Freedom: Inner healing – Part II.
WHEN PEOPLE’S feelings are hurt, this can result in an offence that causes a wound on the inside. Last week, we stated that emotional wounds are as real as physical wounds, and if left untreated, the poison of the offence can seep into our soul and poison us.
If you have an emotional wound that needs to be healed, then there are a few immediate steps that you need to take.
a. First, be honest with yourself about what has happened. Is there somebody in your past against whom you are holding an offence, a grudge? If you can figure out when this wound began and who is responsible, it is the beginning of the healing process. Ask the Lord for help. “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me ...” Psalm 139:23-24 NIV.
b. Then, make a list of everything that person did to you that you still hold against him/her in your heart. You don’t need to justify or cover up their mistake. If they did you wrong, then being honest about what was done to you is very important.
c. Next, make a list of things that you still, to this day, regret doing. For example, is there anything in your past that you feel excessively embarrassed or ashamed of? This is a common cause of self-hate, so if there are things for which you still haven’t forgiven yourself, make a list of those things.
By being honest about our emotions with ourselves and with God, we can start the healing process. 1 Peter 5:7 NLT says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
d. Find a person to confide in. Share your burden with them and receive prayer for healing. James 5:16 NIV says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed ...”
e. Then, stop feeding on the lies of insecurity, guilt, and pain. God’s word tells us that we need to be taking every thought captive to the obedience to Christ: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV.
f. We also need to forgive those who have hurt us. Unforgiveness hinders and blocks the healing power of the Holy Spirit. It is vital to release those feelings that you have against others so that the Holy Spirit’s
healing and forgiving power can mend and restore your soul. Hebrews 12:15 NIV say, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Forgiving others will welcome the healing power of the Holy Spirit into our lives.
Let it go! Another vital step in the inner healing process is forgiving yourself. If you continue to beat up on yourself for your past failures after the blood of Christ has washed them away, then you are, in reality, denying the very work of the cross! g. In Isaiah 43:25 NIV, we find: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” God has forgiven you, so don’t hold on to what God has forgotten.
h. Confront the emotional wound that is hidden within you with the healing love of Christ. Knowing that Jesus has paid for your emotional wounds, tell the inner hurt, painful memories, and emotional affliction to leave in the name of Jesus. Then, call upon Jesus to remove those things from you. You might pray something like this, “Lord Jesus, thank you for carrying my pains and sorrows on the cross. I surrender my inner hurts, painful memories, and emotional wounds to you and command them to leave me right now. Heal me, Lord. Give me your peace in place of those things which I am giving up.”
If you are not yet a believer in Jesus Christ, it is recommended that you do not confront any evil spirits. Demons are powerful spiritual beings, and without Jesus, they are not yet disarmed in your life (see Colossians 2:13-15).
If you would like to accept Jesus right now as your Lord and Saviour, say this prayer:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I realise I am a sinner. I believe you died and shed your blood for the remission of my sins so that I may have eternal life. Right now, I turn from my sins and ask that you come into my life, changing me into a new person and washing all my sins away. I receive you as my personal Lord
and Saviour. Amen.”