When Pain Becomes an Altar

Sisters, brace your hearts… this may feel like a bitter pill, but I promise it is woven with the love of your Heavenly Father.

In a moment of prayer over the hearts of women wounded by childhood trauma, the Lord whispered something into my spirit:

“The internal promises made as children because of trauma can sometimes become the idols that harbour the human heart as an adult.”

The silent vows made in pain…
The survival promises whispered while lost…
They can all become thrones in our hearts where only Christ was meant to reign.

You see, sometimes it’s not the trauma itself that binds us – it’s our response to it.

Fear becomes a fortress.
Shame becomes a shackle.
Pride becomes a mask.
And in our effort to protect ourselves, we bow down to self-made altars.

We promise:
“Never to be weak again.”
“Never to trust again.”
“Never to need again.”

Do you see the internal contracts we make there?

Christ cannot anoint what we refuse to uncover.
The oil of healing can only flow when the idols fall.

In John 5:6, Jesus looks at the lame man and asks, “Do you want to be made well?”
He doesn’t impose, and He doesn’t demand.
He waits – for openness, for surrender, for your yes.

And still, He waits for your yes today.

So, sister, the Spirit gently invites you to probe your heart today and ask:

➡️ What pain have I turned into an altar?
➡️ What inner vow have I crowned as lord over my heart?
➡️ How has my self-protection become a barrier between me and my healing?

Sanctification can feel like open-heart surgery.
But rest in this truth: Christ is the Great Physician, and He only guides you to take a deep look at your heart to bless you with the spiritual freedom He died for.

Let the Holy Spirit search your heart and allow His oil to flow.

And when it does – your heart will know a healing so holy, no idol could ever compare.