• suffering
    Abundant Life,  Dark Night of the Soul,  Encouragement,  Spiritual Maturity

    How to Make Meaning out of Suffering

    Suffering without meaning is the hardest kind of agony to bear. Humans will put themselves through all sorts of torture, endure any kind of hell if only some meaning is attached to it. Parents whose children are killed by random gunmen or drunk drivers begin awareness campaigns. The thought that their children’s brief lives and sudden deaths held no meaning is the cross that is too hard to bear. Others of us begin to tell our stories, justifying the horrors faced by the hopeful thought that perhaps we can prevent even just one from going down the dead end we did.  Or we frame our errors with inspirational quotes about…

  • hell
    healing,  inner healing

    Why Jesus Went to Hell: An Inner Healing Perspective

    The fact that Jesus entered hell is not much preached about. This is understandable since the major emphasis is and should be on the resurrection.  But His invasion of hell can be incredibly meaningful for many of us who have suffered trauma.  And honestly, a good many of us who haven’t. One of the main reasons many sufferers of trauma do not seek help is that they fear to have to re-enter their own personal hell. I get it. No one wants to go to hell. But too many also don’t necessarily want to leave it either. Jesus asked a man if he wanted to get well. This question is…

  • captive spirit
    Captive Spirit

    Eight Signs of a Captive Spirit and How to Heal

      The idea of a captive spirit is not regularly discussed outside of those who participate in inner healing ministries and yet many suffer from this condition. A captive spirit occurs when early childhood trauma interrupts the regular bonding and emotional maturational process of childhood. The soul rises up to protect the wounded spirit and strongholds, or practiced, habitual ways of thinking take over. To have a captive spirit is a painful experience, as the name suggests. And given how difficult life can be for the very young born into dysfunctional situations, possessing a captive spirit involves turning away from life. Often spiritual rebellion (a deep rejection of the circumstances…