right pace.

Help me recognise that what happened to me does not have to determine what happens next. Teach me to trust You again, to move forward in faith, and to become the person You have called me to be.

Thank You for being near to the brokenhearted. Thank You that I do not have to hide my wounds from You.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Final encouragement: You do not have to remain wounded

I want you to remember this: you do not have to allow your past to dictate your future.

You may have gone through painful experiences. You may still be working through memories that hurt. You may even find that those experiences have affected the way you approach your calling, your relationships, your business or your career.

But you can begin by surrendering those experiences to God.

Ask Him to help you understand what you have been carrying. Allow His Word to renew your mind. Take the next step, even if it is a small one, and seek wise support when you need it.

God is near to the brokenhearted. You do not have to pretend to be strong in His presence.

Bring Him the broken pieces. Bring Him the memories. Bring Him the fears you have been carrying and allow Him to walk with you as you heal, because your past does not have to have the final word. You can heal, you can grow, and you can move forward into what God has called you to build.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you,

Faith Liz

Called to Build™ — Building wealth God's way.