Healing For The Wounded Heart
by Rita Langeland © 2004 Hidden With Christ Ministries
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity;
but a wounded spirit who can bear? (Proverbs 18:14)
The newspaper article described a tragic tale that occurred in a large U.S. city. A man digging through a trash bin for recyclables found a newborn boy who had been stashed beneath garbage and pinned down by a board. The man who discovered him said that the baby was cold to the touch and so weak he could barely cry. Taken to a nearby hospital, the child recovered. The parents of the infant were unknown to authorities.
Not all people experience such dramatic and painful rejection as the child in that newspaper account, yet a great number limp through life because of emotional wounds they have endured. Is the child described above doomed to live forever with a wounded spirit? Are you? Or is there healing available from God for a broken heart?
Jesus was sent to earth from our Heavenly Father with a mission to heal the brokenhearted.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (Isaiah 61:1 NKJV)
The most common cause of a “wounded spirit” or a broken heart (as it is commonly called) is rejection. The word rejection can be defined as the experience of being cast off, pushed away, refused or unwanted by another person. In Psalm 55 we can observe that King David experienced some hurt and rejection from someone close to him.
For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together, walked in the house of God in the throng. (Psalm 55: 12-14)
Often we experience hurt from those closest to us such as family or friends. Satan takes advantage of those painful experiences by magnifying them to your heart and mind, pressuring you to believe that those situations are a reflection of your identity and your worth.
Jesus called Satan a “liar” and the “father of lies” in John 8:44. One strategy that this lying spirit uses against people is to whisper the lie of rejection to the mind and heart. The devil knows the pain and the bondage that a spirit of rejection can bring into a person’s life if his lie is accepted as truth. The lie of rejection says: “You are a ‘reject’ and the evidence to prove it can be found in your memories of painful treatment by others.” But the sinful actions of others toward you does not prove you are a “reject,” it just proves that people are sinners.
God’s Word tells you the truth: you are not rejected and you are not a “reject” even if a multitude of circumstances in your life seem to shout that it is true! The real truth about each of us is found in God’s Word:
He made us accepted in the Beloved… (Ephesians 1:6)
God lovingly created you and designed you for a specific purpose in life. You are perfectly accepted and desired by God even if the human beings you have encountered have not treated you that way.
Have you allowed a “spirit of rejection” to influence your life unknowingly? Here are some signs:
~You have an expectation that people will overlook you, not appreciate you, or use you.
~You feel bad when other people are praised, honored, promoted, or noticed. You can’t rejoice for them because it reminds you of how overlooked, unappreciated or undervalued you are.
~If you walk into a room and people are talking and they stop when you enter, you immediately assume they were speaking negatively about you.
~You think the worst if your phone calls, e-mails or messages are not returned immediately. You never think the person might be busy or hasn’t gotten the message, you always conclude they are purposely ignoring or avoiding you.
~If someone declines an invitation you have given them, you never believe that their reason is legitimate, but instead attribute rejection of you as a person to be their motive.
~You constantly feel slighted by the smallest things including someone not making eye contact with you, failing to greet you in a public setting, or not being invited into a group of people who are chatting.
~You find yourself struggling to be “perfect” because you believe if you are “perfect” you won’t be rejected.
~You are strongly motivated to strive to be a high achiever to prove your worth and to obtain recognition and validation from others.
~You find yourself often bragging about your achievements, “showing off” or exaggerating to impress people.
~You are driven to play the role of “savior” or “hero” in order to feel wanted or needed.
~You are critical or demeaning toward others because it makes you feel superior.
~You shy away from making any deep relationships or revealing yourself to others to avoid the anticipated pain of rejection.
~You are unable to trust people or God.
~You are constantly besieged with hopelessness.
~You have an agreement with death-you think others would be better off if you died, or think no one would notice or miss you if you died, you pray to die, or think that death would be an escape from your pain.
Some signs of a spirit of rejection are inward and some are outward. You may notice that you have a few of the signs mentioned in the above list manifesting in your life. You do not have to remain tormented by a spirit of rejection. God is willing and able to heal you right now. Here are Biblical steps to healing your wounded heart and gaining freedom from a spirit of rejection:
~ Extend forgiveness to those persons who have said or done things which communicated rejection. This is a choice of your will not an emotional feeling! You do not have to go to each person who has hurt you, but simply choose to forgive them from your heart.
~ Forgive yourself for past failures. In other words, choose to stop rejecting yourself. This is also a decision of your will. Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. (Isaiah 43:18)
~ Release all rejection from your past to the Lord. Remember He bore your rejection on the cross. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)
~ Invite the Lord to heal every wounded place in your heart holding nothing back from Him. But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD, 'because you are called an outcast, … for whom no one cares.' (Jeremiah 30:17)
~ Renounce your agreement with the lie of rejection.
~ Renounce your agreement with the spirit of self pity and confess self pity as sin to the Lord.
~ Choose to accept yourself since God has accepted you.
I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
~ Diligently renew your mind with the TRUTH of God’s WORD about yourself. Read and memorize scripture that tells you what God thinks about you! And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2 )
Following these Biblical steps, you can pray this way:
Heavenly Father, I thank You for sending Jesus to heal the brokenhearted. I bring my broken heart to You now for Your healing touch. I choose to forgive each and every person who has hurt or rejected me in any way. (name them to the Lord as you pray… “Lord, I forgive_______...”) I will not blame them or judge them any longer and I fully release them into Your care. I ask You to bless and help them.
I choose to forgive and release myself from all my past failures. I will not blame or criticize myself any longer.
I bring all the feelings and memories of hurtful experiences from the past and I lay them at the foot of the cross. I fully surrender them to You and refuse to hold on to them any longer.
I break off any agreement I have ever made (knowingly or unknowingly) with the spirit of rejection and the spirit of self pity. I renounce them and all of their lies.
I choose to believe Your Word as being the Truth about me. You said I was accepted so I believe I am accepted. I ask You to make that truth real to my heart and mind. I ask for Your grace to help me begin to renew my mind with Your Word.
I thank You for hearing and answering this prayer. I believe that I receive healing for my heart right now. Thank You for making me whole and freeing me from the spirit of rejection. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
(this message is available on CD and mp3)
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