Finding Freedom from Destructive Behavior
Emotional Healing and Spiritual Freedom through a Theocentric (Christ-Centered) Approach
There are identifiable reasons why people exhibit destructive behavior, and in many cases, these reasons were instigated by loved ones, family members, and their surrounding community as a whole. These, left undealt with, can and will destroy that person’s life as well those around them. Emotional healing can be a painful process but necessary and requires the uncovering and properly processing the problems at root level. These can be intentional or unintentional contributors such as abandonment, a parent’s death, a divorce, an emotionally absent parent or parents, an alcoholic parent or parents, physical abuse, sexual abuse, religious abuse, bullying and many others. These wounds typically go unnoticed until they begin to surface as unhealthy behavior in their own life. They can manifest as, but not necessarily, the same type of behaviors that were bestowed upon them.
Emotional Healing - Breaking Unhealthy Strongholds
Emotional strongholds are not necessarily bad, but unhealthy strongholds are typically unhealthy connections between a person’s feelings and faulty beliefs. In reality, what we believe eventually affects how we think, feel and act. If we are acting in ways that are causing problems, we must locate the faulty belief that led us there.
Exposing Emotional Wounds Buried Deep Within the Soul
The damage buried within the soul is real and needs to be exposed and properly processed. Ultimately the enemy caused them and at some point, returns to prey upon them. These are the very things that contribute to destructive cycles of behavior. They are at the root and must be uncovered and removed for true healing to take place.
Breaking Unhealthy Soul Ties
A soul tie can be good when it is with someone we should be connected to such as a spouse or other family members, etc. But it is not healthy to be connected to and dragging around the souls of people from previous relationships. Anytime soul or sexually intimacy takes place outside of God’s plan, it moves the relationship from being connected, to being chained to that soul. Our Lord says the two become one and unhealthy soul ties have a tendency to get in the way and hinder healthy connections moving forward.
The Hidden Enemy can Hinder Emotional Healing
The culprit behind all soul damage is summed up as one entity. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. God exposed him and warned us about his schemes and tactics. This gives us hope knowing that the damage he’s already caused can, with help from the Holy Spirit and some personal effort, be arrested enabling us to move back in line with His perfect plan and purpose. At a minimum, we must understand that all behaviors are spirit influenced, either by the Holy Spirit or another spirit. When we address this properly, we have the hope of experiencing healing in fullness.
Spiritual Help for Emotional Healing
There is a statement that holds true when it comes to receiving the help needed that goes something like this: When the student is ready, the Teacher appears. The pathway towards becoming the person God created you to be can only take place when Jesus is at the center of the journey. He is also known as Jehovah Rapha, our God who heals. With the power of the Holy Spirit, all things are possible. For more about the Holy Spirit, click here!
Identifying and Dismantling Triggers
The mind is a very complex gift from God, literally the control center of every conscious action we take. If you understand how a computer operates, you know they function in many ways like the mind, but have no free will. They are programmed, we are not. We make personal choices, they can not. At times, being blessed with a free will can be a double-edged sword because today’s choices affect our future. We also find that soul damage can infringe upon or hinder our ability to properly exercise our God given free will. The people in our life today will end up suffering from the injustices of our past, the undealt-with issues that have not been properly processed and put to rest.
A Clear Pathway to Wholeness
There is only One who knows exactly what went wrong and He must be included in the center of the healing process. Our Lord walks hand-in-hand with us into those places of brokenness, sheds light on what happened, and allows us to feel the necessary sadness and pain as He comforts and brings us through the healing process to a place of sincere forgiveness, healing and freedom.
The Importance of Setting Healthy Boundaries
To protect our new found freedom, we must understand what healthy boundaries are, and learn how to properly set them in the areas needed. Building protective walls is not the same as setting healthy boundaries because walls tend to keep everyone at a distance but healthy boundaries allow you to control who, when, where and what you allow into your personal life. Although with walls you may feel safe, you run the risk of missing out on the healthy fellowship needed to grow and flourish in life.
The Importance of Building Healthy Relationships
We were never meant to walk alone. Building healthy relationships gives us brotherly and sisterly fellowship and support. Learning how to be a friend helps us to have and keep friends.
