4 WAYS TO HEAL AFTER FINANCIAL TRAUMA
Financial trauma is a real thing. It can happen after a job loss, an economic downturn, or bankruptcy. Many people struggle with financial trauma because they don’t know how to overcome it. But there is a way.
If you’ve experienced financial hardship, here are 4 steps to find healing:
1. Acknowledge there is such a thing as financial trauma.
When financial tragedy happens, we don’t always realize there has been trauma. Also, we can’t judge the size of it because everyone responds in different ways. One person might say, “Well, I lost my job, but I can find another one.” For someone else, a job loss can be devastating. The first step to healing is acknowledging that the trauma exists.
2. Go through the different stages of grief.
Some of us need to learn more about the process of grieving. When I was working through a financial trauma in my own life, I read a book called Good Grief by Granger Westberg. About 90% of the book didn’t apply to my situation, but the 10% that did became key for my journey. Another great book on grief is Finding a New Normal by Ray Leight.
3. Work on finding and collapsing the “orphan gap.”
We never truly find freedom until we break free from the orphan gap, which is a mindset that says we’re alone and abandoned. I call this type of thinking a gap because it separates us from the truth of our identities in Christ.
An orphan gap doesn’t make us literal orphans. It simply means we believe we are alone and abandoned. Father God gives us protection, provision, and identity, so to correct an orphan mindset, we need to ask the Lord to reveal our identities as beloved sons or daughters.
4. Garden the heart well in this season.
One of the best ways to heal from financial trauma is to remove the lies that have been planted in our hearts. Lies like “God must be mad at me for allowing this to happen” or “I’m such a failure for not paying my bills on time” develop when we try to rationalize our pain or trauma.
As humans, we so desperately want to know “why” something terrible happened. While these thoughts can sometimes bring closure, most times it’s just better to forgive those who hurt us (especially ourselves) and let God bring the healing.
Financial Sozo is one inner healing ministry that helps with removing lies. Through a simple process, clients can identify and exchange destructive mindsets for God’s truth.
Here are some sample steps and questions we can use to identify lies:
Ask Father God, “Is there a lie I’m believing?”
If the Lord says “yes,” renounce partnership with it. Declare, “I renounce this lie’s hold over my life and send it back in Jesus’s Name.”
Exchange the lie for God’s truth. Ask Jesus, “What truth do you want me to know?”
And that’s it!
Yes, financial trauma is real, but it doesn’t have to define how we use money. We can keep our hope alive and stay faithful in our God-given assignments.
If you want to learn more about Financial Sozo, you can schedule a session here.
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Do you have trouble believing God wants you to prosper?
Maybe you have the opportunity to see a significant increase in your income—but you’re wondering about your motives and if this desire for more is from the Lord.
What about the love of money being the root of all evil?
To answer these questions, let’s start by looking at a popular money lie.
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