The Voice of Truth

“…out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth”. These words from Casting Crown’s song "Voice of Truth" echoed so loudly in my head recently when I was deep in thought about the impacts of childhood trauma. Our earliest relationships teach us a lot about ourselves. From our relationships in the family or at school, ideally, we learn that we are lovable, safe and valuable. However, when those foundational relationships are marked by abuse, abandonment or emotional unavailability, we often internalize different messages, for example: “I’m too much.” “I have to earn my place and worth in this world.” “Love is conditional and unsafe.” “I am not worth protecting.”

These beliefs formed in childhood often impact our identity, well into adulthood, creating a sense of shame that colors everything we do and how we relate with people: at work and in our relationships. The good news is that God doesn’t see us through the lens of our trauma or the lies we believe about ourselves. Instead, He sees us as something totally different. He assures us through the Word that:

1. We are His beloved children. 1 John 3:1 says “see how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are…”. Childhood relationships that may have caused us pain in our earthly families are made perfect through our Heavenly Father. We are chosen by Him (John 15:16) and His thoughts about us are precious (Psalm 139:17-18), not based on our performance or our pasts, but based on His character and His love for us.

2. We are intentionally created. Psalm 139:13-14 says “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! "Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it”. In a world where we are pressured to adopt the world’s standards of beauty, we can rest assured that we were born beautiful and that only God our Creator can tell us what he thinks about His creation. This means that all other voices that contradict His Word about His creation are false. Dealing with and healing from trauma that impacted our identity is a process. Our trauma doesn’t disqualify us from God’s love; instead, it draws His compassion. Psalm 147:3 reminds us that “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”.

He looks at us with the heart of a perfect Father longing to comfort His hurt children. Therefore, we ought to listen to His voice daily, by studying the Word. By doing this, we combat the lies of the enemy with the Voice of Truth, which is the Word of God. This isn’t about simply thinking positively or denying reality. It’s about exchanging one set of beliefs for the truth God declares about us, thereby renewing our minds (Romans 12:2). If you’re dealing with the impact of trauma that impacted your identity, “…may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

-Written by Kudzani Koketso