Many have suffered abuse in one form or another in their life. But I want you to know that healing is possible – no matter what kind of abuse you may have experienced.
There are ten steps to wholeness that I will share with you, so you can stand against the devil and finally be free from any bondage he tries to hang on you. This article will deal with the first five steps.
STEP 1: SEARCH YOURSELF (Be honest with yourself)
The first step in freeing yourself from the scars in your life is to open up and look at your life with honest eyes, ready to see the truth so you can let Jesus help you deal with it little by little, step by step.
Scriptures to Confess:
“I, the Lord, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
(Jer. 17:10)
“But he who practices truth – who does what is right – comes out into the light….”
(John 3:21)
All things must come out into the light, and be faces by you! I am not talking about facing people. I’m talking about facing memories – facing the truth and being set free by honesty with yourself.
STEP 2: KNOW YOURSELF (Learn who you are)
Get to know yourself. You are made in the image of God. The best way to get in touch with who you are is to get in touch with Who God is! Spend time with Him, letting Him hold you, love you and heal you.
Scriptures to Confess:
“God said, Let Us (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the (tame) beasts, and over all of the earth, and over every thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
(Genesis 1:26-27)
“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), to know (how to distinguish between) good and evil, and blessing and calamity; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever.”
(Genesis 3:22)
“This is the book – the written record – of the generations of the off-spring of Adam. When God created man He made him in the likeness of God.”
(Genesis 5:1-2)
He created them male and female and blessed them, and named them [both] Adam at the time they were created.
STEP 3: FORGIVE YOURSELF (Release yourself by forgiving yourself).
Jesus has forgiven you. God the Father has forgiven you. You must release yourself by forgiven yourself.
Scriptures to Confess:
“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only-begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish – come to destruction, be lost – but have eternal (ever lasting) life.”
(John 3:16)
“Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives.”
(Rom. 3:23)
“If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sin [dismiss our lawlessness] and continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness – every thing not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought and action.”
(1 John 1:9)
STEP 4: FREE YOURSELF (Pronounce yourself not guilty).
The best way to completely free yourself is to choose. Just make the choice to forgive the person (or people) who scarred your life by word and/or actions. Forgiveness is an act – an action! And action is something you first have to choose to do – whether you feel like it or not.
Speak forgiveness out of your mouth. You must act as though you have forgiven. Then after you have practiced the action, it becomes natural. This exercise takes longer for some people than others, but if you will be faithful with the action, forgiveness will eventually “stick” to you!
Remember forgiveness is supernatural. You do it by faith – so just do it! Just as forgiveness is supernatural, unforgiveness is purely carnal and natural, only hurting yourself by holding someone in unforgiveness.
To not forgive is so personally harmful and even can be deadly! It’s like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Yes, that’s ridiculous, but so many people actually do that. Don’t drink the poison of unforgiveness. Let it go!
Scriptures to Confess:
“And Jesus replying said to them, Have faith in God (constantly). (Have faith in God; trust Him.)”
(Mark 11:22)
“Truly, I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart, but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. (Say: “Mountain of scars of abuse, be removed!”)
(Mark 11:23)
“For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe – trust and be confident – that it is granted to you, and you will get it.” Get ready to receive!
(Mark 11:24)
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against any one, forgive him and let it drop – leave it, let it go – in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcoming and let them drop. (Most importantly, when you want something from God, you must first forgive to be set free.)”
(Mark 11:25)
One more word about freeing yourself. Many times people begin to feel sorry for themselves because they really do “put up with” a lot in their circumstances, therefore giving them a good excuse for self pity – for having a “pity party.” They are saying in essence, “Feel sorry for me; I have it so bad!”
Well, maybe they do. Maybe you do too. Perhaps your circumstances are unbearable, maybe your situation does seem hopeless. But feeling sorry for yourself doesn’t help anything! It makes nothing better – it changes nothing except to help you sink even deeper into hopelessness and helplessness. You must choose to be victorious in your attitude in spite of your circumstances.
According to The American College Dictionary, the word circumstance comes from a word referring to “surrounding condition.” Just make the right choice and you are on your way to getting yourself free from whatever condition is encircling or surrounding you.
Scriptures to Confess:
“She (the righteous woman) looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent and self pity) she will not eat.”
(Proverbs 31:27)
STEP 5: CONFESS YOURSELF (Make positive, optimistic, God-filled confessions about yourself).
Proverbs 31 is the outline of what God has made available to women, telling us what characteristics we are to have in our lives.
This step is where you need to take authority through confession over the curse of abuse that has dominated your life. Whether it was passed on to you from former generations or whether the devil found a loophole in your life to begin the curse with you, you must stop it.
State this confession:
In Jesus’ name, I speak directly to the curse of abuse that has been in my life. You will not pass down from generation to generation. You will not continue into my children. I call you null and void this minute, this hour, this date, the ________day of ________ (month) the year ______. You will not go any farther. You have no more power. You have no more place. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, I declare it to be so. In Jesus’ name and through His blood I pronounce that I am free from the curse – and so are all the generations to follow me!
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Harry and Cheryl Salem are ministers of the gospel. They are parents to sons, Harry III and Roman. Roman has married a beautiful young lady, Stephanie, and she has become their daughter-in-love. Healing and restoration have come full circle for the Salem family with the miracle birth of Roman and Stephanie’s baby girl, Mia Gabrielle. She is named for their daughter, Gabrielle Christian, who is in heaven since 1999. Their latest joy will be arriving in March 2017 with Roman and Stephanie’s second miracle baby of restoration for the Salem Family!
The Salems have seen the altars flooded with people receiving salvation, with countless re-dedications, with miraculous healings and with bodies, lives, marriages and souls being restored because of His mighty anointing!
Cheryl was crowned Miss America 1980, but tremendous adversities nearly ended that dream before it began. As a young girl, she survived a horrific car crash that cracked her back and crushed her left leg, resulting in a physical handicap and over 100 stitches in her face.
Eleven years old, poor, crippled and scarred… but a miracle, too! This was the outlook Cheryl chose, as she had been told that she might not ever walk again. But walk, she did! And she walked the runway in Atlantic City, against all odds, all because of Jesus.
Harry’s father passed away when Harry was 10 years old, leaving him with a mandate to be the man of the house, to never cry, and to take care of his mother and sisters. This challenge caused Harry to excel, but to also grow up with a cautious outlook on life.
He quickly made a name for himself in the corporate world, becoming a major executive before the age of 30, but he knew that there was more. He and Cheryl met, married and started their family, but it wasn’t until the mid-nineties that Harry had an encounter with God that changed him forever. He let go of the pain of growing up without his father and the stress of the mantle that had been placed on his shoulders at such a young age. He began to trust God – and he has never looked back.
Cheryl has recorded numerous music CDs, the latest being I Am A Worshiper. The most popular worship music she has released over the past few years are the four prophetic CDs of healing and restoration. Her prophetic flowing style on both the keyboard and vocally of the Book of Revelation and the Book of Proverbs are fast becoming the most requested music CDs! She and Harry have co-written 36 books with topics ranging from Mourning to Morning to Entering Rest – Be Still. Their book, We Who Worship, is designed to bring the reader into a deeper level of purity and intimacy with God in worship. Their marriage books Two Becoming One and Don’t Kill Each Other! Let God Do It! are great books for couples to read and are also used for couples Bible studies together.
Salem Family Ministries presents We Who Worship Gathering annually, a worship event, which includes worship, dance, art, musical theater and drama. They are walking out the Lord’s plan set before them for School of Worship, intensive training sessions, where the Salems teach, impart, and personally work with students to help them grow to the next level in their worship life and ministry.
Both Harry and Cheryl are sought-after ministers, who speak in churches and events across the nation. Harry has a heart for men, preaching and teaching on overcoming issues in life. Cheryl is a popular preacher at ladies events, encouraging women to reach their godly potential, but the focus of Salem Family Ministries is to take this unique, tag-team style of ministry into churches, two by two, to reach families for God, one by one.