Pillars of Wisdom

Foundational Wisdoms for Healing

 

“Voice for the Vulnerable” is built on the truth that healing is both sacred and complex.

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We are creatures made in the image of God, shaped by experience, harmed by evil, and held by grace. That means the work of caring for others—especially the wounded—is not simple. It cannot be reduced to just empathy, or just psychology, or just theology. It must be all three, moving together, led by love and anchored in the truth that God is with the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).

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These three strands—Experiential Wisdom, Therapeutic Wisdom, and Theological Wisdom—form the foundation of our ministry. Woven together, they reflect something of the character of God: He is the God who sees (Genesis 16:13), the God who heals (Exodus 15:26), and the God who speaks truth (John 14:6).

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Experiential Wisdom

“Experience alone leads to projection onto others.”

Definition

Experiential wisdom is born from walking through suffering. Whether the wound was caused by betrayal, abuse, abandonment, or trauma, those experiences leave deep impressions on the soul. They teach us what it feels like to be unseen, unheard, or unsafe.

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The Good

This kind of wisdom is relational and humanizing. It’s what allows someone to say, “I’ve been there,” and mean it. It is the kind of wisdom Jesus displayed when He wept with Mary and Martha even though He knew He would raise Lazarus (John 11:35). It’s the compassion that sits in silence, not rushing, not explaining, but being present.

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The Caution

But experiential wisdom alone can turn inward. It can become self-referential, even isolating. Without a greater story to frame it, pain can begin to define identity. And when unprocessed, it can lead us to interpret others through our own lens of trauma, mistrust, or bitterness. Left alone, experience risks becoming a closed circuit of pain.

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"We are not to be identified by the things that happen to us. We are to be identified by God Almighty."

 

 

Therapeutic Wisdom

“We live in broken bodies, hearts, and minds because of sin in this world.

We need to recognize this… but not get stuck here.”
~ Alicia Reagan

Definition

Therapeutic wisdom acknowledges the effects of trauma on the brain, body, and emotions. It recognizes that we are complex beings—spirit and body intertwined—and that healing often involves retraining patterns, regulating the nervous system, and naming our wounds.

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The Good

God made us embodied beings. Our nervous systems, brains, and emotions matter. Tools like grounding exercises, trauma-informed therapy, and emotional literacy are not in conflict with faith; they are part of what it means to care for the whole person. We honor the Creator when we care for His creation—ourselves included.

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Therapy gives voice to what was silenced. It offers skills to manage what once overwhelmed. It provides a safe space to untangle the chaos inside. And yet…

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The Caution

Healing cannot be reduced to behavior change or emotional regulation. There are things the human heart cannot fix with insight alone. While therapeutic tools can help a person survive, they cannot by themselves address the moral and spiritual injury that evil causes. They cannot bring forgiveness, or redemption, or resurrection.

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"It is not the job of the counselor to make someone feel better.  

It is our job to journey with them to the throne of God Who is our healer."  

~ Alicia Reagan​

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Theological Wisdom

“Take experience and take therapy… but the supernatural happens in the theological.”

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Definition

Theological wisdom is truth revealed by God in Scripture. It speaks to the ultimate reality: that there is a God who made us, who knows our names, who redeems our stories, and who has entered our suffering through Christ. Theology does not explain away suffering—it enters into it.

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The Good

Theology reorients everything. It tells us we are not alone, not forgotten, and not forsaken. It proclaims that Jesus Christ bore our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). It tells us that justice will come, and that mercy is real, and that healing is not just a psychological process—it is a resurrection promise.

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Theology is the place where our suffering meets eternity.

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The Caution

But theology must never be weaponized. Scripture without tenderness wounds. Quoting verses without listening is a form of abandonment. Theology, when wielded without the heart of Christ, can become a shield that protects us from entering into another’s pain. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have all knowledge… but do not have charity, I am nothing.”

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Why All Three Must Hold Together

 

When we separate these strands, we fail to reflect the fullness of God's heart.

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• Experience alone leaves us stuck in pain.

• Therapy alone can lead to self-reliance without transformation.

• Theology alone, if disconnected from story and body, becomes abstract and even harmful.

 

But together, these three invite the wounded into a sacred journey—from empathy, to equipping, to eternal hope.

 

At Voice for the Vulnerable, we create spaces where all three are held together. We sit in the pain of experience, offer practical therapeutic tools, and always end with a truth from Scripture that reorients us toward Christ. Because we believe that the cross is not just a place of suffering—it is the place where all things are made new.

 

"When we can come to the place where we know we can bring every bitter tear, every hurting hole, every angry thought, every grief driven moment...into the very presence of our God who redeems, brings beauty from ashes, turns mourning into joy...and be naked and unafraid in His presence...this is where healing comes." ~ Alicia Reagan​

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And that is our call—to walk together, hold space for suffering, and bear witness to the God who is making all things new.

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