ROAD to 31 Devotional - Day 11 - "Breaking Soul-Ties"

ROAD to 31 Devotional - Day 11 - "Breaking Soul-Ties"

Listen to "Dreamz" from my new mixtape https://m.soundcloud.com/jeannie-ortega-2/dreams

There are a few songs that I've written throughout my career that I feel like I had to write. "Dreams" was one of them.

I didn't really grow up in the church but because of the way my parents raised me I always vowed to stay pure until my wedding day. However, after I graduated H.S. the boy I dated and broke up with freshman year, resurfaced and because I was stuck on him all throughout H.S. I took it as a sign of fate. At this point, I was already living my dream and missing a significant other, so I got into a committed relationship. Sure I had my reservations but I talked myself into this one and no one was going to tell me different.

The night I lost my innocence, I prayed that God would honor our union together because of the love we had for each other but boy oh boy, the love that we knew to give then just wasn't enough. After two years and cohabiting, I found myself growing in God and knew this was not what He wanted for me. Eventually, I mustered up the courage to say goodbye to my best friend, the person that I made king in my life. I had finally realized that only God deserved that place in my life and this relationship was no good for me, we didn't know how to love each other and we were not ready for marriage despite being engaged.

1 Corinthians 10:14 "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry"

Hebrews 13:4 "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous"

I was now single and determined to commit myself to God and learn His great plans for my life. But although I spent my days in church, or in the word of God, growing and cleansing my life from everything negative, every time I went to bed at night I dreamt of my past. I saw him in my dreams and although I was free from the relationship, my soul was connected to his because of the how deeply I allowed the relationship to take root in me. I put him, in a place where only God belonged and that tie would not break without a fight.

The word of God says that a man should have one wife and vise versa. It also says people should refrain from engaging in intimate relationships unless they are married, why? Not because He's this big meanie that doesn't want us to have fun or "explore our options". It's because He knows that when we do give ourselves away like that it creates a tie that follows us throughout our lives, reminding us that we lost a piece of ourselves. We connect and then uproot, leaving us weaker each time.

Genesis 2:24 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh"

1 Corinthians 6:16 "Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh."

Finally after much prayer, I realized it wasn't working and I needed to go one step further to be free from my past. I always just prayed for God to get him out of my mind and dreams but what I needed to do was be real with God and myself about how I felt. As I sat down to write my feelings down and let it all out, I began to feel the weight lift. That night I went to sleep and my past no longer haunted me. It took prayer and confessing my torment to the producer and others through song, for me to be free. Yes, there are other spiritual warfare tactics to break soul ties but in my case, I learned that unpacking it all, helps bring freedom.

James 5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

Reflection: Are there ties to your past that haunt you? Purpose yourself today, to let it all out. Talk or cry it out to God, write it down, sit down with a godly friend that you can trust - let it all out and move on! God has great plans for your life <3