To speak the words of what happened changes your inner being in ways that are both subtle and profound. When we experience hard things, it is common to want to keep them to ourselves in order to minimize them, to pretend they didn’t happen, or to convince ourselves that facing them is simply too overwhelming. Silence can feel safer, more manageable, like a way to maintain control.
But words have the power to change us. Speaking them allows us to externalize what we have been holding onto so tightly that it begins to exhaust us. What stays unspoken doesn’t disappear, it settles into our bodies, showing up as stress, anxiety, and emotional strain that slowly erodes our wellbeing. The belief that silence is easier than speaking the truth is a lie; it may feel protective in the moment, but over time it only deepens the hurt.
The first time I said the words, “I was raped,” something within me shifted. It became real, not something hidden away and tightly controlled, but something acknowledged. Naming it didn’t break me; it opened a door. It moved from something I was carrying alone to something that could begin to be understood, and eventually healed. It felt like a pressure valve had finally released, allowing space for breath, for honesty, and for the first steps toward healing.
14-15 Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone’s acclaim and pleasure. 16-21 He came to Nazareth where he had been raised. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written, God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s time to shine!” (Luke 4:14-21 MSG).
Just as I needed to speak the words of the rape, I also need to speak the words of Jesus. I need to replace the lie of silence with the truth of the one who came to set me free. I need to speak the words of the one who took my burden, who declared a thorough housecleaning for my entire being.
Speaking truth over and over guided my heart and spirit toward healing, the complete healing Jesus promised. What do you need to speak? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.