BURN IT UP!

"Burn your journals."

**inserts every type of "shock" emojis*

Early one cold afternoon in January 2016, I heard those words in my spirit. I don't remember the exact day, but I do remember the month and year. Not only was it cold, but it was windy this particular afternoon. 

Burn them? How? We have no fireplace, no fire pit. "Maybe I'll shred them," I reasoned.  
Surely, God will understand...right?

Burn them.

First of all: I love journaling.  I used to refer to journals as "diaries" when I was a child. Sadly, I developed an unhealthy way of journaling over time.  Unknowingly, I etched disparaging words about myself, words birthed out of a swirling acid-filled pit of despair, unstable emotions, indecisiveness, low self-esteem and worthlessness ("feeling sorry for myself"). Simply put, it was damning. A simple shredding of the papers littered with such words was merely not enough.  It had to be destroyed by fire. 

I called a dear sister in Christ and shared what I heard in my spirit. I needed guidance! I was in a pickle: no fire pit or access to one; no fireplace. What to do? At the time, I was single and living at home with my mother.  So quite naturally, I had to share with her what Holy Spirit instructed me to do.  After looking at me like "Huh? What you say?", she told me to use the galvanized steel tub in the basement. I placed the tub in the sectional tub so I could be in close proximity to water. I gathered my journals (yes, I had a few to burn), started ripping the pages out of them. Mind you, some of these journals had really pretty covers; nevertheless, they all had to go--even the blank pages! I struck a match and lit the papers. Page by page, I ripped each one and added them to the fire. The basement got smoky, of course. So, after I added the last pages and covers and made sure they were all burned, I ran water over the fire and took it outside.  I poured it out; it was just black sooty water.  No remnant left behind.  Something lifted off me as I watched that soot-filled water run down the cement in our backyard.  I felt relief and liberation.  

Picture of my journal pages burning
in a galvanized tub, January 2016


Words, whether written, spoken out loud or carried in thoughts, all hold some level of life-giving power. They are seeds planted in your mind, cells, nervous system.  Ruminating thoughts of such negative words can set off spurts of cortisol, negatively impacting your bodily systems and organs.   

Oftentimes, removing items by disposal isn't enough. Keep in mind that some people often go scavenging through trash, looking for "treasure." This is all the more reason to utterly destroy these items by fire. This action of cleansing and purging is backed up throughout Scripture, where idols were taken down, removed and destroyed by fire (Exodus 32:20, Deuteronomy 12:3, 2 Samuel 5:21, 1 Chronicles 14:12, etc.). Although I did not idolize my journals, it was something I poured myself into and it harbored resonant, insidious, resentful words. 2016 was such a beautiful year of rebirth, rejuvenation, and blessing for me; I couldn't carry those journals into my next level. They had to be released and consumed by fire.  I truly believe that if I disobeyed God concerning the command to burn the journals, I would have held up the blessings God showered upon me that year. And it was plenty. 

Maybe you don't have journals filled with disgusting words; but are you holding on to something that God told you to let go, or better yet, get rid of it by disposal or burning?  Are you holding on to pictures, clothing, trinkets or gifts that have an ungodly history or attachment? Maybe God delivered you from a demonic soul tie and you're holding on to gifts they gave you. If so, please seek God about those things. Don't allow your affinity for tangible items (and their history) to cause you to miss your blessing. Let it/them go...

I pray that you were inspired and blessed,

Shairon 

Scripture references: Deuteronomy 6:5, 1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Kings 15:13

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