Inner healing is healing the soul’s wounds and closing the door to the enemy where he came in through sin or from the sin of others. A process and journey are involved! Everyone has their own pace and processes things differently, even siblings. There is grace, love, and covering. The Holy Spirit leads us and gives us courage.
We shut our hearts down when we are in pain, and we may not even know it because the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). So often, we live with brokenheartedness manifested in various ways, i.e., sadness, depression, discouragement, fear, anxiety, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, grief, etc. We may also have self-rejection or self-hatred.
A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken. Proverbs 15:13 (NKJV)
Trauma damages the brain, but the brain can be healed (See “Switch on Your Brain,” by Dr. Caroline Leaf). Psychological trauma damages a person’s mind by one or more distressing and stressful events overwhelming the person’s ability to cope, inability to integrate their emotions, and causing long-term, severe negative consequences. There are different types of trauma.
Single event – i.e., accident, assault, or loss of a job or loved one; most common and most functioning people can overcome on their own with support from friends or the help of a trained therapist
Complex trauma – multiple, chronic, prolonged, and overwhelming, i.e., interpersonal relationships, family violence, sexual abuse; needing the help of a trained professional counselor for trauma therapy
Trauma and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) go hand in hand. PTSD can begin with a trauma that affects you spiritually, mentally, and physically. It can even start with words spoken over you, i.e., a diagnosis, etc., so we must go back to the beginning and ask the Holy Spirit where it began! PTSD brings flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, etc., and trauma brings various symptoms.
Physical symptoms can be nausea, headaches, dizziness, alteration in sleep and eating patterns, appetite, GI upsets (chronic issues are related to trauma in your soul).
Psychological disorders – PTSD, depression, anxiety, dissociative disorders (disconnection between thoughts, memories, surroundings, actions, and identity), and substance abuse problems
Emotionally, there can be sadness, anger, denial, fear, or shame, which can lead to emotional outbursts, nightmares, insomnia, relational difficulties
Not every person who goes through trauma will have PTSD. But symptoms can show up instantly or show up later. It doesn’t just go away. Even if you have forgotten it, you will have to deal with it eventually, or it will deal with you! It needs to be processed and resolved. If the Holy Spirit brings it up, it is to move us forward into our future and bring us to a place of healing and wholeness. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things. Our body is telling a story. The Lord has come to set us free, and it may be one layer at a time! It takes time to work towards healing and deliverance.
“Inner healing is actually the application of the crucified and resurrected life of Jesus Christ and His blood to those parts of my heart and yours that did not fully “get the message” when we first received Jesus as our Savior… because some areas deep in our hearts have not believed and accepted the good news of our death and rebirth in Him, the fullness of His work has not yet happened for us.” (John and Mark Sandford, Charisma Magazine).
God calls us to wholeheartedness which is a part of the resurrection work of Jesus. Jesus said we should love the Lord our God with all our hearts and with all our souls and minds (Psalm 86:11-12; Matthew 22:37).
How do we do this? We can’t do it ourselves. We must focus and connect with Jesus. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and those whose lives are shattered or fractured (Luke 4:18; Psalm 34:18). He came to release us from the adverse effects of our brokenness and give us freedom (John 8:36).
We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us by revealing our hearts and helping us to change (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:26-27). We can ask the Holy Spirit to show us and remember a time when we were hurt. Then we can visualize Jesus coming into the scene and allow Him to move freely, healing the hurt with His loving Presence.
We need to create space for the Lord to meet with the parts of us where we need the healing that only He can bring. Only He can bring the revelation and restoration, show us how to apply God’s Word to our lives, and give us the grace and power to walk in it (Psalm 119:11; 107:20).
We need to create a healing plan for healing and wholeness, ie., meditating on God’s Word, prayer, and worship, trust God to lead you to a safe person or professional counselor, ask Holy Spirit what He wants you to focus on today, take care of yourself with good sleep, diet and exercise, etc. God wants to heal you! He gives us grace for the journey. We need to ask the Lord what shifts need to happen in our hearts. When we open our hearts to God, we gain clarity on our purpose and destiny path. We need to have a repentant heart. With a repentant heart, we change our minds about God and sin when we believe and ask Jesus Christ to forgive us and come into our hearts as our Savior (Romans 10:9-10; 1 John 1:9).
The enemy may be at work in our lives through generational sins and curses, ungodly soul ties, negative beliefs, inner vows, word curses, and demonic oppression. Therefore, we need to break generational sin and curses and word curses, sever ungodly soul ties, replace negative beliefs with godly beliefs, renounce inner vows, and cast out demons that oppress us.
When we have unmet needs and meet them apart from God, these issues need to be dealt with because using people and things to comfort oneself doesn’t work and can lead us into bondage. There can be shame attached to them, so we don’t reach out for help because shame can cause us to hide from God and other people. But we do not need to fear. We can come to Him. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
We need to come out of agreement with inner vows, which are the lies we have believed. To break the foundational lie, we declare and renounce it, forgive ourselves and the other person that hurt us, then replace the lie with the truth the Lord reveals to us from His Word. Find out why you believed that lie, talk about it with a safe person; go through the process, and don’t rush it. Jesus begins our healing and deliverance when we receive Jesus as our Savior, and walks us through it daily as we allow Him. Our minds are renewed and cleansed by the Word of God (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:26; Luke 24:32).
We need to go through inner healing and deliverance more than once, frequently if needed. The difference between inner healing and deliverance is that the heart needs healing first. Then deliverance is more straightforward, and we can keep our deliverance. We must not go back to what opened us up to what oppressed us, i.e., sexual immorality, anger, pride, etc. Remember that the enemy also always tries to come back, and we need to know how to stand in our authority (Luke 10:19)
Transformation begins with the new creation miracle, and we have a new heart (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ezekiel 36:26)! We still have strongholds in the mind, will, and emotions (our soul). Jesus restores our soul (Psalm 23:3; Matthew 11:28-30). The journey of transformation of our soul begins with the Holy Spirit bringing revelation of the Father’s love. We need a revelation of the Father’s heart, His love, and mercy. The Father’s love meets all our needs. Let Him love on you today!
Some ministries and books are available to come alongside you to assist with your inner healing. Here are some references:
Websites:
http://www.cwgministries.org/blogs/healing-cellular-memories-worksheet (Healing emotional roots of traumatic experiences)
www.elijahhouse.org (Tab – Inner Healing)
www.harvestchurch.org (Tabs – Connect then Freedom Groups)
Books:
Clark, Drs. Dennis and Jennifer. (2018). The 60 Day Challenge Achieving Complete Emotional Healing (Expanded Edition)
Leaf, Dr. Caroline. (2013). Switch On Your Brain. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books
Morris, Robert. (2015) Truly Free: Breaking the Snares that so Easily Entangle us. Nashville, Tennessee: W. Publishing Group
Sandford, John and Mark. (2008). Deliverance and Inner Healing. Bloomington, Minnesota: Chosen Books
Venable, Monica. (2020). Consecration and Intimacy with Our Lord. Amazon Self-Published.
Virkler, Mark and Patti. (2001). Prayers that Heal the Heart. Newberry, Florida: Bridge-Logos
Living the Abundant Life 