“Pull Up the Tent Pegs! How to Cut Soul Ties from Past Seasons”
Helen Calder, Melbourne, Australia
20th June 2021
Have you found it difficult to move on from a past season? Or do you, perhaps, feel as though there is some unfinished business?
If this sounds familiar, hear God say, “I am making room for you! I have freedom and favor for you, now and in the future! This is your time to flourish and be fruitful.”
The “Soul Tie” I Was Unaware Of
“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away…the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.” (Song of Solomon 2:10-11, NKJV)
In my post, “The Holy Spirit is Coming to Your Room,” I tell the story of how the Spirit’s power flowed into our living room in 2018. At the time, I was watching a live stream of our church service. I was unaware that deep in my heart, I was still bound to a past season—until God suddenly revealed it and set me free.
Just a few weeks earlier, my husband Malcolm had received prayer to break off a soul tie regarding a past prophetic vision, but I never imagined it applied to me!
Pull Up All of the Tent Pegs
A season is like the chapter of a book—it has a beginning, a middle, and an end! Then eventually, a new chapter opens. This is where we can learn from the tent-dwellers of the Bible, and tents today.
A tent is secured when we connect it to the ground with cords. These are held in place with tent pegs (or stakes). Then, when we move on, it is time to pull ALL of the tent pegs out of the ground! Of course, ties and tent pegs of the heart can be healthy, necessary, and powerful. For example: loyalty, love, and service are qualities that create a deep connection. Relationships form bonds and are a crucial part of our lives; then there is commitment and responsibility. In addition to this, those of us who are intercessors labor in prayer; we may travail to bring God’s purposes to birth.
If you are a prayer warrior, you will know that your ministry creates close, heartfelt bonds; but when God calls us to move on, it is time to pull up the tent pegs of the past and let those cords go, for new things are up ahead—our Father has more for us!
A Spiritual “Umbilical Cord”
Soul ties, like tent cords and pegs, can run deep.
On that day when the power of God came upon me, I felt that He severed a hidden “umbilical cord.” This was from the 16 years that my husband and I served a mission organization. We believed it was a life’s calling, but instead it was a chapter that suddenly closed in 2004.
I mention this, because it may be helpful for someone. God often uses ministries, leaders, and ministry relationships to birth and grow new things in our lives. And just as an umbilical cord connects an unborn baby to its life support system, we may be nurtured and fed spiritually through a ministry, or mentors for a period. This can also apply to work and places we have lived, where our identity was nourished and affirmed.
If you relate to being in a new season, hear the Lord say, “I have a new source of supply for you! I have an abundance for you!”
5 Keys to Cutting a Soul Tie from a Past Season
1. Recognize It Is Operating in the Background
When a “soul-tie” from a past season is operating, it can work as an underlying code. It’s like inner programming! That code may be operating in the background. Perhaps it is pulling us off track or stalling us, and as a result, we are unable to fully move with the fresh thing God is doing. This is because deep within, we are still tracking with the old!
How? We have a tent peg located in the past.
It may have been right and good once, but now, it is time to release it! And when the Holy Spirit reveals this to us, it’s not bad news—it is good news! It has come to the surface to be removed. Be assured that what God is revealing, He is healing.
2. Turn Your Heart’s Desire Toward Jesus!
One of the great commands in Scripture is this: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5 NKJV).
Think about what “all our soul” means! When we love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength, other loves are second to Him. And the One who is with us means more to us than the past that is behind us.
In Song of Songs 3:2, the Shulamite maiden declares, “…I will seek him whom my soul loveth…” This is where your healing journey starts—in your relationship with Jesus. You realize He is wonderful, He is delightful, and He is glorious.
Hear God say, “Come, be with Me. Let My love and power dissolve every tie to a past season.”
I believe there is such a power of the Spirit at this time—even at this moment—that bands are simply dissolving.
3. See the Cords of the Lord Drawing You
Think about these beautiful words, and hear God speak them over you: “I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them” (Hosea 11:4, NKJV).
You see, instead of cords holding you back, the powerful bands of God’s love and kindness are drawing you! He is setting you free. He is healing you so that you no longer see through a lens of loss. You are looking, instead, through the lens of His love.
4. Receive Freedom from Fear
I believe there are some reading this who have been hesitant to make new connections. Due to past experiences, you have been fearful to put down tent pegs in your new situation. Hear your Father say, “You are safe with Me! Receive the courage to start over in the place I have appointed you.”
He is the God of new beginnings and He has a fresh assignment for you.
5. Prayer
Sometimes, we can benefit from some transactional prayer. So, if there has been a mental or spiritual battle, take extra time to pray—you may benefit from having someone pray with you.
Right now, God’s grace is here to help you pull up tent pegs of regret, envy, and disappointment. You can be free from the negative effects of past relationships.
“Cutting off” refers to a specific transaction with the Lord, which is stronger than simply loosening. Here are some tips for praying over a soul tie—ask the Holy Spirit to highlight which ones relate to your situation:
• Set aside time to pray.
• Forgive anyone who has hurt or let you down (including yourself).
• Repent of and/or renounce any negative responses God is bringing to mind.
• Pray and break off past expectations (of yourself and others).
• Verbally release any personal responsibility you bore (including towards the fulfillment of a prophetic word). By faith, hand the outcomes over to God.
• Release burdens of prayer from your past era.
• By faith, apply the work of the Cross; see and declare, “It finished!”
• Receive a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit.
• Take regular time to encounter God in a way that is meaningful to you.
• Journey forward with a leader or mentor who can speak into your life.
Helen Calder
Enliven Ministries
Email: helen@enlivenpublishing.com
Website: www.enlivenpublishing.com
Helen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries, in the David McCracken Ministries family. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in the areas of prophetic ministry, discernment and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog, an online prophetic training and mentoring resource that reaches thousands of people globally. Helen and Malcolm have been married for 37 years and are at home in Planetshakers Church, Melbourne, Australia.