Finding Authentic Healing in a Hurting World

Excerpted from A Message By Jon Alsdorf

​In times of cultural trauma and personal pain, we often find ourselves spinning, unsure of where our feet will land. The recent events - from the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt to school shootings - have left many of us reeling, searching for solid ground in a world that seems increasingly chaotic.

When tragedy strikes, our initial reactions rarely represent our best selves. We tend to make common mistakes that only prolong our suffering rather than lead to healing. But there is a better way forward - a path to authentic healing that can transform not only our lives but potentially our culture.

Common Mistakes We Make When Hurting
Before we can find healing, we need to recognize the unhelpful patterns we often fall into:
Withdrawing and Isolating Ourselves
When pain hits, many of us retreat. We shut out the world and try to process our hurt alone. But Proverbs tells us it's foolish to isolate ourselves. Withdrawing doesn't help the hurt - it just sustains it. The pain doesn't go away; it simply stays buried within us.
Lashing Out at Others
Pain can make us angry, leading us to give everyone "a piece of our mind." Scripture warns that "a fool gives full vent to his fury." This approach damages relationships and provides no real relief.
Panicking and Spiraling
Like an airplane in a stall, we can start spinning emotionally, caught in doom loops about the world and our future. This spiral is hard to recover from and keeps us trapped in anxiety.
Playing the Blame Game
America's favorite pastime during tragedy is finding someone to blame. We exhaust ourselves pointing fingers, yet accomplish nothing meaningful in the process.
Masking Feelings with Anger or Denial
Particularly for men, anger often feels stronger than admitting sadness or grief. But masking our true feelings with anger doesn't make us stronger - it makes us weaker and less connected to reality.
Making Destructive Choices
Many turn to addictive or compulsive behaviors - old habits, self-medicating, or self-soothing pursuits that provide temporary relief but ultimately leave us in the same mess.

How Do We Find Authentic Healing?
Turn to God First
If there's one message our culture needs right now, it's this: turn to God. This is where all the help, answers, and healing exist. Isaiah 42:17 says, "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth... for I am God and there is no other."
The world that doesn't know God will never turn to Him until the world that does know God demonstrates what that looks like. Acts 3:19-20 reminds us: "Repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
No matter how far our culture has strayed, God's grace is sufficient. There is no point of "no return" with God - He is always ready to receive those who turn to Him.

Be Real with God About Your Fears
American culture often celebrates fearless bravado and self-reliance. But God calls us to a life of dependence on Him, not macho independence.
1 Peter 5 instructs us to "humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God... casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you." We don't need to "get it together" before approaching God. He already knows our mess and loves us anyway.
Philippians 4:5-7 promises that when we bring our anxieties to God, "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." This is the peace we're desperately searching for.

Express Your Trust in God Out Loud
It's not enough to believe in your heart - you need to say it out loud. When you verbalize your trust in God, it helps align your heart and mind. Your brain has ears, and it needs to hear your confession of faith.
Your spouse, children, parents, and friends need to hear you express your trust in God. Psalm 27:13-14 offers a powerful confession: "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage."
Even in the darkest times, like Jeremiah experienced when writing Lamentations, we can declare: "The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

Review the Things That Never Change
When everything seems to be falling apart, we need to remember these unchanging truths:

• God reigns over all - Hebrews 1:8-9 reminds us that God's throne is forever. He is still working, still sovereign, even when things don't work out as we wish.
• God's love is immovable - Romans 8:38-39 assures us that nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." If He didn't abandon us at the cross, He won't abandon us now.
• God is all we need - In 2 Corinthians 12, God says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." When we embrace our weakness, we experience God's strength.

Life Application
Our culture is looking for real answers in the midst of chaos and pain. The bridge across our divided nation won't come through politics or courts - it will come through the church of the living God demonstrating authentic healing.
This week, I challenge you to:

• Practice turning to God first when you feel anxious or afraid about current events. Before checking the news or social media, spend time in prayer.
• Be honest with God and others about your fears. Stop trying to appear strong and instead embrace the strength that comes through vulnerability with God.
• Verbally express your trust in God to at least one person this week. Share how God's unchanging nature gives you hope even in difficult times.
• Invite someone who is hurting to church or to a conversation about faith. The percentage of people who would attend church if personally invited is at an all-time high.

Ask yourself: Am I trying to heal in my own strength or am I allowing God to be my healer? What fears am I hiding rather than bringing to God? Who in my life needs to hear about the hope I've found in Christ?
The answer to our cultural trauma isn't political - it's spiritual. As we find authentic healing in Christ, we can offer that same healing to a world desperately in need of hope.