Step of Breaking Unhealthy Soul Ties

Lamentations 3:21–26 (NLT)

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

(22–23) The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.

Recently, my wife and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. The only soul tie I have on a sexual level is with her, and that is not my own achievement. It is only because of the goodness of the Lord that we have not been destroyed. His faithfulness was there every single day. Together with my soul, I choose to expect the Lord each day, to hope in Him, and to seek Him.

Whenever my soul wants to connect with an unhealthy soul, I try to hit the brakes in time. “In time” means the moment the thought appears, because before you know it, that thought becomes an action, that action becomes a habit, that habit becomes a character, and that character becomes a lifestyle. That is why it is so important to speak to your soul early and to talk about what occupies your mind — and the mistakes you have made — with someone you trust.

Talking with my beloved about what was going on in my thinking, and about the mistakes I had made, has helped me again and again to return to — or remain on — the right path. I had to learn this through trial and error: to remain calm, to trust, and to wait for the Lord’s help.

This process has also taught me much about dealing with manipulation, intimidation, and dominance. Along the way, I had to address my soul regularly, because it tended to connect itself to such things. If you give in to that, unhealthy physical and spiritual soul ties begin to form.

Thankfully, with the Lord there is always a way back. For if the Son of God sets you free from those unhealthy soul ties, you will be truly free (John 8:36, NLT).