Excerpted from Inherit Your Freedom by Mike Signorelli

I went from a powerful preacher to an alcoholic on the verge of divorce, and the warfare was not external; it was internal. My thought life had become so corrupted by the lies of the devil that it eventually produced an outcome unrecognizable by my loved ones. I was unwilling or unable to confront hidden things in the recesses of my mind. What should be shocking to you is that I was massively successful within the local church, able to purchase a home, and have a family, all while these insidious mindsets festered under the surface.

I can look back now and see that God didn’t save me from the consequences of the curse because it was bringing me low enough to acknowledge a deep need for the healing that only comes through confrontation. When I got through the initial phases of resentment from my wife leaving and the cloud of despair parted momentarily, I made an appointment to see a Christian counselor. I remember sitting in his office, enraged that I had to “pay a man to help me.” I was suffering from an orphan spirit and deep father wounds. I remember nearly exploding in our first meeting and saying, “My pastor left me, my dad died, and now I have to pay money for another man to care about me!” He didn’t react. Instead, he calmly said, “Michael, if that’s how you feel, then I will meet with you every week for free.” I was dumbfounded. I am eternally indebted to the love and compassion he showed me. The evidence was starting to stack up. God was proving that if you move, He moves.

Weeks turned into months, and I was learning how to systematically identify and melt down mindsets that weren’t in alignment with God’s Word. For the first time, it wasn’t about accomplishing a status. It wasn’t about becoming something. I was learning that I am a human being, not a human doing. I wasn’t a preacher. I wasn’t a pastor. I was learning how to be a son. For the first time in my life, I was working on my mind, not my résumé, not my accolades, and not my achievements.

I went home one day after counseling. I walked through the empty hallways, getting flashbacks of my daughter learning how to walk. I could smell my wife’s perfume as I looked into the empty bathroom, imagining her getting ready. It was then that I fell to my knees and cried out to God. I wanted my family back. I needed to go on a journey to see if it was possible. I needed to show my daughter that even though I failed, I was going to finish strong. I was going to become the “breaker.” Generational curses were going to end with me, and she was going to inherit freedom.

Julie and I started meeting once a week for marriage counseling with an incredible couple. Each week, we would confront more wrong mindsets. Are you beginning to see a pattern? I was working on myself, and then I began working on my marriage. I was putting in a lot of work. When you’re saved, your spirit is regenerated, but we know from Scripture that your mind needs to be renewed. The power of God regenerates your spirit, but the power of discipline renews your mind. I would go into nearly every marriage counseling session thinking I would be vindicated. I waited for the counselors to tell Julie how wrong she was! It didn’t happen that often. Most times, they showed me where I was being unloving, impatient, and harsh. In the years prior, I learned the gifts of the Spirit; now I was learning the fruits of the Spirit. It didn’t happen instantly, but one week at a time, and like a garden, I was cultivating the soil of my soul to produce a rich and profound peace. Those who went before me, my ancestors, were marked by mental illness, suicide, depression, and anxiety. I was on an exodus. I was headed out of slavery.

Mike Signorelli is pastor, author, and ministry leader. Mike has a thriving online teaching ministry with over 5 million views per month across social platforms. He and his wife also regularly host marriage conferences. Mike and his family live in New York City. Learn more at MikeSignorelli.com.