Are You Stuck in the Past?
This is a word for all of us who have found ourselves stuck in the past, paralyzed by shame, guilt, cycles of self-sabotage, or are even still mourning what was lost. Maybe you've been circling the same mountain in your thoughts, rehearsing what went wrong, wishing you could go back, or punishing yourself for mistakes you can't undo. But hear me, God is speaking today. He doesn't want you chained to yesterday. He wants you free, moving forward, and progressing in every area of your life. What the enemy meant to do by trapping you in regret, God is turning into a testimony of redemption.
A Peaceful Ruler and a Tether
On September 14, 2025, I had a dream. In this dream, I was at the house of a person whose name means "peaceful ruler." I was there to pray for a child who needed deliverance from demons. I prayed once, twice, three times, but nothing happened. Frustrated, I cried out to God, "Lord, why is this child not being delivered?"
The Lord then showed me a vision of a fetus with its umbilical cord still attached but not to a mother. Instead, the other end was connected to a whole network of organs that were pumping blood, feeding this baby.
I asked, "Lord, what is this? What does it mean?"
He answered, "Rosangela, the child represents My children who are stunted in their spiritual walk and in many areas of their lives. The reason they are not being delivered is because they are still tethered to the past.
"The baby is their trauma, their unhealed wounds, and their unforgiveness. It is being kept alive, fed by their thoughts, by their constant rumination and rehearsing of the past. They replay it over and over again. Some even mourn the past like Lot's wife, looking back instead of forward.
"No amount of prayer, deliverance sessions, or fasting can untether them until they make the conscious decision to take those thoughts captive and break the ties. Some have made inner vows: 'I will never forgive them. I will never forget what happened. I will never move on from this loss.' But until they do, they will remain bound.
"They will never progress in finances, ministry, business, relationships, healing, or purpose, because the chains of the past will keep them yoked. They will keep drinking milk and never graduate to steak. They will live in dependency, not on Me but on their emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
"They will keep surviving in a small space when I have prepared abundance for them! But I long to untether them from the pain of the past so I can set them free. For I have come to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners." (Photo via Pexels)
Freedom for the Prisoners!
Isaiah 61 declares this. And Isaiah 58:6 reminds us, "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?" (ESV).
The word "bond" here is the Hebrew word "chartsubbah" (Strong's H2784) and paints the picture of tight cords, shackles, or bands that confine. It's not just about physical chains but spiritual, emotional, and mental captivity. These are the invisible restraints that keep God's people tied down, like a rope around an animal's neck.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, "tether" means "to tie (an animal) with a rope or chain so as to restrict its movement." The root comes from Old Norse word tjóðr. The picture is of something bound, restrained, and unable to move freely.
The Lord says, "My children were not created to be tethered like animals. I sent My Son to break every chain and to set the captives free."
Galatians 5:1 declares, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (ESV).
Psalm 107:10–14 describes this same captivity: "Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons... Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart" (ESV).
Freedom Requires Decision
This is the heart of our God, to burst bonds apart, to cut the tether, and to bring us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But here is the key: freedom requires a decision. Philippians 3:13–14 says, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (ESV). And Jesus Himself said in Luke 9:62, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God" (ESV). (Photo via Flickr)
The past is not meant to feed us. The umbilical cord of trauma, bitterness, and unforgiveness must be cut, because it is supplying life to the wrong thing. If we keep feeding pain, it will keep growing. If we keep nursing bitterness, it will keep maturing. And if we keep looking back, we will never step into the new thing.
Get Rid of the Old and Step Into the New
Isaiah 43:19 says, "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (ESV).
Beloved, there are new steps God is asking us to take in order to make new progress in our lives. But if we refuse to let go of the old, if we cling to unforgiveness or replay the past, we will remain stuck.
God came to give us life, and life abundantly (John 10:10). He calls us to untether ourselves from the past and tether ourselves instead to Christ, the true vine, our source of life and peace. And remember, His peace is not partial but shalom, wholeness in spirit, soul, and body. He is the Peaceful Ruler, and His rule is not bondage but freedom.
So today I ask you, what step can you take to untether from the past and let the new thing in?
The Lord is saying, "I am untethering you from your past so you can step into My promise. I am cutting cords, breaking bonds, loosing yokes. Do not tether yourself again to pain, but tether yourself to Me. For where My Spirit is, there is freedom."
Today, we're breaking free from the loops that hold us captive so we can step boldly into the freedom and future God has for us. He is doing a new thing. Stop looking back and step into the new!
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Rosangela Atte
The Shift Her Coaching
Email: theshifthercoaching@gmail.com
Website:Â www.theshifthercoaching.com
Rosangela Atte is a prophetic voice, Christian life and brain coach, wife, mother of four, and grandmother who carries a deep passion for seeing women set free and walking in their God-given identity. Originally from Italy and now living in Canada, Rosangela knows firsthand what it means to overcome rejection, fatherlessness, low self-worth and fear—and to step into freedom and purpose through the healing power of Jesus Christ. Through her ministry, The Shift Her Coaching, Rosangela empowers women to renew their minds, regulate their nervous systems, and break free from survival mode so they can rise into wholeness, confidence, and spiritual authority. Her prophetic writings and encounters flow from an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit and a desire to see the Bride of Christ prepared, healed, and equipped for this significant hour in history. Her heart beats for transformation—helping women reframe their pain as fuel for purpose, and guiding them into the fullness of life, freedom, and destiny in Christ.
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