Fear of Freedom

Our culture has made us afraid of freedom, afraid of deliverance. It’s been turned into a horror movie; a crazy charismatic movement that is only practiced by those who have “gone off the rails” of Christianity. And isn’t that so clever of the enemy because he knows you can’t fight a spiritual battle in the flesh. After all, he is the master deceiver, manipulator, and liar. Nothing we try to do in our own strength, in our own will can ever compare to the freedom that can come when we seek the Lord and ask Him to set us free. So, we keep spinning and spinning in the same circle trying to fight a spiritual battle in our own flesh and we become discouraged when we don’t see any changes.

^{Ephesians 6:12} 
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The enemy is always trying to keep you from knowing the truth.

Over and over again in the bible, we see examples of Jesus setting people free. Miraculous, instant, life-changing freedom. So why are we so afraid of it? Why doesn’t the church talk about this more openly? This is the cornerstone of freedom and yet it is constantly being shoved under the rug, something the church is not always accepting of.

In Matthew 9 (KJ3 translation), we see several accounts of miraculous healings and deliverances. Jesus first sees people bringing a paralytic man to him. “Upon seeing their faith Jesus says to the paralyzed one, Have courage, child Your sins have been remitted” (forgiven). He then he tells him to take up his mat and go home. He heals a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, ostracized from society because of her condition. And what does he say to her? “Take courage, daughter; your faith has cured you”. He is also approached by a man whose daughter had just died and he asks Jesus to come and put His hand on her so she will live. Wow, that is incredible, such faith! So Jesus went to his home, took the hand of his daughter, and she got up.

Later in the chapter, he comes upon two blind men and one that is mute. The two blind men cry out for mercy and He asks them if they believe that He is able to heal them. They respond “Yes, Lord” to which He responds, “According to your faith let it be to you,” and they see. With the story of the mute, it’s interesting that people brought him before the Lord, similar to what we saw with the aforementioned paralytic man. He was not alone, nor did he plead for himself. He came with others. There’s also another spiritual dimension to his story. You will notice that the Lord did not address is muteness directly. He drove out a demon and then the man could speak.

I’m not saying this to scare you or in any way make you think you are demon possessed. I am merely trying to prove to you that deliverance is not some hokey pokey charismatic horror movie. It is real. I am merely trying to encourage you that the spiritual element of your struggle cannot be overlooked if you are to make any progress in your healing and freedom. Make no mistake, abuse opens you up to a spiritual world of torment. Your mind will race, your thoughts will be bombarded with fear, and you will feel like you are going crazy at times. I remember when I first left my husband, my mind would race with fear, it couldn’t be quieted. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to quiet my mind. But I went to church one Sunday and the pastor who had never met me came up to me and immediately began to pray for me against the torment of the enemy on my mind. He had no idea of what I had just gone through, but it didn’t matter because the Lord told him how to pray for me. And immediately, after he prayed for me, my mind calmed down and the tormenting fear subsided. This is how I know this battle is not merely physical, it is spiritual.

My freedom didn’t come from me trying to do things in my own strength, it only came from encounters with the One who can truly heal.

So, what are the lessons that we can gather from the stories in Matthew, what traits or characteristics did they possess surrounding their freedom? Here is what I saw when I read the chapter. I would encourage you to read as well and see what else you can discover. Healing and deliverance came with:

1. Repentance
2. Forgiveness
3. Faith
4. Belief
5. Mercy
6. Other Believers

And as we can see from the paralytic, the daughter, and the mute, sometimes, it doesn’t even need to be OUR faith that brings healing. Deliverance can come from the belief of another just as it did with my Pastor. I was in no position to believe or even to know how to pray for my mind to be quieted, but He knew. He had the faith that was needed to bring me before the throne of grace and usher in my healing. That is why coming together and not being ashamed to share our struggle with someone you can trust is so important. You need other people to come alongside you – to pray with you, believe with you, and help you on your journey. Isolation is what the enemy wants because he knows that there is power in community. I would encourage you to find at least one safe person you can talk to about the truth of what is going on. Begin to pray together, begin to believe together. Find a church that believes in healing and deliverance, ask around and see if there is someone in your community with a prayer ministry. Find others to help be your faith until you have the knowledge and understanding to believe for yourself.

Be honest if your faith is not strong enough on your own. Ask them to help you believe.

Side Note: I chose this photo because it represents an encounter with the Lord that brought healing for me. I was with my mom and dad on the beach and as my mom was praying for me, I had a breakthrough healing. Don’t be afraid to ask others to pray for you. It’s not being weak, it’s being wise.