A Painful Past: Healing and Moving Forward

by Lauren Whitman

Do you live with regret? Have others sinned terribly against you? If it has been hard for you to recover from events in your past, the possibility that you could live well in the present may seem far-fetched. If you feel trapped by your past, God invites you to pour out your heart to him and to find comfort in his Word. In this 31-day devotional, complete with reflection questions and practical action steps, biblical counselor Lauren Whitman shows how the gospel transforms your understanding of the past, your life in the present, and your hope for the future.

Genres: Counselling, Religion, Christian Living

92 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2020

About the author

Lauren Whitman, MA, is a staff counselor at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), where she has served for a decade. She also serves as the developmental editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling and is the author of A Painful Past: Healing and Moving Forward and A Biblical Counseling Process. Whitman, her husband, and their two children make their home in the Philadelphia area.

Reviews

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for biblical counselors to walk through with counselees. I used this devotional with a woman that was sexually abused as a child. She was enormously blessed by how Lauren Whitman systematically walks you through the past (it is very painful but needed practice), shows who you are now in Christ, and what the future holds for you.

[Patrick Porras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply encouraging. A great resource for the church and for counselors. Worth slowing down and walking through with someone

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful devotional that will serve those who have experienced a painful past as well as pastors who are counseling and caring for those with a significantly difficult past. I really enjoyed the biblical framework of beginning with the character of God as foundational to understanding and moving on from our past. Lament and grieving were also appropriately emphasized. The gold mine in this devotional was considering who we are in Christ because of the gospel and all the blessings God has secured for our future as his children. This book helped me see that a fundamental way toward healing is worshiping our God. Praying for the Spirit to open our eyes to see him purposing all things in our lives for our good and his glory.

[Stanton Godshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly Recommend!! "A Painful Past: Healing and Moving Forward" grasped me right away. I was touched by the truth of God's word for each day. I loved the short daily reads, reflections and applications. I felt gently encouraged to consider who the Lord is, what He is doing with my past and future. I felt our Savior's healing presence by reading Lauren Whitman's wonderful book.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daily Biblical encouragement, challenges and comfort for those who have a painful past either from being sinned against or their own sinful choices. Reflection questions each day help the reader to apply what they learn each day to heal and move forward from their painful past. Great resource for Biblical counseling homework.

[Chantelle Vanderveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a required read for a counselling course I'm taking and I'm glad they recommended it. I've worked through painful events in my past before but still found this book to be filled with encouraging gems. Would recommend along with most of the devotionals in this series.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for anyone who is a Christian who is trying to heal from traumas.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of had to rush through for my ccef class but seems like it would be helpful if you could dedicate some time to it.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, but brimming with insight, counsel, comfort, and hope.

[Tess McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

CCEF Class

[Paul Tautges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauren counsels our hearts with a beautiful balance of grace and truth. By gently and faithfully applying Scripture to our painful pasts, Lauren helps us to renew our minds and redirect our focus on our true identity--what we truly are before God in Christ--instead of who we may think we are because of what we did, or what others did to us, in our past.

[Cassie Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody has some sort of pain in their past, even Christians. God is a God of healing, but sometimes it takes time to heal. This devotional is an excellent place to start healing your own painful past, encouraging the reader to reflect on their past alongside the truths found in Scripture. This 31-day devotional will help you to begin turning to God to heal you of the wounds of your past. Recommended for Christians of all maturity.