Trigger Warning: This post contains descriptions of trauma, including drug abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, suicide attempts, and the impact of war. Please read with care.
Here’s the thing we forget about war. For those caught in the conflict, war is not the only pain they face.
Beneath the immediate survival mode, people are still struggling with pre-existing complex inter-personal, intergenerational and intercultural trauma. The every-day hurts of human life.
That’s why the Arab Israeli Bible Society is offering trauma-healing workshops to help people process their many layers of pain.
Even before the war, Tamar* was no stranger to pain. She was raised by a father who struggled with drug abuse. Then, when Tamar was 14, her father was jailed for murdering her step-sister. Tamar’s life was rocked to its core. Tamar went on to experience sexual abuse from a family member. This combined with the loss of her sister left her overwhelmed with anger and sorrow and she ended up in a mental health hospital. As an adult, Tamar was forced into a marriage with a man 20 years her senior who also abused drugs. She started using drugs to cope too.
“During these years I tried several times to commit suicide,” Tamar remembers.
She started to cry out to God for help as a mother of two hurting children. And soon God sent someone to talk to her about God.
“I was so angry I could not listen or respond to what he was saying,” Tamar reflects. But as this friend started to pray for her, Tamar remembered her belief in God.
“I told God, ‘If you’re there, please show me yourself…”
Immediately Tamar felt a burning fire in her feet going up through her body. And as she lifted her head, she saw Jesus in person telling her, “Every tear that you shed I will replace it with a blessing.”
Tamar was able to engage in a Bible Society trauma healing workshop. Over a 7-day intensive she sifted through many facets of her life. She cried out to God and received empowerment to forgive those who had wronged her.
During this time Tamar wasn’t able to read the Bible for herself because she’d only completed school to 3rd grade. But she had some key Scripture quotes she held close.
Tamar’s hunger for God’s word was so great that she taught herself to read. Now the most important part of her day is her quiet time with the Lord when she reads the Bible, prays and sings. She also sings in her home church.
Tamar’s two children – now in their late teens – are Christians as well. The family shares fellowship together at home. Tamar continues to support them with their spiritual growth and healing – pointing them to God as their Heavenly Father.
Tamar’s favorite verse is 1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
The need for Christians like Tamar to Open The Bible is great in this part of the world.
The war in the Middle East is adding layer upon layer of trauma onto the lives of its citizens.
After many months of conflict, Dina, the Director of Arab Israeli Bible Society, said this:
“…The war between Gaza and Israel is still going on. Pain, loss and suffering… Many people are tired from war and are looking for hope and peace.”
But there is some light in the darkness.
“The Arab Israeli Bible Society is receiving many requests from churches and different Christian organisations for more Trauma Healing programs.”
The initiatives of Arab Israeli Bible Society are many. But this spring, Bible Society Australia is supporting two of their special projects:
1. Healing Under His Wings: Helping Arab Israelis in Wartime
Arab Israeli Bible society is standing beside people in their trauma offering:
2. Core Presence for Arab Israeli Bible Society
This project is about equipping Christians to be a presence for peace in Israel.
Approximately 163,000 Christians live in Israel, of which 80% are Arabs.
“Our visible presence is important especially as a Christian minority living among a Muslim majority within the state of Israel that has a Jewish majority. We are a double minority,” says Dina.
Please join us in praying for the homeland of Jesus:
You can also join us in bringing a spirit of peace to Arab Israelis by donating to our appeal, ‘The Bible for Christians in Need’. This appeal focuses on the hope and healing found in God’s word for Christians in the Middle East at this crucial time.
*Name has been changed for privacy reasons.
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