“There is power in naming the unnamed things.”
Emily P. Freeman
We each can take six steps to resolve the hurt that is bothering us. It’s not necessary that these follow a particular order, but each of these steps has led me to emotional freedom.
Name the feeling. We can’t move forward into healing until we first have awareness of what’s bothering us. When my body is telling me something is wrong inside, it is like the “check engine” light going off alerting me to take care of something in my heart. Vagueness comes from the enemy as he tries to keep us in the dark. If we don’t know what’s bugging us, then we can’t solve the problem. We’re empowered when we name our hurt.
Feel the feeling. Loss needs to be grieved to move forward and to not stay stuck. Getting the hurt and anger out on paper or simply speaking it aloud to the Lord in prayer, frees us a bit more.
Discern the lie you’re believing. It is often either a lie about who God is or about yourself that makes you feel hopeless and discouraged. Deception can begin the process of spiraling into a place of self-pity and stagnation. If you can label the lie the enemy is feeding you, then you can ask God for the truth to replace the lie.
Pour out your heart to the Lord and place what’s inside your heart in God’s hands. You are not alone in your hurt and emotional struggles. God desires to be your Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals.
Find comfort in God. Allow the Lord to comfort you. Don’t numb your pain with a go-to God like food or sleep. 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3-4a encourages us with these words. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.”
Give God thanks. Thanksgiving is an act of humility that displays our trust, as we surrender to God’s sovereign and good plan. I want to learn whatever God desires and to see things from His perspective, so I seek to discover God’s redemptive purpose in what I’m going through.
Emotional wholeness is right around the corner when you apply these six steps.
“Without a name, we can’t be specific. And there’s nothing fear likes more than non-specificity.”
Emily P. Freeman
Relevant Reflection:
Is there a hurt you haven’t quite let go of? Start by naming it and utilize all these steps.
Image by Christian Schwartz from Pixabay
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