Healing From Trauma With God’s Help
Thursday, April 23, 2025
Day 5: The Healing Power of Godly Community
Scripture Focus: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT)
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”
Devotional:
Recovery can feel like a lonely road. There are days when the shame of your past screams louder than the hope of your future. There are nights when the weight of regret, guilt, and memories try to pull you back into darkness. And for many of us, the instinct is to isolate—to hide from others, to sit in silence, to convince ourselves that we’re too damaged to be loved or understood. But that is not God’s plan for our healing.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 is more than just a scripture—it’s a strategy for survival in recovery. This verse reminds us that we’re not supposed to do this alone. When you’ve spent years numbing pain, living in survival mode, or walking through trauma, you may feel like you can’t trust anyone. But God is gently calling you to trust Him by letting people in again. Not just any people—safe people, godly people, healing people.
In recovery, community is not optional—it is essential. It’s in community that we learn how to be seen and still loved. It’s in community that we find people who speak faith when we feel weak. It’s in community where we are reminded, “You don’t have to be perfect to be present.” Recovery requires accountability, encouragement, prayer, and love. It requires people who will call you higher when you want to give up and remind you of God’s truth when lies are screaming in your head.
Every time we isolate, the enemy wins a small battle. But every time we reach out, connect, open up, and let someone sit with us in the hard places—we take back territory. We reclaim healing. We silence shame. And we walk closer to freedom. Whether you’re recovering from addiction, trauma, abuse, or emotional pain—your healing journey was never meant to be walked alone. God has already assigned people to your life who will walk with you, pray with you, and remind you of your worth. Find them. Lean into them. Heal with them.
Reflection:
What has isolation cost me in my recovery journey? Have I allowed fear or past wounds to block me from the community God is trying to give me? What would my healing look like if I let someone walk with me?
Action Steps:
- Identify one godly, trustworthy person or group you can connect with this week—a recovery sister, a mentor, a spiritual friend, or a Christ-centered support group.
- Take a small step to connect. Be honest. Be brave. Send the message, attend the meeting, or ask for prayer.
- Write a prayer in your journal asking God to help you overcome the fear of connection and to lead you to safe community.
Affirmation:
I am not walking through recovery alone. God has placed the right people in my life to encourage, support, and walk with me. I release fear and receive the healing that comes through godly community. I am safe, I am supported, and I am surrounded by grace.
Life Application:
In recovery, one of the most powerful tools God gives us is each other. You were never created to fight addiction, trauma, shame, or mental battles on your own. That’s why healing spaces like Encouraging Her Resilience exist—because God knew you would need a place to be seen, held, and restored. Apply this truth by committing to community even when it feels uncomfortable. Make attending support group meetings, check-in calls, and one-on-one sessions a priority. Choose to be present, even when you’re hurting. That’s where the healing happens—not in hiding, but in showing up. Let community be the soil where your recovery grows roots, and watch how God brings beauty out of the very place you once felt broken.
Encouraging Her Resilience: Daily Devotional
Today’s Focus: Keep a Clean Heart
Scripture: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a loyal spirit within me.” — Psalm 51:10 (NLT)
Devotional:
Beloved Resilient Sister,
Today, let us pause and turn inward, not to dwell in shame or regret—but to invite the divine work of God to begin again within us. Psalm 51:10 is not just a cry for forgiveness—it’s a cry for transformation. It’s David’s plea after a season of failure, yet it’s also a reminder that no matter what we’ve done or what we’ve been through, we can come before God and ask Him to purify us from the inside out.
What does it mean to have a clean heart?
A clean heart is one that is not burdened by guilt, bitterness, jealousy, or shame. It’s a heart open to love, forgiveness, healing, and truth. It is not a perfect heart—but a heart surrendered. A clean heart does not hold grudges, does not entertain toxicity, and does not cling to the past. It is honest before God. It is soft, moldable, and willing to grow.
How do we apply this to our lives?
We start by being honest with God. Tell Him the truth about your thoughts, your pain, your wounds, and your desires. Repent not just for the things you’ve done, but for the things you’ve allowed to sit in your heart too long—resentment, unforgiveness, pride, anger, fear. Then, ask God to create a clean heart. This means you’re not trying to fix it alone. You’re giving Him permission to rebuild you from the inside out.
Ways to keep a clean heart:
- Forgive quickly. Don’t let offenses linger. Holding on only poisons your soul.
- Stay in the Word. The more you read it, the more your heart will reflect God’s love and truth.
- Be real in prayer. Let God search your heart daily. Don’t hide.
- Let go of what you can’t control. Release bitterness and the need for revenge.
- Surround yourself with peace. Who and what you allow in your space matters.
Reflection:
Is there something you need to release today to make room for a clean heart? Are there buried emotions, hidden wounds, or secret sins that you need to bring into the light?
Today’s Heart Check:
Lord, is my heart clean before You? Is there anything I’m holding onto that is keeping me from growing? Purify me. Restore me. Create in me a heart that reflects Your grace, Your truth, and Your love.
Affirmation:
Today, I let go of what no longer serves my healing. I choose to keep my heart pure, open, and surrendered to God. He is creating something new in me—and it begins with my heart.
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Create in me a clean heart. Wash away the residue of my past, the bitterness from my pain, and the heaviness of unforgiveness. Make me new again. Help me to guard my heart, to walk in love, to speak in grace, and to live in truth. Teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven. Thank You for Your mercy that meets me fresh every morning. I surrender my heart to You—make it whole, make it Yours.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
You are loved. You are seen. You are becoming. Keep your heart clean—and your spirit resilient.
With love,
Dashonia Marie
Founder, Encouraging Her Resilience
He Has Risen
Encouraging Her Resilience – Special Easter Edition
Sunday, April 20, 2025
Scripture Focus: Matthew 28:6 (NLT)
“He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.”
He Has Risen — The Victory That Changed Everything
Today, we celebrate the most powerful truth in the Christian faith: Jesus Christ is alive. Easter Sunday isn’t about bunnies, candy, or spring fashion—it is the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. It is the day death was defeated, sin was conquered, and the tomb was found empty. It is the day that changed everything for all of humanity.
Easter is not just a date on the calendar. It is the celebration of hope restored, grace poured out, and life made new. This is the heartbeat of our faith. The resurrection proves that Jesus was not just a man—He is the Son of God. His resurrection declares to every wounded heart, every weary soul, and every woman rising out of darkness that there is nothing too dead for God to resurrect.
What Does Easter Truly Mean?
- Easter Means Victory Over Sin and Death.
When Jesus rose from the grave, He stripped the enemy of all power. What once enslaved us—shame, guilt, addiction, trauma, pain—was broken by His love and sacrifice. The cross paid the price, but the empty tomb sealed the promise.
- Easter Means New Life.
Romans 6:4 (NLT) says, “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
Easter reminds us that no matter what your past looks like, Jesus came to give you a fresh start. He didn’t die just to forgive your sins—He died to give you a resurrected life filled with purpose, peace, and the presence of God.
- Easter Means God’s Love Never Fails.
John 3:16 tells us plainly, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” Easter is the greatest love story ever told. God sent Jesus, who willingly laid down His life and took it back up again, all for you. That love is still reaching for you today—healing, restoring, redeeming.
Why Do We Celebrate Easter?
We celebrate Easter because hope lives again. Because the resurrection is the proof that Jesus was who He said He was—the Savior of the world. We celebrate because through Christ, we rise too.
It’s not just His story—it’s our story. He got up so we could rise above depression, anxiety, addiction, trauma, shame, brokenness, and fear.
When Jesus got up from the grave, He carried every woman who’s ever cried herself to sleep, every person who’s ever felt unseen, unloved, or unworthy. He walked out of that tomb so you could walk into freedom.
Easter is a personal invitation to resurrection power—not just in eternity, but right here, right now.
A Powerful Easter Truth for Every Woman Reading This:
You are not too far gone.
Your story is not over.
You are not what you’ve been through.
Because He got up—you can too.
Let today be the day you stop living like you’re still in the grave. Resurrection means freedom is available. Wholeness is possible. Joy is within reach. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you (Romans 8:11), and that Spirit gives life to your dry places.
A Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and to rise again so that we may have eternal life. Thank You for the power of the resurrection that lives in us today. On this Easter Sunday, we declare that we are rising into new life. We are no longer bound by the chains of our past. Let Your resurrection power fill every broken space in our hearts and awaken us to the destiny You have called us to. Thank You, Lord—because You live, we can face tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Happy Resurrection Sunday, Resilient Sisters. He has risen—and so have we.
With love and resurrection hope,
Dashonia Marie
Founder, Encouraging Her Resilience
Healing From Trauma With God’s Help – Day 4
The Power of Forgiveness in Resilience
Scripture Focus: Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)
“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
Forgiveness. Just the sound of the word can stir something deep inside a woman who’s been through trauma. For many of us, forgiveness isn’t just hard — it feels impossible. And yet, it’s one of the most powerful and necessary parts of our healing. Today, God is calling us to confront this truth: there is no true resilience without forgiveness.
Let’s be honest. Trauma has left us with real pain — pain caused by people who never said sorry, by circumstances we didn’t ask for, by wounds that run so deep we don’t even talk about them anymore. And when we carry that pain day after day, year after year, it doesn’t just sit silently in our hearts. It grows. It hardens. It becomes bitterness, anger, and eventually, emotional and spiritual exhaustion.
Ephesians 4:32 reminds us to be tenderhearted and forgiving, just as God has forgiven us. But how do we forgive someone who caused us trauma? How do we forgive people who never owned what they did? How do we forgive when we’re still picking up the pieces of what was broken? The answer is this: we forgive not because they deserve it — but because our healing demands it.
Unforgiveness is a trap. It holds you hostage while the person who hurt you continues living their life. It weighs you down emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You replay the moments, relive the pain, rehearse the betrayal — and every time you do, your trauma continues to win. Forgiveness is not about pretending it didn’t happen. It’s about choosing not to let what happened continue to have power over you. It’s about cutting the cord between your soul and the wound that’s been draining you.
Forgiveness is a spiritual decision, not an emotional feeling. That’s why we need God’s help to do it. On our own, we might never feel like forgiving. But with God, we learn that forgiveness is not weakness — it’s strength. It’s not letting someone off the hook — it’s placing them in God’s hands and releasing ourselves from the prison of resentment.
If you’re still carrying the pain of what was done to you, and you feel like forgiving is too much to ask, I want you to consider this: What is it costing you to hold on to unforgiveness? Is it keeping you up at night? Is it robbing you of joy? Is it keeping your heart hard and your spirit cold? Is it delaying your healing? Because the truth is, unforgiveness and resilience cannot coexist. Unforgiveness will wear you down until there’s no room left for joy, growth, or peace.
Sis, your resilience requires release. You cannot run forward while dragging the weight of yesterday. Forgiveness is not about the person who hurt you — it’s about freeing the woman you are becoming. It’s about choosing YOU over the bitterness. It’s about stepping into the peace and power that comes when you say, “God, I surrender this. Help me release it. Help me forgive.”
Ephesians 4:32 isn’t asking us to do anything God hasn’t already done. He forgave us when we didn’t deserve it. He covered us when we were wrong. He loved us while we were still broken. And now, He’s inviting us to do the same — not to excuse others, but to expand our capacity to heal and grow. Forgiveness is the pathway to freedom. It’s where trauma begins to lose its grip, where your identity is no longer tied to the pain, and where God’s strength rises in you like never before.
So today, I challenge you to take one step toward forgiveness. Write the name. Say the prayer. Ask God to help you release the pain. You don’t have to feel ready. You just have to be willing. Because your healing matters more than your pride. Your peace is more important than the apology you never got. And your resilience is waiting on the other side of your release.
Choose forgiveness. Choose freedom. Choose to heal.
Healing From Trauma With God’s Help
Day 3: Resilience Through Prayer
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Scripture Focus: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT
“Never stop praying.”
Good Morning My Beautiful Resilient Sister,
If there is anything trauma wanted to take from you — it was your voice. Not just the voice you speak to people with, but the voice you use to speak to God. Trauma will convince you that prayer doesn’t work. Trauma will make you feel like God didn’t care because He didn’t stop what happened. Trauma will try to build a wall between you and God so high that you stop talking to Him altogether. But I need you to hear me this morning — prayer is not just a religious routine. Prayer is not just something we do because we’re Christians. Prayer is a necessity. Prayer is survival. Prayer is healing. Prayer is warfare. Prayer is where resilience is birthed.
Sis, when life broke you — it was prayer that kept you breathing. When you lost things you thought you couldn’t live without — it was prayer that held you together. When nobody saw your tears, when nobody heard your cries, when nobody understood your pain — God did. And every time you opened your mouth and whispered, “God, help me,” heaven moved on your behalf.
Trauma has a way of making us silent. It makes us guarded. It makes us independent to the point where we feel like we can only depend on ourselves. But the danger in that is we start trying to heal without the Healer. We start trying to fix what only God can fix. And we stay stuck in cycles of pain, fear, and survival mode because we stopped inviting God into our process.
Prayer is how you break that cycle.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Never stop praying.” Not because God needs a perfect speech. Not because He needs long fancy words. But because prayer is your daily connection to His strength. Prayer is how you release what your heart can’t carry anymore. Prayer is where resilience is restored after trauma drained you dry.
To pray is to say, “God, I’m tired, but I trust You.” To pray is to say, “God, I don’t understand why this happened, but I know You love me.” To pray is to say, “God, I’m still angry, but I’m still here.” Real prayer is raw. Real prayer is honest. Real prayer is messy sometimes. And God is not offended by your honesty. He’s waiting for it.
Sis, keeping a prayer life after trauma is not easy — it’s warfare. Because prayer makes the enemy nervous. Prayer reminds the devil that he didn’t win. Prayer reminds your trauma that it doesn’t control your life anymore. Prayer says, “Yes, I’ve been through hell — but I’m still connected to heaven.”
Your resilience is not in how strong you act — it’s in how surrendered you become. Resilience through prayer is understanding that healing happens on your knees before it happens in your emotions. Resilience through prayer means you fight differently now. You don’t fight with anger. You don’t fight with silence. You fight by going to the One who sees all, knows all, and has already made a way of escape for you.
This morning, I dare you to pray like your life depends on it — because it does. Pray like healing is already happening. Pray like your voice still matters. Pray like the woman who refuses to let trauma have the last word over her life.
Say this boldly out loud today: “God, I refuse to be silent. My prayer life will not die in this trauma. My voice will not be lost in this pain. I will pray my way through every storm, every wound, every memory, and every trigger. I am building my resilience through prayer, and I trust that You are listening, You are moving, and You are healing me — one prayer at a time.”
Sis, you don’t need perfect words today — you need an open heart. And that’s all God has been waiting for.
Your healing lives in your prayers.
Your peace lives in your prayers.
Your strength lives in your prayers.
Never stop praying.
Because every time you pray — heaven hears you, hell fears you, and healing finds you.
Keep praying, beautiful. Your resilience is rising.
