The invisible roots of yesterday can quietly shape your choices today, but God offers a way forward.
Sometimes, it’s not just the big moments of pain that affect us. It’s the subtle, everyday experiences that leave an imprint on how we see ourselves, others, and even God.
The Bible reminds us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV). Our hearts carry the memories and beliefs we’ve picked up along the way and unless they’re healed, they keep flowing into everything we do.
How the Past Sneaks Into the Present
These patterns aren’t random, they grow from “roots” in our story. Roots like rejection, neglect, criticism, or betrayal. Without realizing it, we carry those roots into new seasons of life. They influence what we believe about everything - including love, safety, and worth.
Hebrews 12:15 warns us to “See to it…that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” When we don’t deal with the wounds of the past, those roots keep producing the same fruit over and over again - resentment, fear, and broken relationships.
The Good News: Roots Can Change
Healing isn’t about pretending the hurt never happened. It’s about inviting God into the places that shaped us in painful ways and allowing Him to speak a new truth over them.
As Isaiah 61:3 promises, He can “give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
What You Can Do Today
In our Heart Healing Essentials course, we go deeper into this process of tracing patterns back to their roots and walking with God toward lasting change. If you’re ready to explore that journey, we’d love to walk alongside you.
You might not think about your childhood much. Maybe you’ve put old memories in a box, sealed it up, and told yourself it’s all in the past. But here’s the thing: the past doesn’t always stay in the past.
The decisions we make today - the people we trust, the dreams we chase, the walls we build, can be shaped by wounds we never addressed.
Sometimes, it’s not just the big moments of pain that affect us. It’s the subtle, everyday experiences that leave an imprint on how we see ourselves, others, and even God.
The Bible reminds us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV). Our hearts carry the memories and beliefs we’ve picked up along the way and unless they’re healed, they keep flowing into everything we do.
How the Past Sneaks Into the Present
We all have patterns. Maybe you notice yourself pulling away from people the moment you start to care about them. Or maybe you overwork yourself, hoping someone will notice and say, “I’m proud of you.”
These patterns aren’t random, they grow from “roots” in our story. Roots like rejection, neglect, criticism, or betrayal. Without realizing it, we carry those roots into new seasons of life. They influence what we believe about everything - including love, safety, and worth.
Hebrews 12:15 warns us to “See to it…that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” When we don’t deal with the wounds of the past, those roots keep producing the same fruit over and over again - resentment, fear, and broken relationships.
The Good News: Roots Can Change
God doesn’t just work on the surface of our lives. He goes deep, right to the roots that feed our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. When He touches those roots, healing starts to grow upward into our relationships, our confidence, and our connection with Him.
Healing isn’t about pretending the hurt never happened. It’s about inviting God into the places that shaped us in painful ways and allowing Him to speak a new truth over them.
As Isaiah 61:3 promises, He can “give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
What You Can Do Today
- Pause and notice: Think about one area in your life that keeps repeating - maybe in friendships, dating, family, or work. Ask God, “Where did this start?”
- Bring it into the light: Write it down or share it with a trusted friend or mentor. Secrets grow in the dark, but they lose their power when exposed to truth. “…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16, NIV).
- Invite God into the memory: You don’t need perfect words, just an open heart. Something as simple as, “God, meet me here,” is enough for Him to start working. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
You are not stuck with the patterns you have today. God is an expert at untangling roots, even the ones we’ve forgotten were there. One step at a time, He can rewrite the story your past has been telling.
In our Heart Healing Essentials course, we go deeper into this process of tracing patterns back to their roots and walking with God toward lasting change. If you’re ready to explore that journey, we’d love to walk alongside you.
