Let The Healing Begin

We not only struggle against the evil and darkness of the world but also against things in our lives and pasts that hold us back from righteousness, such as trauma, depression, emotional wounds, bad relationships, and the consequences of our actions. If we don’t seek freedom from these things, we will be in bondage to them, held back from the glory within our grasp and kept from truly connecting to our Father in heaven. Of course, we know that evil spiritual powers are working against God’s people and their mission to carry the Gospel to the world, helping to lay the foundations for the coming eternal Kingdom (Eph. 6:12). Still, we cannot ignore the responsibility we each have for dealing with the effects of these issues in our own lives and helping others find that deliverance too.

Satan is the one who guides and rules the pestilent world around us (Matthew 4:8-9, John 14:30, 1 John 5:19), but it is not enough to accept this passively. It is imperative that we actively shape our lives to the pattern demonstrated by Yeshua Messiah, that we live for God and our neighbors entirely, giving everything of ourselves to radiate the light and love of God into the darkness. Satan, however, will try to prevent this. Still, having no way to physically fight against something that exists only in the spiritual realm, we must address the manifestations of the enemy’s work instead: the sin, uncleanness, and iniquity in our lives. For meaningful work to be done in our strive for righteousness, we have to ask our Father to show us the roots of our sins and problems, why we do them, and what struggles, character flaws, addictions, or trauma from our past keep bringing them up in our lives.

Quite often, the words and actions of others are used against us by the enemy, sometimes to the extent of causing deep wounds, pain, and depression, traumas that will linger in our lives and cause us to stumble off God’s path repeatedly. How many times have you been told that you’re not clever enough, not attractive enough, not wealthy enough, or not spiritual enough? How often have those things caused you to make the wrong choice, leading to sin or other problems? This is one of the reasons that having that godly love for our neighbors is so important because while the enemy seeks to knock people down, we must strive to work against evil and destructive plans to help build them up instead. Only when feeling supported and strengthened can someone start moving forward, away from the pain and into the healing process that will bring them closer to El Shaddai. To be this for others, however, we must have that strength and work with God to resolve our issues and sins, seeking healing and restoration for the wounds of the past.

Healing begins with repentance. In Hebrew, to repent is ‘teshuva,’ which also means to turn. To heal, we must turn away from sin and back to God, and only when we are facing the right direction can we start moving forward, but we must take care not to look back. Looking back and remaining focused on the things that caused problems in our lives not only keeps them there but keeps us from going the right way. To deal with the temptation to keep looking back, work must be done to remove those things in our lives that have their root in the sin and trauma of our past. Consider also that the enemy’s main character trait is lying. Often, these things from our history will be presented to us in a distorted or exaggerated picture to create doubt in God’s trustworthiness and ability to deal with these issues. This focuses on the problems rather than the pathway to dealing with them. It is like the enemy’s ‘strong man’ that keeps us locked to our past and holds us back, and there are several ways that the ‘strong man’ can keep its footing in our lives: generational sin, personal sin, and trauma. So how do we deal with this ‘strong man? In Mark 3:27, Yeshua says, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.” We must bind this ‘strong man,’ render its strength useless. By working on removing those things from our past, we are taking away the things that can be used against us and giving ourselves more reason to look ahead, with no desire to turn back.

Dealing with generational sin is about coping with the effects that the sins of our parents, forefathers, and ancestors created that perpetuate from generation to generation (Numbers 14:18). Although the sin itself is ascribed to the one who committed it (Ezekiel 18:19-20), the consequences of that sin can still have a lasting impact on descendants and atonement must be made to prevent further generational harm. Our personal sin and iniquity alienate us from God because He cannot dwell where there is impurity, so we must actively deal with our sin, confessing, repenting, and making atonement, looking to Messiah and what He did for us to restore our relationship with God and allow Him to dwell within us (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 8:7, James 5:16). On the other hand, our traumas are often caused by the harm done to us by others and the profound pain that comes from it. Still, if we place our faith and trust in God, He will heal and restore what damage or loss we suffered (Psalm 91:4-6, Proverbs 1:33, Joel 2:25). We must allow God to drive us and not our pain or fear.

Though no longer accepting the enemy’s lies and instead seeking the truth of every matter from God, there will be not only a correct perspective (to be able to address the correct problem with the correct solution) but also the power of the Spirit of God to guide and support in the healing. Instead of agreeing with how the enemy sees you, reaffirm how Yeshua sees you, the actual value that has been put on your life by your Creator (Psalm 139:13-16, Matthew 6:25-34, John 3:16, etc.). By accepting the redemption of Yeshua’s sacrifice and taking the decision to follow the righteous ways of God, we know that we have been pulled out of the darkness and into the light, but this is not the end of the work we need to do to ensure that we are living in a manner that pleases our Father and also encourages others to do so.

We may have been saved, but we must also be healed. We need to find deliverance from our past traumas, sins, and bad decisions’ lingering consequences. We must seek freedom from the things that keep us in bondage to remove the enemy’s ammunition against us and knock down the barriers that prevent us from the righteousness we are striving for as children of God. The enemy may tell you there is no hope and no reason to strive for justice, but Yeshua’s sacrifice, God’s faithfulness, and the promise of eternal life in the perfect Kingdom prove otherwise.

Shalom,

Jim Staley