If I were to give you a word picture of what I am hearing the LORD say He wants to do in this season, this would be it. Jesus, our bridegroom sees the deep pain in the hearts of His bride. He sees the depression, the loneliness, the feelings of rejection that have chased her down for far too long. He wants to restore a sense of well-being to His Church. It’s time for emotional healing. He is offering healing to His Church. So how do we receive this healing?
The first step is to stop running. If there are things other than God that we’ve been turning to when in pain, we need to stop. It may not have even been anything sinful in itself.
Things we run to for refuge instead of God feel like they help us cope momentarily, but they will not bring lasting healing. It’s time to step into God’s presence when we’re hurting. We can use the emotional pain as a type of catalyst, ushering us into intimate time with Him. Psalm 62 says,
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken…Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Our soul includes our mind and our emotions. As we put our hope in God, we will find our emotions and our mind able to return to a place of rest. This looks like a cessation of warfare and turmoil. It’s in this place that we’re able to experience the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, etc. Psalm 34 says,
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
The next step to receiving healing for our heart is to talk to God about the pain. This takes honestly admitting what we’re feeling. Even if what we’re feeling isn’t pretty, intimacy requires talking about what’s in our hearts. Often, our gut instinct is to vent to people, but God alone needs to be the foundation for emotional healing. He may use others to speak into our lives, but first, let’s bring God into the equation. When we ask Him to orchestrate our healing, He will! He will guide us and help us.
I remember one time when I recognized that my heart needed healing. I seemed to be at an impasse. I knew my heart needed healing, but I didn’t know how to get there. I began to pray that God would orchestrate it. He answered that prayer. He brought someone alongside me to speak into my life. Someone that God knew was equipped to minister to me. God alone knew who that someone needed to be. He is more than willing to provide WHATEVER is needed for the healing of our hearts.
The 3rd step we need to take is to agree with God’s word, not our feelings. This past week, rejection came knocking at my door. The temptation to agree with its lies felt relentless. I knew in my head that the Bible says believers are accepted. I kept quoting Romans 15:7:
“Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God the Father.”
The majority of spiritual warfare is won by agreeing with God’s word even when our thoughts and our feelings tell us something different.
When we’re in the midst of spiritual warfare, sometimes lies look like truth. We may know the truth in our heads, but our hearts can’t “see” the truth. This is what I was going through this past week. My feelings were not in alignment with God’s word. I had to fight for the truth. James 4:7 says,
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that this whole submitting and resisting things is supposed to happen quickly. Sometimes it does. Sometimes overcoming takes longer. When this happens, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re doing anything wrong. It just means that we need to outlast the enemy. Ephesians 6 says,
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.“
Spiritual warfare is like a wrestling match. The one who exerts the most pressure for the longest time wins.
We have been given authority over all the power of the enemy. We do not need to yield to a defeated foe. The mistake a lot of people make is believing the lie that if victory doesn’t come quickly, we don’t actually have authority over the enemy. Every time we resist the enemy, we’re getting stronger. Just like an athlete doing reps in the weight room, we’re building muscle. Every time we resist the lie that we have to live with depression, rejection, loneliness or brokenheartedness, we get stronger. The key is that we don’t give up.
You are loved by God. He sees the pain in your hearts. He has compassion for you and He has healing in store for you. I want to leave you with a song that speaks of the love of God. He is our faithful bridegroom. His intention is for the healing of your heart.
I hope this song about the healing love of our Bridegroom will minister to you as much as it did to me,
Arlene
Walk Whole 