Image by Pezibear from Pixabay
Recovery from childhood trauma is a treasure. The dictionary defines the word treasure as “something that is very special, important, or valuable.” Without the recovery process, we are stuck living with the after-effects of trauma. The recovery process gives us tools that help rewire our brains and calm our nervous systems.
But sometimes using the everyday tools of tapping and meditation just is not enough. Sometimes we need extra. Enter fasting, in particular, a Daniel fast, which I talked about in a previous post. For 21 days in January, I went on a Daniel fast. Because I want more breakthroughs, more healing of the after-effects of trauma, I decided to continue doing a Daniel fast.
Why would a fast possibly accelerate healing or bring breakthroughs? The point of a fast, in biblical terms, is to grow closer to God. Joel 2:12 says, “Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
Sometimes breakthroughs can only come by fasting. A man whose son suffered from seizures brought his son to Jesus for deliverance. He said to Jesus, “I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” Jesus delivered the boy. Later, the disciples came to Him and asked why they couldn’t deliver him. Jesus answered them, “But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:14-20) In other words, without prayer and fasting, some things just won’t be healed.
Dealing with the weariness of prolonged recovery
Recovery takes time. There is no fast food healing. Recovery happens every time we use our tools. It often happens little by little. That can create a kind of weariness. It’s a type of weariness that came over me last week, and that’s why I decided to continue my Daniel fast.
This is not a stage in my recovery where I can back down. It is a time of going deeper with God. It is a time of going deeper in prayer. I plan on spending the next month doing a Daniel fast during weekdays and taking time off of it on the weekends. I plan on exploring different types of prayer, including contemplative prayer. As I heard someone at my church recently say, I plan on starving my flesh (false self) and feeding my spirit.
Image by Valiphotos from Pixabay
Newness awaits
God has so much more for you and me than we ever could think. He longs to do a new thing in us. Indeed, he is doing a new thing. Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
The kind of remembering that passage speaks of is not memories but dwelling on the past. For trauma survivors that means letting go of past mistakes and not dwelling on all the negative ways that we coped with the aftereffects of trauma. God is calling us to see what He is doing within our spirits and embrace it.
Are you ready to embrace the new thing God is doing in you? Consider doing a Daniel fast with me.