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How Abuse Damages Your Faith
The damages of abuse are well-documented and include PTSD, mood disorders, physical illnesses, and a host of relational difficulties. Less discussed are the damages an abusive relationship can inflict on a victim’s relationship with God. Often a good deal of spiritual abuse accompanies any other type of mistreatment and can really hamper a person’s belief in and relationship with God. Because our relationship with God serves as a basis for both deliverance from the abuser as well as healing from abuse, the enemy often targets a victim’s faith. For most of us, our experiential belief trumps the intellectual assent of our religious beliefs. What this means is that our experiences…
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Five Signs that Reconciliation is Impossible
Reconciliation is a world of its own apart from forgiveness. So I hesitated when someone recently asked me, “How long do I need to keep forgiving?” Because I realized the real question was about reconciliation, I didn’t respond with the standard seventy times seven answer. I suppose we don’t really ever stop forgiving, but knowing when to end futile attempts at reconciliation can be important, even life-saving. I used to be a champion reconciler. What that really means is that I went through the motions of apology and apology acceptance as if they meant something. Sometimes they did. Sometimes they didn’t. I figured that if someone apologized to me, I…
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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…
Healing Through Art & Words
