Getting to The Root of Our Problem: Sickness - Session 12 - Part A

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

III. Toxic Emotions: Introduction – Session 12 - Part A

In this part, I will discuss the toxic emotions of unforgiveness, bitterness, self-bitterness, and rejection. These toxic emotions play a big part in producing sickness and diseases in your body. As I discuss each of the toxic emotions separately, I will tell you how to be set free from each of them; my goal in this teaching is to help you get totally set free, from every root cause of what is keeping you from going forward in God. Once the root cause of your sickness is gone, the symptoms in your body will go too; your healing will manifest in your body!

Forgiveness is a very important part of our lives! When people believe they have been wronged, they become offended and this offense can lead to angriness, hatred, jealousy, rejection, fear, pride, bitterness, etc. And the toxic emotions from offense leads to shame, regret, guilt, sorrow, self-bitterness, anxiety, stress, etc. To help get rid of these toxic emotions, the person must forgive – the recovery process begins when the person decides to forgive – forgiveness is a choice. Therefore, a person cannot recover, be healed, or be restored until these unresolved issues (toxic emotions above), are gone from their lives.

Everything that has happened to me throughout my life, no matter how horrible it was, how justified I was in holding the unforgiveness against the person(s), God let me know, I had to forgive them. It was not easy, I am not going to stand here and say it was; some things it took me years to get over. It took me over 20 yrs. to get over and forgive the guy who brutally raped me when I was 16, why? Because I did not deal with it. You must deal with what happened to you!

Time does not heal old wounds! That is a lie from the pit of hell, to keep you from dealing with your pain. Because I have been through this journey of forgiveness, I know and can tell you that if you don’t forgive others their sins (what they have done to you), you will not be forgiven of your sins by God.

Let’s look at what Jesus said in Matthew 6:12, and 14-15: “......and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” NLT. What is verse 12 saying? Jesus says that we are to ask the Father to forgive us our sins, when we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. God gave us a requirement to fulfill before He will forgive our sins. Therefore, receiving our forgiveness is directly tied to forgiving others.

Now let’s continue reading to verses 14-15 of Matthew 6: 14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your (heavenly) Father will not forgive your sins...” NLT.

This Scripture clearly show us that the manner or way that we forgive others, set the standard by which God will forgive us. When someone offends us, we must deal with it then because offense opens the door for unforgiveness to come in and when that happens, it opens the door for other spirits eviler than unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is the entry point for the principality of bitterness to set up in your heart.

Let’s go to Hebrews 12:14-15:

"14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 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;” NKJV.

Once bitterness sets up in a person’s heart, it defiles them until they are destroyed! This happens because if unforgiveness is not deal with, it opens the door for resentment, then resentment opens the door for retaliation, then retaliation opens the door for anger, anger opens the door for hatred, hatred opens the door for violence and violence opens the door for murder; all these spirits cause the principality of bitterness to set up and begin to rule and reign in the person’s life, eventually destroying them.

Is unforgiveness worth losing your soul over? Let it go! When you don’t forgive, you are not hurting the person who hurt you, you are hurting yourself. Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a choice. You must decide to forgive the person and no matter what don’t let anything change your mind. Keep telling yourself, “I forgive them.” Jesus said in Matthew 18:22 we should forgive someone 70 times 7; He gave us a guideline to show us there are no limits on how many times we are to forgive. It is not easy but it can be done by persevering.

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Click here for Healing Prayer for 7-9-17

God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks