Next Level: My Strategic Recoveries

By David Komolafe

In Next Level:My Strategic Recoveries Pastor Komolafe writes: “Rewards await those who may be pressured on every side, struck down to the ground, but never struck out.” He graciously shares the wisdom he has gained from God’s Word, and from nearly 40 years of ministry.

Next Level offers an arsenal of weapons—prayer, biblical truth, strategic instructions, and prophetic declarations—with which to do battle against our soul’s enemy, who is the destroyer of hope.

As a child of God, you are heir to a glorious future. Learn how to take effective aim at the specific things that hinder you. Set your course to experience God’s goodness and grace to the fullest!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Creation House
• Release date: Jan 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781629985701

Book preview

PART ONE

Chapter 1

THE BATTLE FROM THE WOMB

The womb is the first natural residence of all mankind. Whether one is born in a palace or a ghetto, on the street or in a hospital, the womb is offered to travelers of this world as temporary lodgings where formation and development occur. When the male seed and the female egg unite as a zygote, it travels to its new residence—the womb—which is furnished to accommodate a growing fetus.

The zygote typically has forty-six chromosomes—twenty-three from each partner—which contain the DNA. The DNA encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. As the baby grows in the womb, the mother’s hormone levels change significantly. In the comfort of his new residence, the baby begins to grow. The heart, brain, genitals, internal and external organs develop as weeks go by. These developmental stages are fundamental and crucial to determine how well the rest of one’s life will go.

Understanding the complexity encompassing the protection babies enjoy in the womb made David, the ancient poet, king, and warrior of the kingdom of Israel, say:

For You shaped me, inside and out. You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath. I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe. You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful; I carry this knowledge deep within my soul. You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You as I took shape in secret, carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb. You see all things; You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb; every detail of my life was already written in Your book; You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it. Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them! How grand in scope! How many in number! If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable! Even when I wake up, I am still near to You. I wish You would destroy all the wicked, O God. So keep away from me, those who are thirsty for blood!

—PSALM 139:13–19, VOICE

The formation of life in the womb is so sensitive that if not carefully handled it may cause major damage. We should not be ignorant that hearing is already established while in the womb. At week twenty-three, the baby can detect sound vibrations. She can pick up noises from outside the womb and from within—the rush of your bloodstream, the thumping of your heart, and even the gurgling of your stomach.¹

Jean Liedloff was impressed by the Yequana Indians of Venezuela while she lived among them. She concluded that Yequana birthing and childbearing practices were responsible for their humor and equanimity: the child is made to feel that he is a valued part of his social and natural environment from conception. According to Wikipedia, Liedloff suggests that when certain evolutionary expectations are not met as infants and toddlers, compensation for these needs will be sought, by alternate means, throughout life—resulting in many forms of mental and social disorders. She also argues that these expectations are largely distorted, neglected, and/or not properly met in civilized cultures which have removed themselves from the natural evolutionary process, resulting in the aforementioned abnormal psychological and social conditions.²

The growing child in the womb searches for significance, security, acceptance, love, and appreciation. If a child does not properly undergo his or her formative stage, it may create deep roots that affect the adult life. The baby in the womb is so sensitive as to perceive fighting, violence, its mother’s fear or her loss of loved ones during pregnancy, abandonment, and unwanted and unhealthy circumstances. The effect may be revealed as the searches for meaning and purpose in life, and he or she may have to overcome integrity and temperament problems. Temperament is the combination of inborn traits that subconsciously affects all our behavior. These traits, which are passed on by our genes, are based on hereditary factors and arranged at the time of conception.³

According to John and Paula Sandford, authors of The Transformation of the Inner Man:

More difficult to deal with than the negative experiences of our infancy is the lack of those positive experiences that should have brought us to life. It is by warm, affectionate touching and holding that the spirit of a child is called forth to fullness. If a baby has not been held, cuddled, rocked, sung to, walked with, and talked to, but has been cared for only in terms of rigidly scheduled feeding and bedding, he will most likely become an adult who interprets all of life in like manner.

For example, he may be uncomfortable with spontaneity and unable to open wide the heart and nestle trustfully into another’s love. His security and satisfaction may be in the smooth operation of schedule and plan, his definition of love in the giving of material gifts and services. But because his spirit knows there is something more to life, he will experience hunger he cannot identify. He may find anger welling up from inside that he tends to project onto those around him as though they should be providing some comfort for needs he cannot name. Family and friends may be offering that nurturing comfort consistently and abundantly, but he may fail to perceive and receive what is given. He may still think he is being starved in the midst of a family banquet of offered love.⁴

As a Christian counselor, I have counseled and prayed for many people of different age groups and different races—both rich and poor. In my over thirty years’ experience as a pastor and counselor, I can conclude that no major transformation or freedom comes to a hurting and wounded person without getting to the root. As roots in plants are typically underground, established deeply and firmly, so are problems. Whatever condition we are in now has a source. The source may be deeply entrenched, absorbing our strength and resources. As the root anchors and supports the plants, so problems with roots have a grip on our soul, which is the seat of appetites, exercising mental faculties, feelings, emotions, desires, and passions. As the roots store food and nutrients, even so unresolved crisis becomes the reservoir of bitterness, hatred, anger, and shame.

For over three years I counseled and prayed for a lady from another country who was going through complicated problems. Her health, career, and finances were severely affected. Worse still, her husband walked out on her and kidnapped their children. Every effort to get the children back failed because the man denied having the children. Eventually he moved the children out of the country. As the woman struggled to take back her children, she also had problems with her job and was in a poor state of health. She was emotionally damaged. She sought governmental help from both involved countries, but to no avail. She prayed, but the answer seemed far away. In her woundedness she could not let go of the abuse she suffered from her parents, siblings, and husband. She had made some suicidal attempts as the way out of the problem (which, unknown to her, is as an exit to eternal torments). I observed that the more she prayed, the more wounded and irritated she became. As I waited on God in prayer, the Lord told me to dig down to the roots.

I engaged this woman in thought-provoking searches of her family background. She told me her mother had been forced to marry her father at age twelve. It was an arranged marriage to somebody she didn’t know and met for the first time on the day of their marriage. The man was very abusive and an alcoholic. Soon after they married, she got pregnant, and the woman became the baby in the horrifying home. The woman said her mother told her she hated her from the womb. As she grew up, she went through hardship. Unable to pass elementary class five, she dropped out of school. Her other siblings completed at least high school. In addition, she was made to engage in petty trade in an open market and on the streets, which exposed her to further abuse. She was too fearful to report the street abuse to her parents, who never cared what happened to her.

Later in life, a family friend sponsored her to move to another country as a babysitter. The woman received the news of relocating with joy, hoping to have a better life. After three years as a babysitter, she became independent and found a man to marry. She had no doubt in her mind that her life would become better and no longer bitter. No sooner than she got married and started having children, she discovered the evil of her past never left her. The abandonment, not being appreciated, and feelings of being unwanted and rejected stirred up anger, guilt, and shame. She was so fearful that she resented life and became insecure. The wound got worse when she became very sick and her husband arranged to kidnap the three children and take them out of Canada. It was in this terrible state that she was referred to me.

During prayer sessions, she repented of permitting the evil to have a hold on her, prayerfully recalling the incidences from her conception, time in the womb, birth, and childhood. The Word of God was able to break the hardened yoke and healed unto the root. Thank God, the husband brought back the children, and the woman is now emotionally and physically healed. The effects of the abuse she went through did not depart until they were confronted with repentance, well-targeted decrees to undo their hold on her, and proclaiming freedom.

According to Dr. Joseph Murphy, Your subconscious is the storehouse of memory, and within your subconscious are recorded all your experiences since childhood.⁵ Emotional abuse is not normal. It robs you of your sense of security and value. It makes one struggle with identity, memories, and woundedness.

See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.

—HEBREWS 12:15, AMP

Offenses against us have made many of us bitter, frustrated, and unforgiving. If unresolved, this may torment our soul and pollute our mind. Gregory L. Jantz, author of Healing the Scars of Emotional Abuse, says the following about the damaging effects of emotional abuse:

When you view life as unstable, anxiety, tension, and fear result.

When you are constantly vigilant to the behavior of others, hypersensitivity and hostility result.

When you learn to second guess yourself, confusion and feelings of disconnection result.

When nothing you do ever seems to be right, insecurity, guilt, and shame result.

When you stop having the energy to fight it all, apathy and depression result.

When you have finally had it, rage results.

When you never seem to receive fairness, justice is all you think about.

When you have been hurt by those you love, love is viewed as a risk.

When living is painful, addictions are acceptable because they numb the pain.

When the mind is a jumble of emotional chaos, the body and its systems break down.

When your inner turmoil produces outer stress, your current relationships are endangered.

When you can’t control your negative emotions, you become the very person you hate.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that emotional abuse isn’t damaging.⁶

A man of Indian descent who struggled with explosive anger, as well as pornography and drug addictions, came to me for counseling and prayer. He was thirteen years old in August 1972, when President Idi Amin of Uganda ordered the Asian community to leave the country within ninety days. He warned that any Asian who remained in the country after November 8th risked being imprisoned in military camp. When trying to flee the country, they were harassed and robbed at gunpoint. Thanks to some nations of the world who absorbed them, many who emerged from the conflict and turmoil were able to turn misfortune to their advantage, yet others have yet to heal from the wounds. They mask their pains through addictions and fear. I was glad when the Holy Spirit led me to revisit this bitter root through forgiveness, repentance, and forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before (Phil. 3:13, KJV). God gave him a new heart and transformed emotions, and he is now helping others who are wounded.

A friend of mine told me, after graduating from the university, that there is nothing I cannot achieve. I am a success in life. I rejoiced with him and much more appreciated him after sharing his youthful experience. Since he was an only child, his parents had a training pattern to discipline him. When things went wrong, they expressed strong disappointment in him by saying, shame on you, nasty, and dirty. So growing up he became shameful of himself. The matter got worse when the school report cards were released at the end of the semester. Unfortunately, he struggled and received below average grades in all the subjects. He always saw the day the report card was issued as the most horrible day of his life. Journeys home from school with the report cards were endless, terrifying steps to doom. The comments and the beatings made him lose confidence in himself. He grew up with the sense of defeat and sadness as he struggled to make it through high school. College was no option for him, because the absence of real intimacy made him develop deep inner vows of a self-defeating mind-set. He became hypersensitive to remarks, an example of a hurting, hating, and fearful child with shattered dreams.

Many years after he graduated from high school, he was encouraged by his pastor to try again and not give up. He was amazed at how well he picked things up and performed excellently at the university. He recalled the never-departing sound of his father, I don’t think you can ever make it in life, words said in frustration after his son failed even after he had hired a personal teacher to help with his school work. Thank God, he can look back now and be grateful to God. He had to work on the wounded little child in him who felt abandoned and mistreated and was now controlling his adult life.

BREAKING COVENANT WITH MIDWIVES

I have always appreciated the role of midwives—providing care to women during pregnancy, labor, and birth. In many cases, in association with the physician, they are the first contact with the newborn baby. The midwives are the first to receive the baby. They wrap the baby in a piece of cloth and then clean the baby, clearing away the mucus in the nose, mouth, ears, or anus. They also clean the birth residue and treat the umbilical cord after cutting. Before presenting the newborn baby to the parents, the midwives inspect the newborn for congenital deformities, which I agree are safety issues. Midwives have a unique role, and their value should not be underestimated.

When Pharaoh wanted to make the lives of the children of Israel bitter with hard bondage (Exod. 1:14), he turned to the midwives. A baby that has been properly developed and ready to birth comes into the hands of strangers.

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive? And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.

—EXODUS 1:15–19

Pharaoh’s command was to kill the sons and spare the daughters. I often asked, If the men are dead, who will marry the daughters? The intention was to pollute the Messiah’s lineage.

Because the midwives feared the Lord, they yielded not to Pharaoh’s instructions. These Hebrew midwives’ names were synonymous with their character: Shiphrah means beauty, and Puah means splendor. Even unto this day, there are many midwives and health professionals that are beautiful and splendid in their works. Children birthed in their hands are blessed. These God-fearing Hebrew midwives were accused by Pharaoh: Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive? (v. 18). They defended their work and never yielded to the threat.

One outstanding delivery process explained in the Bible was the twin birth fathered by Judah—the lineage of the Messiah. The sceptre of the kingdom was on Judah, and one of his seeds would exercise the dominion. The heavenly spotlight was on these twin babies, and one of them was to be the very lineage from which the Messiah would come:

Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, This one came out first. Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, How did you break through? This breach be upon you! Therefore his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.

—GENESIS 38:27–30

While the mother was in labor, one of the babies put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet threat and bound it on his hand (v. 28). Why scarlet? Maybe for identity purpose. Scarlet is one of the firmest of dyes, not easily washed out. Nonetheless, his brother came first and was named Perez (v. 29). The baby with the scarlet thread upon his hand came after and was named Zerah (v. 30). Considering their genealogy, King David was the tenth generation from Perez, while Achan, the man who trespassed in the accursed thing and brought wrath on the whole nation of Israel, was the great-grandchild of Zerah (Josh. 7:18). The baby bound with scarlet opened the door to the troubler of Israel. Zerah was marked at birth by his midwife.

Some years back, the Spirit of the Lord ordered me to gather a group of people with life-threatening problems. I first wondered how I would identify people with life-threatening problems, and what could be considered as such. After some time I stopped thinking about it and announced it the way the Holy Spirit ordered me. People responded, and we declared a fast.

While I was preparing for this meeting, the Spirit of the Lord revealed unto me the need to break the covenants with the midwives. This sounded strange to me, but I obeyed. The manifestations and praise reports were beyond imagination. People experienced major breakthroughs, healing, and deliverance. Two brothers at different times confessed about freedom from suicidal thoughts and attempts. While so many people testified of symptoms of sicknesses disappearing, a brother testified of God’s goodness as he witnessed sudden turn-around favor. He said, "I am always uncertain about myself; I feel weak and helpless. But now I am very creative and I see good results.

Pharaoh’s focus was on the birthstools (Exod. 1:16), which provide balance and support to mothers giving birth. Agnes Sallet Von Tannenberg, a childbirth educator, said, If we are to heal the planet, we must begin by healing birthing.⁷ I believe that in every birth there is a great story, because each child comes with his or her own uniqueness. Babies are pleasant, and their presence brings great joy; however, birthing is associated with labor, travail, and delivery. The baby finally emerges naked and crying—naked, needing to be covered and protected; crying not only to gain attention, but announcing his or her purpose and assignment in life. But the baby is soon quieted and may lose his or her voice in fulfilling his or her destiny.

I believe that in every birth there is a great story, because each child comes with his or her own uniqueness.

I have heard people curse their birth because of deep sorrow and affliction. Job experienced hardship, pains, and losses so unbearable that he cursed his birth (Job 3). Despite this, his anguished soul never found rest until he repented (Job 42:6). While Rachel, the wife of Jacob, was in labor and her soul was departing, she refused the comfort of her midwife and named her child Benoni, son of my sorrow (Gen. 35:18, NLT). But her husband renamed him to annul the curse and reset the child to the right course. He named him Benjamin, son of my right hand (v. 18, NLT). He pronounced him an exalted child associated with honor and not sorrow.

You can disconnect yourself from the sorrow of birth and be free from the pains and heartache that programmed you from birth. Prayerfully recalling the time when you were conceived, occurrences in your mother’s womb, and your birth conditions and place could be a deep-rooted breakthrough for you. However, the person who first received you and welcomed you to the world is worth mentioning in prayer. (You may not know the person, but your prayers can undo wickedness and correct any wrongs.) Pharaoh’s appointed midwives were to kill or make alive. Prayerfully reversing the evil decrees and influences at birth may set you on a right platform to overcome life’s challenges.

What is the hope of a child born prematurely? I recall the story of a sickly child who had to wear a brace on her left leg because she contracted polio at age four.⁸ Doctors said she might never walk again. The twentieth of twenty-two children and raised in poverty, this child also suffered with double pneumonia, whooping cough, measles, chicken pox, scarlet fever, and infantile paralysis. I am referring to Wilma Rudolph, who overcame her disabilities and learned to walk and run at age twelve. In 1960 she became the first African American to win three gold medals at a single Olympic games in Rome. The first telecast of the Olympics on the international scene was in 1960, the year Wilma Rudolph rose to greatness, and her fame spread easily due to television coverage. Here is one of her quotes: Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.⁹

HEALING THE WOUNDED CHILD

In January 2001, a married couple came to me for marriage counseling, whom I will address as Bill and Fey (not their real names). Both of them were doing well in their professions. Bill told me, We both need help. I was glad to hear that coming from a man, as it indicates readiness to improve and make the marriage work. Fey, the wife, admitted to uncontrollable rage and violence, which she disliked. She would often come around by calming down and apologizing, but at such times, Bill would isolate himself and refuse to come out of his shell. Then Fey would become frustrated when her husband shut down and cut her off. Bill acknowledged this as a weakness and needed wisdom as to how to control his wife’s rage and anger. Barely a month would go by without this occurring, and when it happened it would last for a few weeks while they lived in pain and discomfort.

They both agreed to receive counselling after Bill complained to his mother-in-law and she said, I know my daughter very well; violence and rage had been her problem as a child. Fey wanted to be free, but nothing was working for her. I discovered that expressing rage was her way of fighting back when she got offended or irritated. At the same time, I did not spare Bill’s isolation and unforgiveness. I had to walk them back to their time in the womb to minister peace to the hurting children.

Fey was unplanned and unwanted by both parents. The father advised abortion, but the mother refused. They quarreled throughout the pregnancy. No night passed by without strife. She was the baby born into this commotion. Bill came from a loving family, but tracing back his journey from the womb, both his father and mother suffered the loss of loved ones while his mother was pregnant with him. The traumatic experiences plunged them into continuous sadness and mourning even after Bill was born; not even the joy of a new baby could bring them out of fear of loss of loved ones. So the baby grew up with an insatiable desire for affection. Bill always felt he was a burden to his parents, which resulted in isolation.

It is important to know that the baby in the womb is active and can perceive what is going on in his environment. Words or actions may send signals of acceptance or rejection to the baby.

Words or actions may send signals of acceptance or rejection to the baby.

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. …For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

—LUKE 1:41, 44

Babies in the womb can respond to love or hatred, mourning or gladness, anger or praise, chaos or peace, laughter or weeping. For Fey, her mother’s refusal to abort her—kill her from her mother’s womb—stirred up strife, anger, and quarreling between her parents, which she responded to and adopted as a way of life. Bill mourned in the womb and continued mourning as an adult. This could have been a lifetime experience for both of them if the roots were not properly addressed.

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

—HEBREWS 2:14–15

How do I walk back to the time in the womb, birth, and younger age? Then children were brought to Jesus so that He might place His hands on them [for a blessing] and pray; but the disciples reprimanded them. But He said, ‘Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ (Matt. 19:13–14, AMP). People—or anything whatsoever—can hinder you from connecting with a divine touch. While the people forbade the little children who were brought to be touched by Jesus, but Jesus bade them to come. If we can go past the blockage and bring the hurting little child in us to Jesus, we will receive His touch and be healed from our woundedness. I often ask people to be real with themselves and bring their woundedness to the Great Physician, Jesus, who is ever willing to accept us the way we are and transform us. Hospitals accept the sick, very sick, and near-death people. The physicians try their best to bring them back to health. The throne of grace and mercy is open to the wounded and the hurting, the sick and the diseased, to receive a healing touch.

Jeremiah the prophet was a man acquainted with grief and sorrow because of the iniquity of his people, Israel. He considered his wounds grievous, saying, Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, ‘Truly this is an infirmity, and I must bear it’ (Jer. 10:19). He lamented over his pains as perpetual and his wounds incurable, refusing to let go (Jer. 15:18). But the Lord had mercy on him and his people and restored them to wholeness: ‘For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: This is Zion; No one seeks her’ (Jer. 30:17). You also can be forgiven, healed, and made whole. Restoration comes when you can look back into what has caused you grief and woundedness with gratitude, when it no longer torments you or causes you mental distress (meaning the provocation and vexation no longer control your actions); when you take comfort in a brighter future ahead of you, knowing that you were born to win and that you can prevail over any situation that comes your way.

Bodily wounds are hard to ignore, worse still when somebody is struggling with woundedness of the soul and spirit The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? (Prov. 18:14, KJV). Laurell Hamilton said, There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.¹⁰ According to Dave Winfield, an American former Major League Baseball right fielder, Everyone has a breaking point, turning point, stress point, the game is permeated with it. The fans don’t see it because we make it look so efficient. But internally, for a guy to be successful, you have to be like a clock spring, wound but not loose at the same time.¹¹

Bodily wounds are noticeable; however, woundedness of the soul and spirit are not hidden. We express them through our emotions, reasoning, imaginations, desires, and appetites. Somebody with wounded emotions or desires may become irritable, find it hard to forgive, find faults with everybody and everything, and struggle to find meaning and purpose in life. When the stones of offenses are thrown at you, you get hurt. When it becomes stronger, you may be broken and crushed.

Bodily wounds are noticeable; however, woundedness of the soul and spirit are not hidden. We express them through our emotions, reasoning, imaginations, desires, and appetites.

I walked into a meeting hall for a conference and tried to get a seat. I saw one ahead of me, but as I got closer, I saw that the seat had a label, Do not sit, it’s broken. I then searched for another seat. While seated waiting for the conference to start, somebody came and repaired the broken seat and afterwards removed the label. It was then fit to sit upon. I saw somebody walk in and sit comfortably on it. In my mind I considered the broken seat as a broken man or woman carrying a label that makes people not want to associate with them. But, when we undergo repair of our brokenness, the label is removed and people can relate with us more effectively. It is painful to be ignored and not put to proper use.

The most common symptoms of wounds are pain, swelling, and bleeding. Some pains require extreme measures for relief. When we are wounded and in pain, we express the agony of damages done to us. If not well treated, infection may impede the healing process. As a counselor, I have seen several displays of woundedness in children, youth, adults, and the elderly. At every stage of life we are exposed to unfortunate incidents that hurt and wound us. Life is not always a bed of roses. Things may not work out the way we expect. The outcome of our labor may not be advantageous to us. However, keeping a healthy spirit and maintaining emotional balance will be a healthy measure to heal our woundedness. A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed? (Prov. 18:14, THE MESSAGE).

The worst kind of wound is the one that comes from a friend or relative, somebody you trust or expect to see to your welfare. It is grievous when you let down your guard, feeling safe, but it ends up in misery. Such experience can be likened to being wounded in the house of my friends (Zech. 13:6)—a friendly fire scenario. According to Wikipedia, Friendly fire is an attack by a military force on non-enemy, own, allied or neutral, forces while attempting to attack the enemy, either by misidentifying the target as hostile, or due to errors or inaccuracy.¹² Unfortunately, we get attacks from the actual enemy, the devil, and also become casualties of friendly fire.

One example of friendly fire that is of interest to me is Exercise Tiger, the code name for one of the series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which took place in April 1944. According to Wikipedia, "Coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire deaths during the exercise, and an allied convoy positioning itself for the landing was attacked by E-boats of Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine, resulting in deaths of at least 749 American servicemen."¹³ According to the Listverse article Eight Worst Cases of Friendly Fire, Despite this, the exercise continued with the survivors being landed on the beach. As part of the exercise, a British cruiser shelled the beach with live ammunition as General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, felt that the men must be hardened by exposure to real battle conditions. However, this resulted in a further 308 American dead from friendly fire when troops strayed onto the wrong areas of the beach, straight into where the rounds were exploding."¹⁴ More people were killed in the rehearsal than in the actual D-Day landing on Utah Beach.¹⁵

In like manner, significant damages have been done to several individuals through friendly fire. Community life is threatened when a child is wounded through rejection and parental carelessness, hence developing a strong feeling of grievance and displeasure. When a wounded child grows up unhealed and marries another wounded, unhealed individual, the outcome will be extreme sensitivity, resentment, and hatred. I can imagine a school with wounded children and wounded teachers. When a child is raised by wounded parents, tutored by wounded teachers, and grows up to work with frustrated colleagues, such a person may see life as unfavorably difficult.

My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness (Ps. 38:5). Regrettably, people can feel our wounds no matter how hard we try to cover them up. The stench can be offensive and nidorous.

The foulness of our wounds may account to the rejection we face. However, you can regain emotional wholeness, knowing that the Shepherd of your soul can restore your soul: He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (Ps. 23:3). Your soul has wandered for too long in the wilderness of life and needs to return to the righteous condition. I have discovered personally that healing emotional damages and spiritual wounds can be achieved by reconditioning your mind-set—thinking right, acting righteously, and making healthy statements as relates to your circumstances. Examples of such statements that can rejuvenate our minds are as follows:

Let the