Our Heavenly Father wants us to be whole because He loves us, John 3 vs 16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. When we are broken by bad experiences or trauma, and harbour heart issues or emotional strongholds, we cannot live the full and free lives that God intended for us to live. Isaiah 61 vs 1 says:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Allowing our Heavenly Father to heal and make us whole is therefore a crucial part of our journeys with Him. In my previous article, titled “What Are Heart Issues Or Emotional Strongholds?”, I wrote about heart issues resulting from bad experiences or trauma – such as anger, hatred, bitterness, fear, depression and unforgiveness. This article will encompass ways in which to deal with these issues.
Identification
The first step to healing is to identify the heart issues or emotional strongholds in our lives. Whilst some of us may already be aware of them, others may not. We can ask spiritually mature brethren that we know and trust to help us to identify these issues or pray and ask our Heavenly Father to reveal them to us through His Holy Spirit. John 16 vs 13: However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…
I have done both and presently continue with the latter. Revelation through the Holy Spirit may come as a sense of conviction as we read certain scriptures or verses in the bible. Alternatively, we may feel as if the Lord is saying that it is time to deal with a particular issue… For me, the later would normally occur after a bad incident or trauma.
Repentance
Once we have identified our heart issues or emotional strongholds, we need to repent of them. For born-again believers, surrendering our heart issues is part of our transformation process. What are we being transformed into? The image of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 3 vs 18: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
As we give up the bad things and allow the Holy Spirit to occupy greater portions of our hearts and lives, we begin to take on more of the characteristics of Jesus such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Repentance is not a wordy ritual to appease God. It is a genuine remorse for our sins or heart issues, and it requires us to turn away from them. Proverbs 28 vs 13: He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Repentance includes confessing and surrendering (giving) our heart issues to our Heavenly Father and asking for His forgiveness.
Confessing our heart issues
For those who have never done this, find a private and quiet place where there will be no disturbances. Next, pray and literally tell God all about the bad experience or trauma and the resulting heart issue or issues. Be open, honest, and sincere as God sees the heart, Jeremiah 17 vs 10: I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
I still do this whenever I struggle with a bad experience or trauma. I confide in my Heavenly Father the way I would a very close friend. I tell Him everything including the place where the incident occurred, and even the names of people involved, if I know them. Confessing brings incredible relief. Yes, God already knows, but remember 1 John 1 vs 9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Forgiving and asking for forgiveness
Once we have confessed our heart issues, we need to ask our Heavenly Father to forgive us for a) having carried these issues, and b) anyone we may have hurt as a result. Matthew 6 vs 12 in the Lord’s prayer: Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us (TPT). Once again, we need to be sincere.
The second part of Matthew 6 vs 12: as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us, is the difficult part. Most heart issues are caused by others. For our Heavenly Father to forgive us, we need to forgive those responsible for our bad experiences and heart issues. Matthew 6 vs 14 – 15: For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Although it may be very difficult to do so we need to name the person or people responsible for our trauma and resulting heart issues and tell God that we forgive them. Forgiveness is not just about the words; it is about letting go of the people that have hurt us.
Healing
Bad experiences or trauma leave marks or wounds on our hearts as I mentioned in my previous article. The last step is to ask God to heal these wounds; Psalm 147 vs 3: He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. I literally ask God to fill me with His Holy Spirit and to cleanse and heal every wound associated with the trauma and heart issue I am dealing with. After I have asked this, I usually wait for a while to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work.
Conclusion
Dealing with heart issues is not a once off event but a continuous process that takes place throughout our journeys with our Heavenly Father. We may have more negative experiences as we go through life; or the Lord may reveal deeply buried issues that He wants us to deal with. Our Heavenly Father wants to remove the emotional strongholds in our lives so that we can come into a place of wholeness. When we are whole, we can help and disciple others more effectively.