A Healed Heart: Need More Than Counseling
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Living Free Every Day®
A ministry of LivingFree.org
Today's Scripture
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow]. Psalm 147:3 AMP
Thoughts for Today
Many of us have turned to the medical community and counselors to help our bleeding spirits but have not found the spiritual help we need after an abortion. Certainly, there are legitimate uses of psychiatry and psychology for mental and emotional problems. A skilled practitioner can teach good mental hygiene, pointing out flawed thinking, and suggest ways to keep our thought life healthy.
However, spiritual help can be hard to find when it comes to seeking counseling from the medical community for depression and other emotional problems after abortion. Many mental health professionals may remain unaware of the spiritual challenges so many of us face. And even the most sensitive and skillful Christian mental health care counselor can guide us toward Jesus, but the final healing can only come when we reach out to the Lord ourselves. Only God’s truth can heal the bleeding heart and mind and soul.
Consider this …
I discovered the spiritual gap in seeking help from the medical world when I went to one counselor after another. My problem was more than just managing emotions—I needed spiritual healing. At the root of all my shame and feelings of worthlessness, I felt alienated from God and feared I was going to hell for having an abortion.
I’m not dismissing the merits of counseling. It’s possible to find a caring mental health professional who understands abortion as a spiritual crisis and can direct you to the help you need from the church and other believers. Having someone simply listen to your struggles and affirm sad feelings can be helpful, for instance. But without God’s truth even the best talk therapy is not completely healing.
There is a difference between help and healing—and broken hearts need God’s healing touch. God’s healing will remove our guilt, bring us peace with God, and resolve the confusing grief over failing to prevent the death of a child.
Prayer
Father, I realize now that while counselors may help me, only you can heal my hurting heart. Please forgive my sins and fill me with your peace. In Jesus’ name . . .
These thoughts were drawn from … Cradle My Heart: Finding God's LOVE After Abortion by Kim Ketola. In this book, Kim seeks to help those hurt by abortion to grieve with hope. Sharing her story and the stories of ten other women, she reveals that God's love is not a casualty of the abortive process. With an appendix of helpful resources and a study and discussion guide included, Cradle My Heart is a timely and important resource for the hurting woman, the counselor, and the church. With an understanding and empathetic voice, Kim Ketola exposes the hurt in your heart, reveals the healing in God's heart, and brings the two together to create a whole heart where restoration and celebration are possible.
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