1)what a faithful witness is in the bk of rev: an individual who has seen the spiritual truth and is willing to tell it and live from it, come what may.
the two witnesses in rev 11, the martyrs which means witnesses, there's a specific martyr Antipas from Pergamum who is commended for faithfulness.
there's a clear declaration that Jesus IS the ultimate faithful witness, and then there's the exhortation to be faithful witnesses ourselves.
and, beal wrote: JOHN is faithful in his role of prophetic witness to the rev he received! so the book itself is the material of a faithful witness.
So why am I revisiting this in the context of a discussion about inner healing?
Bc I have experienced Jesus interacting with me as a witness in and to my life experience, and that realization has initiated healing in my soul. and i'm far from the only one.
in fact there's a whole ministry called theophostic prayer where people are guided to look for Jesus in specific life memories, and many people who walk through this type of prayer experience report peace and resolution around those memories once they see how Christ was with them and experiencing it alongside them and caring for them.
I have experienced this exact thing several times from theophostic prayer sessions, and i'll share many of those examples in future episodes but for now, i'll share a more lighthearted but still soul-healing example of it.
(praying w someone trained in this, God brings me back to a memory of being laughed at by some males in my fam when i was 5, i got mad and they found it amusing, im at my aunts house in arkansas, ev is vivid, Jesus is THERE and seeing me and hugging me, and my soul feels more resolved - this touched on and represented some major themes in my trauma history! being able to stand up for myself, how im treated by men, etc. IN A VERY REAL WAY, Jesus entering into and being a witness to my life and experiences ... brought my soul healing.
DO in the context of YOUR inner healing, I want u to remember that Jesus is the one who has walked through every experience with you and felt everything u felt and understood everything u thought, and was loving and caring for you immensely in every moment.
100% empath. seeing and knowing his consistent witness in our lives is the means by which we can experience relief and resolve around painful moments and memories.
inner healing is Jesus showing us that he was an understanding in fact all knowing witness - we see him there with us and we feel relieved, and it helps the brain process the previously distressing emotion bundle and stamp the memory as in the past - in this way certain practices like theophostic prayer are a bit similar to emdr. at least to me they have felt similar.
2)
trauma healing experts often point out a trauma survivor's need for an empathetic witness in order to recover more fully.
Trauma expert Dr Arielle Schwartz says "The key factor in recovering from trauma as a child is that there was at least a single adult that took an interest in the inner world and experience of that child. Who listened, who helped them... A compassionate companion who was willing to show up and see that a child is a person who has their own thoughts, fears, worries, hopes and dreams. They are believed, validated and supported. And when a child has that person, their likelihood of coming out of those adverse events with greater resilience ...is strengthened by just that one person."
On the other hand, it seems that when trauma occurs and nobody witnesses it, it can sometimes have a tendency to do more damage to the survivor's nervous system.
So Dr Arielle Schwartz continues and says “A big part of what we do therapeutically is go back with the client and revisit unwitnessed events and provide this shared experience with a compassionate companion where we can validate the reality of their experience."
I've read elsewhere too that with life's hardships that leave a lasting effect, it's often not about how big the event was, but how profoundly alone u may have felt within the experience. So once a therapist or someone loving like that can sit with you in your story, the relief of not being alone can allow the nervous system to reprocess and resolve aspects of the event.
French researcher Alice Miller called this idea Enlightened witnesses. She claimed this lowered child abuse survivor's chances of becoming violent criminals as adults.
And if youre a therapist or psych nerd, you may think of therapeutic containment, which the neurolaunch website has this to say about:
"The term [containment] sounds clinical, but the experience is universal. It’s what happens when a friend listens to you rage about a bad day without flinching, and somehow you feel calmer afterward, even though nothing about the situation changed. That’s containment happening in real time.... In a clinical context, psychological containment refers to a therapist’s capacity to receive a client’s distress, sit with it without reacting defensively, and reflect it back in a way that makes it feel less chaotic and more understandable.... They tolerate the discomfort of hearing something painful, resist the urge to fix it too fast, and offer back a version of the feeling that’s been organized rather than dismissed. Over time, clients internalize this capacity themselves. They learn to be their own container.
Winnicott described something similar with his concept of “holding,” originally used to describe how a mother manages an infant’s distress before the infant has any language for what’s happening to them. Therapists translate that into psychological terms: providing stability and attunement so a client’s inner chaos has somewhere safe to land."
3)
Another aspect within the therapy world is within internal parts work - when your true self gets good at non-judgmental, grace-filled observation of your different inner parts.
Btw, not every believer feels ok with parts work, and it's a longer conv to be had more thoroughly on another episode, but for the sake of briefly disclosing where im at with it, i feel theres room for a version of "parts work" in the Christian life. But i dont think Richard Schwarts the IFS guy invented/discovered it like he kinda almost claims to, nor do i agree with his take on guides!, nor his spiritual practices or beliefs. more on parts work in future episodes.
to me this internal parts feel slightly diff than conv's directly with the holy Spirit, but obviously we can and should invite the Holy Spirit to guide any parts work and any and every internal observation / tracking / conversation going on within us.
4)
in conclusion, here are four aspects of faithful witnessing (listed in no particular order) that i want you to make space for in your life.
First: that Jesus is a faithful witness to you
He sees and completely understands what no one else can. Every experience, question, feeling and thought we have walked through on this very unique and very sometimes heartbreaking road called life! He knows. And He wants us to know that He knows. To stay aware that He's viewing all this and judging and evaluating with a more perfect lense than any other expert evaluator. And He has never left us alone ever.
Second: cultivate a few relationships with people who you feel could probably be compassionate witnesses to you. And you to them. this is the community aspect of healing that is so so vital. we are social creatures as designed by God. and while most of our inner hurts are caused by humans, most of them are going to require human interaction to correct and repair. so who are the ppl that really see u. m
Third: become a compassionate, empathetic, attuned, mature witness to your own self. Sometimes we need to let ourselves feel and process and validate our own emotions and experiences. instead of should-ing on yourself. sit with your heart for a moment and allow that wave of human emotion to pass through, without judging. some of us just need to imagine our adult self giving our younger self a reassuring hug.
And fourth: live as a walking witness of Who Jesus is and what He has done and is doing and will do.
isaiah 43 says
10
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11
I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
12
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign godamong you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13
Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”
Prayer:
Jesus show up intimately in our lives
make us empathic witnesses to each others stories
and our own
and empower us to embody the gospel and live as witnesses of You
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