How to Let Go of Past Hurts and Move Toward God's Plans
Are you struggling to let go of past hurts and move toward God’s plans?
Letting go of past hurts and moving toward God’s plans can be difficult. Read Carrie’s story of how she learned to heal and trust God with her future.
Do you ever wonder how many people struggle with your specific pain? Go ahead, Google it. You might be surprised how many have walked a similar road, let go of past hurts, and survived.
The enemy wants us to feel isolated in our secrets; unable to let go of past hurts. But here’s the truth—we are not alone.
There’s likely someone in your very neighborhood who has a story like yours, who would be thrilled to know someone like you.
Can I make this personal? Have you ever looked up the statistics related to your struggle? Do you feel alone letting go of past hurts?
That voice of isolation—that’s the enemy. Don’t believe the lie.
Connection and healing are vital when you have to let go of past hurts and are closer than you think.
Keeping Us Stuck: The Enemy’s Strategy
Childhood trauma is especially paralyzing.
The enemy knows that if he can wound a child’s impressionable heart early, he can plant seeds of fear, shame, and doubt—barriers that prevent us from walking confidently in our God-given purpose.
But trauma doesn’t get the final say. God does. What the enemy meant for harm, God can redeem. Letting go of past hurts and healing is possible. Restoration is real. And your story isn’t over.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Genesis 50:20
How to Let Go of Past Hurts: Acknowledgment
Suppression is a common response to trauma. We tell ourselves we’re fine.
We push down the pain and just keep going.
But wounds don’t heal when they’re ignored. They fester. And the longer we delay asking for help, the tighter trauma’s grip becomes.
The enemy would love nothing more than for you to stay silent, believing that healing is out of reach. But it’s not. The first step toward freedom is bringing your pain into the light.
Healing begins when we acknowledge our hurt and invite God—and safe people—into the process.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3
A Journey Toward Healing
When I was twenty and in nursing school, one of my professors encouraged us to pray with our patients if we felt led.
I knew deep down I wasn’t spiritually mature enough. That realization stirred something in me—I wanted to grow.
I had grown up in church, asked Jesus into my heart at the age of nine, and was baptized that same year. I knew the stories from Genesis to Revelation.
But knowledge alone wasn’t enough. It wasn’t about what I knew—it was about who I knew. And I wasn’t fully trusting Jesus.
I needed to let go of the past to step into the future He had for me.
As if led by the Holy Spirit, I found myself standing at the doors of the counseling center at Reformed Theological Seminary.
I walked in and said, “I need to see a counselor.”
I’ll never forget that first session. The counselor sat across from me and gently asked, “Tell me what brought you here today?”
I cried the whole hour—big, sniffling, Kleenex-worthy sobs. I hadn’t cried like that in years.
Since the trauma, I’d believed crying was weakness. I’d only allowed angry tears—rare, stiff, barely tears at all.
At one point, the counselor stepped out and returned with another woman, a few years her senior. I never saw the younger one again. From that day forward, Nina was my counselor.
To my surprise, I began to unearth the trauma I had kept buried for eleven long years.
It was like a dormant volcano finally erupted—hot, raw, and unstoppable. I felt a rush of relief.
Nina handed me a book titled A Door of Hope by Jan Frank, filled with stories of women who had experienced childhood sexual abuse.
With each page, it felt like I was walking through a house filled with long-lost family. These women understood. They felt like me—wandering in a world that didn’t.
For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel alone in my hurt.
I wanted to meet those women, talk with them, cry with them, and embrace them.
Their stories mirrored mine, and their words gave voice to the pain I had buried deep inside.
Then I reached the last chapter—the final room in the house. It was about forgiveness.
I closed the book.
I wasn’t ready.
Let Go of Past Hurts: Forgiveness
In the sessions that followed, Nina helped me confront the angriest, most wounded part of me—the part that cried, “I didn’t deserve this!”
The part that wanted to run back to numbness and hide.
Digging up old trauma is painful. It demands more of us than we think we can give. However, true healing requires us to be like Jesus.To forgive the unforgivable.
And it’s possible. Not easy, but possible.
Eventually, I finished that last chapter. I prayed for the courage to forgive.
And within the year, God gave me the strength to say words I never imagined: “I forgive you, just as Christ has forgiven you.”
I knew I could not have spoken them without the help of the Holy Spirit.
A weight lifted. I wasn’t fully healed that day. I won’t be fully healed until Heaven.
But I had turned a page—closed one chapter and stepped into the next in my healing journey.
Letting Go of Past Hurts and Healing
Running began as therapy.
In my early adult years, the streets of my neighborhood became a sacred space—quiet, uninterrupted, and healing.
It was the one place where I could think clearly, where my thoughts could untangle with each step. I didn’t run to compete. I ran to breathe, to pray, to process.
Even though I don’t run as often as I once did, when I lace up my shoes and hit the pavement—feet moving forward, blood pumping, lungs filling with fresh air—I remember why I started.
My mind sharpens. My conversations with God grow deeper. His voice becomes more audible.
I can’t explain it fully, but somehow… it works.
Moving Toward God’s Plans
There’s something sacred about being outdoors with God.
Like a butterfly stretching its wings and breaking free from the cocoon, running outside has always felt like freedom to me.
It’s physical movement paired with emotional release, and often, spiritual realignment.
As I stepped into the role of wife and mother of three sons, I discovered purpose in the everyday rhythm of home and in supporting our family business.
My calling, for many years, was right there—in packed lunches, homework help, dental office tasks, and carpool lanes.
But as my sons have grown into young men, I sense the Holy Spirit opening a new door.
I’ve started writing. I’ve begun speaking. And I now host a podcast.
A New Chapter: Writing, Speaking, and Sharing Hope
After years of healing, growing, and walking with Jesus through the highs and lows, He’s allowing me to share my story—to help others do the same.
In November 2024, my first book, Crisis of Faith, was released. It tells a story of pain, faith, and the deep restoration only God can bring.
Since then, I’ve had the honor of speaking on three stages—each time testifying to the strength we gain through struggle.
I launched the “Saved and Strong” podcast, where I share real-life stories of people who have endured hardship and found their strength in Christ.
We explore how God meets us in our brokenness and lovingly walks us toward healing and purpose.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Matthew 25:40
Moving Forward: You Don’t Have to Walk Alone
If you’re struggling to let go of past hurts and carrying wounds, I want to encourage you—don’t walk this path alone.
Find a trusted friend, mentor, or counselor. Take the first step today. Because healing is possible.Not easy, but possible.
“Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”
Jeremiah 17:14
How to Let Go of Past Hurts and Move Toward God’s Plans on YouTube
Listen in as Carrie Watts discusses her article and helps you learn how to let go of past hurts, heal, and move towards God’s call on your life.
To watch on YouTube, click here: https://youtu.be/WPEuMEVXJiQ
Author
Carrie Watts is an author, speaker, and host of the Saved and Strong Podcast. Connect with Carrie at www.carriewatts.com, Instagram, Facebook, or on her podcast.
