Emotional Healing

Both Solomon and Jesus declare that the important issues of life flow out from the depths of our hearts.  Practically all of us carry stuff from our past which can spill over and influence, even control, the new life that Jesus wants to give us. Emotions that overwhelm us in the present (like fear, anxiety, hurt feelings, anger, depression, etc.) are things God wants to free us from.  Go for this glorious liberty!

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God... Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Romans 8:20, 22 NKJV

Who Doesn't Need this?

Emotional healing is so desperately needed that this entire website is devoted solely to it. By way of introduction to this immense field here are some of the basics:

1) The emotional life of a Christian is intended to be a river of peace which enables love, joy, contentment, patience, kindness--all kinds of good things--to "bubble up" to the surface as we go through the day.

2) Negative Emotions jam up the works. Things like fear, worry, anger, shame, despair, etc. do not come to us out of our union with Christ. They actually spring to life out of the old nature and issues buried in our hearts.

3) These "strongholds" of negative emotion have to be taken down for that wonderful sense of freedom and peace to reign in us. (See the illustration Stronghold Protection.)

4) The first stage of dealing with negative emotion strongholds is learning how to defeat them when they show up--this is like mowing down weeds. We call this "basic discipleship." (See the illustration Feeling Unplugged?)

5) The second stage is learning how to resolve past issues that are the breeding grounds for negative emotional reactions in the present--this is like pulling weeds out by the roots (See the illustration Fruit and Roots). We call this "emotional healing" or "emotional recovery."

6) The final stage is learning how to ride herd over your emotional state, spending far more time in the river of peace than in the struggle with negative emotions. We call this emotional health" or "emotional mastery."

7) As a bonus, gaining emotional liberation from past and present issues often leads to freedom from disease, because negative emotional stress is the number one cause of illness in the first place. (See "Dis-ease and Disease.")

Let's Go for this!

If you want to learn how to deal with the negative emotions that keep popping up, or if you know that you have some deeply wounded places in your heart that need emotional healing, take our free eCourse: Matters of the Heart.

Living one day down the road in greater peace and joy (and freedom from those pesky negative emotions!) is well worth the investment of your time now. And YES! you can get this. If I could learn and apply these truths as messed up as I was, anyone can who is willing to put their whole heart and hope into God and His ways of mending us (see Mending the Broken Heart).

True Life Illustration

Why we need emotional healing: What I learned on a Honduran road...

Next Healing Essential

From Recovery to Mastery  When the peace of Christ enters our hearts it feels so good and liberating that we merrily float above all our old feelings. Eventually, however, we discover that our former host of negative emotions keeps showing up and dragging us down! To stay in Christ's peace we have to first learn how to get recovery over past issues that wounded us; then, we can use these same "tools" to gain mastery over our emotions in the present. This is exactly what the eCourse is designed to help you do with God's help.

Free Downloads

pdf Healing Essentials (43-page eBook)

pdf Emotional Healing (this article)

Interested in Going Deeper?

Consider taking our free eCourse for Healing. We have designed a complete series for personal transformation, "Matters of the Heart," to help Christians gain emotional freedom and inner healing. In all there are 24 Main Healing Lessons and 24 Head to Heart Guides to help you bring your heart to God and receive His Great Heart for you in return!