All people experience pain in life. Sometimes pain is caused by a scrape or a scratch. There are many types of physical injuries. We all experience psychological injuries as well. If someone you love has ever called you stupid or any other hurtful name, you have suffered a psychological injury.   Just as some children might refuse to keep trying to skateboard after several painful falls, some people refuse to allow themselves to be vulnerable to psychological injury by withdrawing from social interaction.  Others might continue to interact, but they might be anxious, hyperactive and hyper-vigilant, preparing to defend themselves from psychological attacks. They might over-react to minor offenses. Psychological pain can be caused from verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse or neglect.  Psychological pain and physical pain can interact.  When we are in pain, it can be difficult to say how much is physical and how much is emotional.  If we are already in psychological pain, then the pain from a physical injury can be worse.

          There are many types of painkillers. Aspirin, Tylenol, and ibuprofen come quickly to mind as non-prescription medications for physical pain. However, there are many psychological painkillers which many people use more often than they use pharmaceutical painkillers. These can include drugs, alcohol, sex, and pornography.  The pleasure from any of these can potentially be used to counteract psychological pain. Other activities may afford pain relief by distraction. Activities such as over-eating, watching television, movies and sports events may give relief by distracting us from our psychological or our physical pain.  Recreational activities such as fishing, golfing or gardening also shift the focus of our concentration from things which may be painful. Obsessions with work or even church activities can also be unconscious means of avoiding pain in our lives. Some people even inflict physical pain upon themselves in order to temporarily mask their psychological pain. When their attention shifts to the physical pain they are free of their awareness of the psychological pain.

          God has provided us with ways to heal psychological pain. These not only relieve pain but they remove the source of the pain. They are far superior to painkillers which only temporarily mask pain.  Sources of psychological pain are the lies we have believed about ourselves. Some are lies we have been told or lies which we have believed because of things that have happened to us.  Another type of lie is that we can’t be forgiven for our sins. Jesus taught that the Devil is the father of lies (John 8:44).  Lies and deception are how he attacks us, spiritually wounds us and inflicts psychological pain.  If lies are the source of our pain, then truth is the source of healing. In fact, Jesus said that “the truth will set you free.” (John 8: 32) When pressed to explain this, He said that all who sin are slaves to sin. So the truth apparently sets us free from the painful lies which lead to sin.

          In Ephesians, Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God.  The armor of God  protects us from spiritual and psychological harm. When we are fully protected by the armor of God, then our own defenses of anger and unforgiveness are no longer necessary. The first piece of armor is the belt of truth.  Other pieces  are the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God (Eph 6: 13-17). Together, these six pieces of armor fully protect us from any further harm. We no longer need to defend ourselves with anger when we have understood the protection that the Lord has provided.

          Now, the belt of truth is the first part of the full armor of God. This is not surprising since Jesus Himself said that it was truth which would set us free from the slavery of sin.  Sin is often an attempt to mask and numb the pain of our psychological wounds. Psychological wounds are caused by beliefs which have damaged our perception of our own identity.  The Holy Spirit is described by Jesus as the Spirit of truth. In John 14: 16-17,  Jesus said  "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” Later in John 16: 13 Jesus promises that  “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.” The Holy Spirit helps us to discern truth and to apprehend the truth of every verse of scripture. He can also help us to discern lies we have believed about ourselves or others, and to heal us by replacing those lies with truth.

          The second part of our armor is the breastplate of righteousness.  Here, it is important to realize that our righteousness is not any product of our own virtue or works. Isaiah  64:6 says “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Our righteousness is only gained through our faith in Jesus Christ. It is His sacrifice that cleansed us of sin so that we could be righteous before God. Rom 3:22 says that “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”  We are promised that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. “ (2 Cor 5:21)

          The sandals of peace are the next part of our armor. First, we need to know we have peace with God. In Rom 5: 1 , the apostle Paul assures us “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Another type of peace is that which we have within ourselves.  We must possess inner peace. Paul described his struggle to have inner peace in Rom 7: 22-23.  “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” A third area in which we must have peace is with one another.  In Mark 9: 50 Jesus says  "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."  Another verse says that if anyone has any grievance against us, it is urgent to go and be reconciled with that person. (Matt 5: 23-24) Our desire for peace must be so strong that even if we are insulted and provoked by a slap on the cheek, or if we are sued or forced out of our way, we should yield and maintain peace. (Matt 5: 39-41)  We are told to be ministers of reconciliation for God. (2 Cor 5: 17-21) Reconciliation means to reconnect in unity.

          The shield of faith is another piece of our armor. Faith is described as the substance of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1) We are taught that faith comes by hearing, and that hearing comes by the word of God. (Rom 10: 17)  The shield of faith is able to quench all of the fiery darts of the enemy.  (Eph 6: 26)

          The helmet of salvation is our protection from the accuser. Romans 8: 1-2 assures us that we are free forever from condemnation.  Again in Romans 8: 31-34 we are told we are free from all charges against us. Colossians 1: 14  says we have been redeemed and forgiven.  We are promised in Romans 8: 35-39 that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

          The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6: 17) is the last piece of armor. The word of God accomplishes many things. It defines us and gives us our core identity. It is often our core identity which the enemy attacks.  Here are a few of the verses which teach us who we are in Christ. John 15: 1-5 teaches that "I am a branch of the True Vine, a channel of His life." John 15: 16 declares "I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit." John 1: 12 says that "I am God's child." Matthew 5: 13-14 proclaims that "I am the salt and light of the earth." Since the word of God assures us that all of these things are true, we are healed from the wounds to our psychological identity which the enemy has inflicted. It is the truth of these verses which makes us more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. (Rom 8: 37) These and other verses heal our wounds and free us of psychological pain. They free us from the need for the painkillers which the world offers. I pray that these verses will heal your wounds and that they are relieving your pain.  

          People often ask me how counseling works. There are many approaches to counseling.  One approach helps people identify sources of psychological pain. These sources of pain are often  found in the painful experiences they have had earlier in their lives. Our most painful experiences are often in our childhood, because we are so helpless and vulnerable when we are children.  The experiences themselves may have been physically or psychologically painful when they occurred, but they continue to cause pain if they have damaged our belief about our own identity and value as a person.  When emotional reactions to current situations are out of proportion to things that are going on, that is often an indication that the true source of the emotional reaction is from a psychological wound in the past.  Events in our past can’t be changed, but our beliefs about how those experiences have damaged us can be changed.  Helping people identify and change false beliefs is one way that counseling helps people receive healing from their psychological wounds.  This process requires the person to explore the memory of a painful experience and to identify their emotions and beliefs during the experience.  Prayer can be used to help a person replace painful lies that have been believed with truth. Then, as Jesus said, the truth sets the person free.  When a person is free from the lie and the psychological pain it has caused, then he or she is free from the need to use psychological painkillers.