Disclaimer: The content of this post may not reflect the current theological views of the author.
It’s happened to everyone. Whether you will admit it or not, we’ve come into situations that have caused us to be hurt. However, sometimes we have been hurt to the point in which our offense stays in our hearts, even when we have no control over the situation. At times we have fallen into sin, and we have not let go of the sin so that we can be free. We must let it all go. Even though this sounds simple, it is not very easy, and it is impossible if our reliance is not on God. To simplify the goal of this blog post, we need to let go of our sin and offense to the Lord and put upon ourselves the yoke of Jesus, which isn’t even burdensome.
Recently, I went to a camp called Morning Star, and the theme was change. One of the key points of change was to give your burden to God. Holding onto offenses and sins will prohibit you from fulfilling the call that God has on your life. On Tuesday night of the camp, I watched as many of the young men gave their lives to Christ and gave Him what they could not handle – hate, abuse, abandonment, and other experiences that no child should ever have to experience. While this happened, God healed relationships between fathers and sons and between brothers. That night, the Spirit of the Lord moved giving freedom from hurt for all of those who asked for it.
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17
What caused this release from hurt and sin? How did this occur? There certainly weren’t any magic formulas involved. No one could have experienced such powerful breakthroughs on his own accord. Therefore, we are doomed to spiritual imprisonment until we die. Right? God forbid that such an occurrence should happen! As I all ready explained, several people at Morning Star including myself experienced spiritual deliverance when they cast their cares upon Him. So, this is my message to you if you are experiencing spiritual imprisonment, “Don’t let the devil ever tell you that you are worthless and will never amount to anything. You are a wonderful creation of God, and if you rely on the Lord, He will deliver you from all your strongholds.” Since the Lord wants you to be free, here are some steps to gain separation and departure from your bondage.
First, if you have not given your life to the Lord, you need to do so. You cannot receive deliverance from any spiritual bonds on your life unless Jesus is the Lord of your life. Since the Holy Spirit empowers you to follow the Word of God to live a pure and holy life, your soul will be stuck to your evil lusts until you accept the salvation and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before I got saved, I beat on my siblings, but after accepting Christ, my life drastically changed, and I stopped abusing them. Since then, I have continued to improve, but God is still working in other areas of my life. Once you accept Christ, if you start reading the Word and praying and doing your part in staying true to God’s grace, God will give you the strength to break free from your sin. If you have not accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, confess that you are a sinner and ask for forgiveness. Afterwards, speak out and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, and you will be saved. If you just prayed that to the Lord, welcome to the body of Christ!!! Now it is time for you to live your life set apart from the world!
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10
Secondly, if you just gave your life to the Lord or have all ready become a Christian, you need to confess to the Lord your struggle and ask the Lord for help. How can you fight an enemy you won’t even acknowledge? If you were walking down the street, and a sketchy person came up to you to kill you; could you fight back without acknowledging that he existed? No, of course not! If you acted with such behavior, you would be dead shortly after being smitten by him. Similarly, if you don’t confess that you have such bondage on your life, the stronghold will consume you until you are spiritually dead. Therefore, run to God, confess your sin including the holding onto your strongholds, and ask God for help to deal with the situation, but you are not done yet.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. I Peter 5:6-7
Next, after you have admitted your sin, you need to give your bondage to the Lord. As the I Peter 5:6-7 explained, you must cast everything about which you care onto Him. As you do this, lift your hands and declare to the Lord that you don’t want the burden anymore and ask Him to take away your stronghold. If you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to pray in tongues and let the Holy Spirit be made manifest in you. As the Holy Spirit prays through you, you will be praying in your heavenly language that is for the edification of yourself and that the devil cannot understand. As you give your burden to Christ, feel the freedom of God come upon you. Feel what it is like with the yoke of Christ! As I let go of my hurt, I felt the assurance as I prayed with faith that the broken relationships in my life will be healed and become stronger than ever before. I don’t need to worry; God is in control.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
Congratulations! You have now let go of your heavy burdens and put on the yoke of Christ! Now you need to walk in deliverance. Don’t let the devil spit lies into your ears. You have been delivered from your sin, and the devil will tempt you to fall back into it. However, if you say, “No,” to the devil’s promptings to indulge in the flesh, the Bible says that he will flee. So, this I say to you, live a life from sin by relying on God’s sufficient grace. Even if you do fall back into sin, remember that God is merciful and will forgive you and take your burden from you again if you have a truly penitent heart. Remember that “earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal” (“Come Ye Disconsolate” by Thomas Moore).
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:6-7
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. II Corinthians 12:9
You have been delivered from your sin, and you now have what it takes to live free from it. While this is true, life will not be easy for you. Simply put, life will be peaceful inside your soul, but life will get harder because you are now a target for the devil. However, since you are a child of God, you can rely on the grace of God to cope with every trial and struggle that the devil throws at you. When the devil hurls reminders of what you just let go, rebuke the devil and the thought to pick up the burden again in the name and authority of Jesus Christ our Lord. In addition to this, constantly be praying and know that every hardship you face is for your good to shape you into who the Lord called you to be.
And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:28-29
Throughout this blog post, I have explained how to gain deliverance from the evil that will bind and corrupt your soul. You must rely on God by putting on His yoke. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). After giving your corruption to the Lord, you must trust in God’s grace to live holy. Even when you do sin, you can give it back to God with a repentant heart so that you can continue to live for the Lord. Since you have been given deliverance, life will continue to increase in difficulty, but everything will be for your good. Never give up, and never lose sight of God has specially planned for you.
Have a great week!
PARA LA GLORIA DEL SEÑOR,
Jeremiah Yonemura
