Jesus didn’t just ‘go through’ trauma, He actually employed a very intentional three-part process to work through the issues that he experienced. Many times, we don’t remember or think about the fact that Jesus Himself went through very significant trauma while He completed His mission of serving and saving humanity. Because He is to be our example in all things, looking more closely at the specific ways that He lived through His own trauma gives us hope, structure, and healing when we go through our own.

There are three specific, forethought steps that Jesus employed. First; at the Garden of Gethsemane, He surrendered His pain and His will to His Father. He knew that in his weakened human condition, with the massive weight of our sins pressing down on Him, he would not be able to carry the load alone, so He abjectly surrendered it all to His Father - who was able to carry it on His behalf. Secondly; at Calvary, Jesus forgave the rough legionaries who were still in the process of nailing Him to the cross. As the architect and author of human emotion, He realized that if He was to move forward with His mind cleared for cogent thought, He needed to leave any retribution or revenge in the hands of the One who could see it all and know it all - His Father. Thirdly; on the road to Emmaus and for forty days after His resurrection, He told His story to His disciples - preparing them for the trauma that He knew was ahead in their lives.  

Surrender, forgive, tell your story - the three steps that Jesus gave us for healing

The Trees of Righteousness Seminar is set up in five distinct sessions*.

 Session 1: “God’s Unending Power of Re-creation” Session 1 introduces the incredibly healing concept that our Lord’s creative power did not end on the sixth day of creation week. Instead, He is still busy every day in the lives of His followers, employing his re-creative power to re-write their stories, bringing into being that which does not exist in the process of healing our trauma, grief, and pain. This session ‘sets the table’ for the series, describing the massive power of story in our lives and introducing the three methods that Jesus employed in dealing with His own trauma.

Session 2: “The Amazing Re-creative Energy of Surrender” Session 2 outlines the basic Christian concept of winning by surrendering. When we surrender our pain to the only One who can truly handle it, we begin the process of healing – sometimes even before traumatic events happen!  This session outlines many of the common things that the Lord asks us to surrender and takes a clear-eyed look at the many strongholds that the enemy builds into human lives. We openly talk about addictions and other self-medicating behaviors, their sources, their long-lasting grip on us and the ultimate ways that the Lord can free us forever from their grasp.

Session 3: “The Three Gifts of Forgiveness” Session 3 demonstrates the true beauty of living the forgiven and forgiving life. We go into some depth on what forgiveness really means, what is does not mean, and discuss some specific forgiveness techniques. We talk very openly about the advantages of forgiveness and talk about the times when forgiveness is terribly difficult, or even when it should be postponed in order to provide for physical safety. We look at the horrible toll of intimate-partner violence and how the Lord can provide for ways of healing even in those terrible situations.

Session 4: “The Healing and Release of the Narrative” Session 4 describes the incredible ways that we grow and heal when we tell our story – all of it – to a safe individual or small group. Make no mistake, because the Christian life is more often about helping other than helping ourselves, we take an deep dive into the concept of telling our stories not only for catharsis, but to help empower and facilitate healing in others who have gone through or will go through similar situations.  We review the ways that Jesus told His story and how that telling prepared His friends for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in early rain power. That small group of men and women, when cleansed through the process of telling their stories to each other, was so energized by the Holy Spirit that in one generation they changed the religion of the entire planet. We still discuss with awe those power-filled days of the early Christian church.

Session 5: “What is the Purpose Behind Pain?” Session 5 dives deep into a subject that we don’t often talk about. We hate pain and go to great efforts to avoid it! This session explores the origins of pain, focusing in on God’s relationship to human pain. We discuss a God who can weep as He heals, and who puts aside major strategic campaign to heal one wounded person. We begin to understand that He really does know the pain that we experience. We engage with pain in all of its aspects, including the ways that He expertly leverages pain inflicted by the enemy to teach, to enoble, to refine, to purify, to prepare, and even to heal us. The seminar ends with a brief review of our ultimate reward – looking forward to the time and place where we will not suffer any more pain.

*In some situations, sessions may be combined