What if the behavior we see is not the whole story?

In this final episode of the series, I share an experience with another child whose behavior became destructive toward himself and the environment around him. Through the lens of my Christian faith, I began thinking about the biblical account often described as the “deaf and dumb spirit”—and about the danger of focusing so much on troubling behavior that we stop seeing the child underneath it.

This episode explores spiritual discernment, the authority believers have in Christ, the power of prayer and breath, and the importance of speaking love, life, peace, and soundness of mind over a child rather than continually defining them by their most difficult moments.

I also talk about what it means to respond from love instead of fear: recognizing the child, remaining grounded, using your spiritual authority responsibly, and refusing to let destructive behavior become the child’s identity.

And this is not a message to reject medical, psychological, developmental, or behavioral support. Those forms of care can be important and necessary. My encouragement is simply not to dismiss the spiritual dimension if your faith leads you to consider it. Physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual care do not have to compete with one another.

A child is more than a behavior. A struggle is not an identity. And even in the middle of something frightening or confusing, we can choose to respond with wisdom, prayer, appropriate professional support, and love.

What can Esther and Mordecai teach us about responding when something harmful has already been spoken, established, or set in motion?

In this episode, we go deeper into the story of Haman, Esther, and Mordecai and the power of a new decree. Haman’s original decree could not simply be erased. Instead, Esther and Mordecai were given authority to issue another decree—one that empowered God’s people to stand, respond, and overcome what had already been planned against them.

This became an important picture for me while praying about rejection, childhood wounds, harmful words, and situations we cannot go back and undo. We may not be able to erase every memory or change everything that happened in the past, but we can begin speaking something different now.

What has been spoken in rejection can be answered with love. What has attacked identity can be answered with truth. What brought fear can be answered with peace. And where destructive words have been repeated, we can intentionally begin speaking life.

This episode explores what Esther and Mordecai taught me about prayer, declarations, identity, spiritual authority, and the importance of not allowing an old message to have the final word.

You may not be able to rewrite yesterday—but yesterday does not have to determine what is spoken over tomorrow.

@victorious.rise for encouragement, healing, and inspiration ✨

Resources & Teachings:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://beacons.ai/victorious.rise⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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What do you do when you believe a child is carrying a wound that began long before they were able to understand or choose it?

In this continuation of the previous episode, I return to the story of a child whose behavior suddenly seemed very different from his normal behavior. Rather than labeling or demonizing the child, I share the spiritual strategies I believed God was showing me for responding with prayer, love, protection, and life-giving words.

One of the central lessons came from the story of Esther and Mordecai. Haman’s original decree could not simply be erased, but another decree was issued that gave God’s people the ability to overcome what had already been set in motion. In the same way, I discuss the power of speaking a new message over a child when rejection, hurt, or destructive words may have already affected them.

I talk about speaking life instead of reinforcing negative behavior, praying for the child, calling forth their God-given identity, asking God for healing, and activating the protection and help that I believe He has assigned to them.

The goal is never to make the child feel defective, evil, or responsible for something they did not choose. The goal is restoration—to speak love where rejection was spoken, truth where harmful messages took root, and life where something destructive may have tried to establish itself.

Sometimes we cannot change what happened in the past, but we can choose what we speak, pray, reinforce, and build from this point forward.

@victorious.rise for encouragement, healing, and inspiration ✨

Resources & Teachings:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://beacons.ai/victorious.rise⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support the mission:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/victoriousrise⁠⁠