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As we begin to enter the Holiday season, many will be reunited with family and friends they
really don’t want to hang out with because of arguments and disagreements in the past that
have not been resolved. Emotions ran high and words were spoken that should have been left unsaid. One thing is certain, you cannot control anyone’s reactions except for your own. So, before that first Holiday Party ensues, take some valuable time to access if you are Emotionally Healthy.
What is “Inner and Emotional Health” and why is it so important? Emotional Health is having total peace about who you are, what you’re doing, and where you’re going, both individually and in relationship to those around you. In other words, it’s feeling totally “at peace” about the past, present, and future of your life. It’s knowing you are in line with God’s ultimate purpose for you and being fulfilled in that. When you have that kind of peace, you no longer live in emotional agony, and you feel emotionally healthy.
Inner and emotional healing is one of the most important areas in a person that cannot be overlooked. If overlooked, you invite the enemy to attack you in your most vulnerable area – your heart. You must allow the Holy Spirit to remove the “stinger” from that hurtful event, or traumatic experience, so you can receive healing and grow in wisdom. When you look back on a healed wound, you can see it differently, because it has been healed and no longer controls your emotions.
Between our sins, and our sickness, lies an area that scripture calls “infirmities”. Beneath our concealing, protective masks we tend to wear, we have places where there are damaged emotions that affect how we respond to issues in our daily lives. Some of our masks are prettier than others, but inside, we are all the same.
HERE IS A LIST OF CONSEQUENCES OF HAVING EMOTIONAL WOUNDS.
• Inner rawness
• Irritability
• No tolerance
• Anger
• Overly sensitive
• Hard to forgive
• Hard to feel loved
• Lashing out
• Anger towards God
• Self-hate
• Easily frustrated
• Desire to escape reality
• Cutting
• Retaliation urges
• Irresponsible behavior
• Irrational expectation of
others
• Perfectionism
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Hostility towards God, yourself, and others
Do any of these emotions stick out to you? If so, that is an indication you still carry emotional wounds from the past. If you continue to ‘hold on to these wounds’, they will delay or even prevent you from becoming what God destined you to be and prevent you from receiving the blessings He has waiting for you.
If you are quick to tell a medical doctor what is wrong physically, then why don’t you do the same when you seek inner healing from God? You know there is a problem. You know you have a wound from a specific event, but you don’t want to take the time to peek into your heart long enough to fix it. Why? Because you are afraid you will feel the pain associated with that event all over again. But if you want to receive healing for an emotional wound, you must be honest with
yourself about what happened.
I am referring to the painful memories of your past that caused deep emotional scars. Just beneath the surface, and even deeper, your thoughts and emotions are recorded, and they directly affect your view of life and every relationship you have. They affect the way you perceive God, how you perceive others and even how you view yourself.
To fully heal and bring your life into a more intimate relationship with the Lord, these memories must be uncovered and healed by Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can bring full healing to those painful memories; even those we are not consciously aware of. In the process of inner healing, Jesus uncovers those painful memories, one layer at a time, until He gets to the center of your being– your soul. The only way He can heal those traumatic memories is if you are willing to give Him access to your heart.
Prayer, discipline, and willpower alone will not bring you to that peaceful place you desire to live in. A special kind of healing is needed, unlearning ways of acting based on emotional trauma and scars, and relearning a new way of thinking, and acting. Once you become aware of wanting a more intimate relationship with Jesus and you begin to trust Him more, are you able to open your heart to healing, and allow His love to penetrate your heart more deeply. Healing the wounded spirit is a process, through which painful and/or traumatic memories are taken
captive and made obedient to Jesus Christ. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, who guides
the believer into all truth, are you able to uncover wounds and lies that have held you captive in shame, guilt, or fear. When you go back to that painful memory in the presence of the Lord, and allow Him to speak to your heart, it will bring TRUTH, HEALING, PEACE, and FORGIVENESS.
Daniel 2:22, He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
Unhealed, you will not be able to properly respond to God or the people around you, although you are a Christian. Sometimes when words are spoken to you, a memory comes rushing back to your mind, it triggers a reaction that was formed out of a previous hurtful experience. It doesn’t have anything to do with the person standing in front of you, but the person from your past who devastated you. This shows you have unforgiveness in your heart.
Every person, including Christians, are affected by what is said and done to them. Over the years,
if hurtful words and actions are not brought into the light of Jesus Christ, they fester like an emotional cancer. Eventually they surface into problems, such as anxiety, depression, addictions, compulsions, lack of intimacy, chronic anger, eating disorders, sexual confusion, etc. The list can be endless. If you look around our world, you will see hurting people in every direction.
Every hurt has a root cause. If you know of someone who has a problem with drugs or alcohol addiction, the problem is not the drugs and alcohol... there is a root cause. If you can get to the root cause, the drug and alcohol addiction will disappear.
The healing power of Holy Spirit goes to the root cause of the symptoms. Only He can pinpoint the source of the emotional affliction and speak truth to the part of the spirit that is wounded and bound. As healing occurs, you will realize you are being freed from what once held you
captive. While the healing does not change the hurtful things that happened to you, it
does allow God to heal your wounded spirit and will set you free.
If you continue to hold on to the hurts, you are the one who will suffer the most. But, if you deal with it once and for all, Jesus will be with you every step of the way. He will heal you and set you free! He wants you free so you can share His love with others and worship Him. He loves you so much that your hurts hurt Him. This is His great love for you
.
I know it’s hard to look back on the hurtful moments that has changed the trajectory of your life and I also know it’s hard to self-reflect with honesty on your own actions, but it’s necessary for spiritual growth and maturity. Answer these basic questions, and if you can put a person’s name down, or a certain situation immediately comes to your mind, then you have some inner and emotional healing that needs to take place in your heart. Be honest with yourself when answering. This is between you and the Lord.
1. Is there someone in your past that you blame for a devastating act and still hold harsh feelings against, even to the point of hatred? I encourage you to think back as far as you can remember. If you can figure out when this wound began, and who is responsible, that is the first
step to receiving healing for that wound.
2. What specifically did they do to you? Make a list of everything that was done to you, which you still hold against them in your heart. What are the things you can’t seem to easily forget or release its grip from your heart? This event changed you; it altered your life. Being honest before the Lord about what was done to you is very important to achieving healing.
3. What things have you done to others that you deeply regret? Make a list of things that still, to this day, you regret doing. If you have feelings of self-hate, unforgiveness, etc., then you need to be honest with yourself and figure out why you have that hate towards yourself.
4. Is there anything in your past that you feel excessively embarrassed, or ashamed of? This is a common cause for self-hate.
If there are things which you still haven’t forgiven yourself of, now is a good time to make a list of
those things, so you can effectively forgive, and release the hate secretly within your heart against yourself. Once they are written down, place all of them at the feet of Jesus, forgiving them and/or forgiving yourself through prayer... and then burn those papers!
You may be making wonderful progress in your thought life when, suddenly, Satan’s friends’ “Guilt, Condemnation and Discouragement” show up to try and set you back. When they do, don’t give in! Use scripture as your weapon! Speak the truth out loud, letting your enemy and you know that you’re in full agreement with God’s Word. Say...
There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I refuse to be condemned! No matter how I feel, I know that God has begun a good work in me, and He will bring it to full completion. Romans 8:1; Philippians 1:6; 2:13
Whatever you do, never give up! Whether you’ve seen incredible breakthrough in your thought-life, or you still have a way to go, don’t give up! No matter how bad things may seem, it is possible to regain the territory the enemy has taken from you, even if it’s one inch at a time, always leaning on God’s grace (and not your own ability) to get the desired results.
There is much more in this teaching. If you would like to read about the whole process, you can find this in my book, “Bloom – A Process to Achieve Complete Forgiveness”. The link to purchase this book is below. So, let the party begin!
Susan Bolinger is an Author of the book, “Bloom – A Process to Achieve Complete Forgiveness”. She has a YouTube Channel where you can follow her video series “Forgiveness in Five.” To order a copy of Susan’s book and to obtain more information on her ministry, check out the links below.
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