Do you feel listened to and seen?

Your story of incarceration is personal and emotional. Although it seems to define you, it does not have to define your future. You may not feel seen and heard. You may feel like others misunderstand you. You may be experiencing shame and condemnation due to the trauma you experienced from the time you were a child. Addiction, depression, anger, or overwhelm may be part of your life experience.

Do you feel that you are not seen or heard? Do you feel invisible? Do you feel worthless or hopeless? Do you get only negative attention?

Jesus Christ understands what you have been through. He sees you. He hears you. He created you. He loves you. He has experienced all the emotions that you have. He was misunderstood, abused, traumatized, and ultimately killed. Today, I want to encourage you to look to Jesus for healing, release, purpose, and wholeness.

• “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15)

Jesus’ Mission: healing and freedom
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” (Lk 4:18-19)
1. Jesus wants to heal your brokenness    — suntribo means trampled, shattered, crushed
2. Jesus wants to release you from your addiction
“deliverance [aphesis means to release from bondage or imprisonment] from captivity”  — liberty from captivity
3. Jesus wants to release you from the shattering of the bondage to bad behavior, thoughts, and feelings, like worthlessness, hopeless, shame due to trauma
“liberty [aphesis] from bruised [thrauo means shattered]”   — liberty from oppression
Jesus said, the truth will set you free… (Jn 8:32,36)
4. Jesus cares for you. He sees you. He hears you.
“casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” (1Pet 5:7 AMP)
5. God’s love give you hope.
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom 5:5)
6. You are God’s workmanship, and you have purpose.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10)
7. You are special to God.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1Pet 2:9)
8. You are a gift from God the Father to Jesus.
“I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost” (Jn 17:12)

“Studies show that being seen is necessary to feel like we matter and promotes mental and emotional wellbeing, including a reduced risk for anxiety and depression.”  – Zach Mercurio

The Art and Science of Noticing Others: How to Become Better at Making People Feel Seen

How to Be Seen and Heard When You’re Feeling Invisible
“This unwanted invisibility can erode self-esteem and self-confidence, but it doesn’t have to be a lifelong experience.”
https://psychcentral.com/depression/how-to-be-seen-and-heard-when-youre-feeling-invisible

GROKKED: Being Seen, Heard and Known For Who You Are
“in being fully seen, heard and understood is not only the ground of being in all relationships, it may well be at the core of our heart’s desire as human beings.”
https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/grokked-being-seen-heard-and-known-for-who-you-are/

“The unreached typically become interested in the Bible or in Jesus through relationships – through something they see in you, and in stories from your life.”   –  Chris Clayman
https://www.crescentproject.org/blog/what-unreached-people-wish-christians-understood