Spiritual Healing

You Can Be Free from Captivity to Negative Emotions!

This article on spiritual healing is an introduction to "Matters of the Heart," our free eCourse for spiritual growth and emotional transformation.

What Is Spiritual Healing?

Spiritual healing is needed in the body of Christ. We all know that wherever there is sin separating us from God, spiritual healing is needed. However, the really fascinating thing is the way that our spiritual healing is also intimately connected to the healing of our emotions and these in turn affect the healing of our bodies. How can this be? It just so happens that our emotional life plays a key role in relationship to both our spiritual and physical well-being.

Negative emotions damage our spiritual health. This is because every negative emotion that you can name (except pure grief, true righteous indignation or godly fear) represents a sinful inner state of the heart. You and I cannot be fellowshipping on the inside with emotions like anger, rage, un-forgiveness, frustration, rejection, despair, discouragement, envy or jealousy, fear or anxiety and be enjoying the peace of Christ at the same time. Think about it: every negative emotion represents a departure from trusting the Lord and yielding to His Spirit or from living by believing His truth in our hearts (see Negative Emotions).

This is the crux of the matter, for it is out of the heart that good or evil begins to flow (Matthew 15:19). What begins as a negative emotion held within our heart can easily become a sinful word or deed. For far too long we in the Church have concentrated on stopping the outward expressions of sin and have neglected tending to the source, for a heart that is filled with negative emotions will eventually overflow into outward sin like flood water from a broken dam.

Negative emotions also damage our physical health. This is because every negative emotion you can name (again excepting the three cited above), is a stressor to the body.  As many as 80% of all incurable diseases have a mind-body connection—they are stress induced or stress enhanced or both.  According to one study, stress related disorders account for 75 to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians (Dr. Don Colbert, Deadly Emotions, 2003. p. 6). Our bodies were created to live with the peace of God in our hearts. When our hearts and minds are at peace our bodies enter into peace (homeostasis) and all of the systems begin to recover balance and restore health (see Dangers of Excessive Stress).

We have therefore a simple equation: negative emotions = sinful states of the heart = loss of peace = loss of spiritual health = loss of physical health. This may seem like bad news at first blush, but it is really good news. It is good news because it shows us a way out of sickness and disease as well as a way out of negative emotions.Negative emotions are not a God-given part of our personality. We are not stuck with them or the diseases which they induce. Jesus has provided a way of freedom both from sin's penalty and its power over us. For more on all of this see The Spiritual Roots.For your full healing read and study all 24 lessons with their exercises posted on this site!

Spiritual healing includes freedom from being held captive by unruly negative emotions. God has created us to live in perfect peace and through faith in Christ, our Lord has restored a pathway of peace to us that is available any time, any place. Are you choosing the path of peace that accompanies trusting and obeying God? It is essential that you learn to live in peace in order to obtain the promise of healing. Do not lose heart, but through faith...

Reach for your spiritual healing which will lead to emotional and physical healing!  

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!