The foundation of our Life Solutions 6 Step Framework is Luke 4:18-19 where Jesus is in the synagogue reading from Isaiah 61 - '“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord .”' NKJV

Jesus tells us that His mission is to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free. This wasn’t just a physical healing and releasing but also an inner healing and releasing of those spiritual and emotional bondages in all of us.

All of our services are based on our transformational framework, which comes from Luke 4: 18–19.

We see Jesus read this when He enters the synagogue on the sabbath day, and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah: “the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has appointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty, those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

In Isaiah 1:4-6 we read: 

Oh, how this nation keeps sinning! See them dragging the heavy burden of their guilt! They are corrupt children, descendants of evildoers. They have turned their backs on the Lord God and despised the Holy One of Israel! They have cut themselves off [estranged themselves] from the help of God! Why would you seek to be injured further? Why would you stubbornly continue in your rebellion? Your whole head is sick, and your heart and your will are weak and faint. You are corrupt from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. There is no integrity — nothing but bruises, putrefying sores, and raw open wounds! They have not been drained or bandaged or soothed with oil. TPT

What this tells us is that the reason we struggle with sin, have repeated unhealthy patterns and are weak and faint, is because we have these sores (wounds) that have not been healed. 

Wounds

Let me tell you part of my story with a festering wound that was not healed. I had a repeated pattern of not feeling valued and being disrespected both at work and on several Boards I was involved with. Recently, I was on yet another Board. The other Board members lied to me and hid some very serious things that were happening. Once I found out what was going on, those deep wounds of not being valued and being disrespected reared their head, and I had a major fit of anger as I was describing to my wife what happened. I needed to deal with those wounds. My wife, Jenie, prayed for me, and Holy Spirit began healing those wounds.

So, the starting place for our inner healing begins with identifying and praying for our wounds. And regardless of how great our life has been, we all have wounds. If you want to know how to tell if you have wounds, read Jenie’s last blog post titled “How do I know that I’m wounded?” Getting the wounds healed and finding relief from the pain, frustration and anger, allows us to go through the rest of the healing process.  Having Jenie pray for the wounds, bringing relief, gave me freedom to take the next steps.

Judgments

Wounds that are not dealt with lead to judgments - our sinful response to getting hurt, our attitudes of dishonor. Many times, we feel justified in making these judgments; after all, we were wronged by the other person. But, these judgments only serve to keep us in bondage and prevent us from receiving all the Lord has for us. Matthew 7:1-2 warns us “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

This holding on to judgments leads us down that path of corruption that Isaiah talks about that keeps us in patterns of rebellion and lack of integrity. Not only lack of integrity (i.e. being immoral and unethical), but also lack of integrity (i.e. not being whole or sound in our minds and hearts).  Jenie recognized my anger and overreaction, and we broke off bondages and patterns of responding!

Expectations

Judgments when they are not dealt with can lead to bitter root expectations. These are often called self fulfilling prophecies - I expect that it is going to happen, so I behave in a way to make it happen. 

Hebrews 12:12-15 'Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; '

These bitter roots defile us and those around us and keep us in cycles that we cannot break free from until the roots are cut off.  We recognized my expectation that I will not be valued, and cut that expectation out of my life!

Vows

Unresolved judgments can also lead us to make vows - promises or declarations that “I will never…” or “I will always…” Vows take the focus from allowing the Lord to protect us and moves the focus to protecting ourselves. In Matthew 5:33–37–Jesus taught concerning vows, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No ,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

We must renounce these vows so they can be cut off and allow us to come back under the protection and Lordship of Jesus.  Next came my vow, that “I will never allow myself to be put in that situation again.”  I had to renounce my vow, and give the direction, guidance and protection for my life back to Jesus.

Habit Structures and New Memories

Finally, after we have dealt with the wounds, judgments, expectations and vows, we focus on dismantling old unhealthy habit structures and developing new healthy habit structures as well as building new, healthy, joyful memories. I am now on a new, much healthier Board. I have had to push myself to be open and trust the other Board members and not guard myself as I had done in previous situations. I have also decided to expect to be valued and respected, and what do you know…they value and respect me. Having dismantled the wounds, judgments, expectations and vows is allowing me to enjoy being on this Board rather than just enduring it.

We have seen this framework impact hundreds of lives over the years and bring many into freedom. It is how we live our lives on a daily basis to deal with wounds as they happen so they don’t become those icky sores which lead to bondage and grief. It is how you can get free and stay free!

Video: Check out Chris and Jenie walking through this situation here!