From Trauma to Triumph: How Childhood Experiences Shape Faith to Overcome Difficulties

Recently, I spoke with a father of two who leads an international organization. He has experienced seasons of depression and burnout and is still waiting for complete recovery.

During our conversation, he described a recent visit to Ukraine and his unexpected response to the threat of shelling in Kyiv. He hesitated to admit that, during the air-raid warning, he felt an adrenaline rush rather than fear—even the fear of dying seemed absent.

I understood something of what he was describing: the intense alertness that can arise in danger, followed later by an emotional and physical crash.

From Trauma to Triumph: How Childhood Experiences Shape Faith to Overcome Difficulties

His story brought back memories of the war in the former Yugoslavia and the strange excitement my friends and I sometimes experienced as children.

I realize that may sound unusual. There were certainly frightening and traumatic moments. Yet, by the grace of God, many of our strongest memories are of the games my brothers and I played with neighborhood friends in our basement while shelling continued outside.

Unlike many families, ours primarily experienced economic hardship rather than devastating personal loss. This made our post-war recovery less difficult than it was for countless others.

Still, living through war as a child taught me something about facing hardship with childlike faith: even when the world around us felt uncertain, we continued to play, imagine, trust, and hope.

How Childlike Faith Helped Me Through Depression

Years later, this childlike determination became part of my journey out of depression.

I moved from one of the lowest periods of my life—when I struggled with suicidal thoughts—toward freedom through a three-year journey with Jesus.

During that time, I was learning that Jesus makes a way through every circumstance. He leads us toward truth, and His truth brings life into places that have felt dark, wounded, or lifeless.

I continued walking with Him through one particular struggle for three years, trusting that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

One of my daily prayers was:

“Jesus, please enter my heart.”

I knew Jesus as my Savior, so this prayer may not have been theologically precise. Yet it expressed what I was experiencing. I felt overwhelmed by a deep reservoir of darkness, pain, oppression, and fear that made everyday life difficult.

I was asking Jesus to meet me in those places and rescue me from what I could not overcome alone.

For almost three years, I prayed that prayer repeatedly, trusting Him for the grace and help I needed. Eventually, I experienced freedom from clinical depression.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”— John 8:32

The Journey Continues

The challenges I face today may be different, but the process remains much the same.

As I wait for healing or for other circumstances to be resolved, I continue walking with Jesus. Through intimacy with Him, I trust that He is leading me toward truth—truth that can bring life to another part of another part of me that needs restoration.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”— John 14:6

Throughout this journey, one theme continues to emerge: Jesus consistently leads us to know God as our Father.

Many of our struggles eventually bring us to questions such as:

What do I believe about my heavenly Father?

Are any of those beliefs shaped more by pain, disappointment, or human experience than by the truth of Scripture?

What might change if Jesus revealed the Father’s heart to me more fully?

When God Feels Distant

Recently, I recognized one of these false perceptions in my own heart.

I kept remembering a photograph of my late father. In it, he is looking down at me from the top of an unfinished house.

As I prayed about this image, I realized that it reflected how I sometimes perceived God the Father: distant, high above me, and occupied with unfinished work.

This realization invited me into another journey with Jesus. I began asking the Holy Spirit for grace to uncover the truth about God as Father through Scripture—not only as a theological idea, but as a reality I could experience personally.

This is only one part of my continuing journey. I know that more may be revealed as old perceptions are challenged and replaced by the truth of who God is.

What Are You Carrying Today?

I may not know your greatest struggle, but I know that you are not alone in having one.

Your experience may be very different from mine. Not every struggle comes from the same source, and healing does not follow an identical path for everyone. Yet some difficulties may invite us to examine how pain has shaped our understanding of God.

Perhaps Jesus wants to meet you within your struggle and gently uncover beliefs about the Father that have been shaped by disappointment, abandonment, fear, or unmet expectations.

As you seek answers with Jesus, He may surprise you. His response may look different from what you expected, yet reveal God as a good and loving Father.

Along the way, old perceptions can be challenged by the truth found in Scripture.

An Invitation to Meet the Father

Today, I invite you to reflect on John 14:1–14.

In this passage, Jesus prepares His disciples for His coming suffering and crucifixion. While they are troubled and uncertain, He directs their attention toward the Father.

As you read, allow Jesus to shift your focus—gently—from your immediate struggle to the Father who sent His Son to bring us home.

You are loved by a Father who sent His Son for you. Jesus came not only to save you, but also to reveal what the Father is truly like.

Through intimate moments with Jesus, we begin to discover the Father.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18