Dr. Mike Hutchings’ family passed down a lot of trauma, alcoholism, mental illness and generational curses. Since childhood, he had intrusive thoughts and experienced “monsters” and family trauma. His father and uncle served in World War II, and his uncle suffered PTSD throughout his life.
He wrote “Supernatural Freedom from the Captivity of Trauma” to help others break the spirit of trauma and get their lives back.
Hutchings recognized that unhealed trauma impacted his family’s life in a significant way. Most people might take the attitude that “This is just life; get over it and move on.” But he understood that unhealed trauma could actually steal from folks what God has in store for them—the fullness of God for their lives.
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The Bible refers to trauma as a wounded soul. Psalm 34:18 and Isaiah 61 uses the term “brokenhearted.” In the Hebrew that means a shattered soul. Things happened to you that shattered your soul and have affected your mind, will, emotions, identity and the way you think about yourself. People can feel that they’re more defined by all the things that have happened rather than by God’s dream for their lives.
Too many people are held captive by all the bad things that have happened to them, whether emotional or physical, such as sexual abuse, living through a car accident or natural disaster, or being a first responder. The memories of those experiences stick in your mind and impact you, affecting everything in your life, including your mind, how your body functions and your relationship with God. If you believe you are more defined by trauma than you are by who God calls you, it will affect your faith and your walk with God.
How do you know if trauma is affecting you? Hutchings says, “If your emotions are controlling you in a way that are negative most of the time, trauma has a hold on you.” In the book of Psalms, you see David’s rollercoaster ride of emotions. Even though he had a relationship with God, he was one of the most traumatized men in the Bible. He had rejection from his family and suffered violent trauma of being a military man and from having Saul chase him.
Symptoms of unhealed trauma could include memories of traumatic events that pop into the forefront of your thinking, agoraphobia (which keeps people from going out in crowds) and being hypervigilant and paranoid. Feelings of hopelessness are also a symptom of unhealed trauma.
All truth is God’s truth. Therefore, the findings from psychology, trauma experts, neuroscientists and understanding how the brain and body respond to trauma are important so believers know how to pray for healing. Hutchings says, “If you’re going to be in a physical healing ministry, you need to know anatomy to learn how to pray for different parts of the body. The Holy Spirit will give you words of knowledge for specific sections of the body to better pray.”
Jesus, the healer, longs to set you free from trauma today. You can identify the root, effects and symptoms of trauma-related issues and be set free from your brokenheartedness.
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Marilyn Hickey founded Marilyn Hickey Ministries more than 45 years ago with God’s vision to cover the earth with the Word. Marilyn co-hosts a daily television program, “Today with Marilyn & Sarah,” reaching a potential viewing audience of over 2 billion households worldwide. Marilyn communicates deep biblical truths in a way that is understandable and practical for everyday life.
Sarah Bowling is on a mission to connect everyone with the heart of God while loving those who are overlooked, excluded and ignored. Led by Holy Spirit and anchored in the Word, Sarah seeks to inspire all to know the unconditional and transformational love of God in our daily lives. A Bible teacher, author, international speaker and global humanitarian, Sarah also co-hosts a daily television program, “Today with Marilyn & Sarah.”
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