Entry Point Number 3: Trauma

In their distress they cried to the LORD, who saved them in their peril;He brought them forth from darkness and the shadow of death and broke their chains asunder.  (Psalms 107:13-14)

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Trauma is the same way.  An experience that may not be a big deal from your perspective could be a very traumatic experience for someone else.  These traumatic experiences can have a severe impact on someone’s spiritual life and become an entry point for an evil spirit.

One of the most common examples of this is grief.  Grief can come in many forms and from many sources.  Generally, grief is relatively brief and progresses through the 5 stages without complication.  Other times, however, the grief becomes a perpetual state of extreme mourning.  It could be the loss of a significant person in one’s life, the loss of one’s identity, or the loss of anything else that one had become dependent on for a sense of well-being.  

While there are certainly psychological causes that may lead grief to escalate into this extreme trauma, it is also possible for an evil spirit to use the grieving process as an entry point for the purpose of oppression.  In either case, the grieving period can seem to continue without progression through the stages of grieving.

In the cases of traumatic experiences, it is often beneficial for the person to work with a counselor and a spiritual director in tandem.  A counselor can help the person sort things out from a psychological perspective and use tools such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help the person learn to cope with the trauma.  In the meantime, a good spiritual director can help the person discern the spiritual impact of the trauma and find God in the midst of the pain.  Any evil spirits identified can be renounced and spiritual wounds can be exposed to the Light and Truth of Christ for healing.

Furthermore, we can find ourselves living in a spiritual bondage caused by trauma and not be aware of it.  Between the veil of denial sewn by the evil spirit and our own psyche’s ability to adapt, we live our life believing the way we feel is just normal life…ignorant of the fact that a higher level of freedom is available in Christ.  In spiritual direction, we often uncover the traumatic experiences that have been buried in years of denial and find a new spiritual life and freedom when the bondage is released.