Above & Beyond Christian Counseling
Christian Counseling and Deliverance Ministry
Are you in a relationship with someone who causes you to question your sanity?
Does every argument wind up being your fault?
Do you live in denial of the red flags suggesting secrets are being kept from you?
The world calls it Narcissism. A catchy buzzword for a person tormented by demons that are wreaking havoc on relationships to kill, steal, and destroy the fruit of the Holy Spirit. [Read more…]
Anger is like a spider that creeps down your bloodline poisoning each generation. It artfully spins unique cobwebs of rejection to trap its victims.
Rejection is the birthing ground of strongholds. It was introduced in the Garden of Eden when the serpent convinced Eve she was left out of the fullness of God’s knowledge.
Rejection induced the original sin that caused Adam and Eve to hide in fear. They were disconnected from the Glory of God for the first time in their lives, and they felt abandoned.
The events in the Garden of Eden created the template of a stronghold built on rejection:
This stronghold will harden your heart, so anger becomes your bodyguard.
Where do you fall on the anger spectrum?
Bullied children become bullies.
The outward form of anger is easy to identify. Children abused with anger have a boiling point where the roles switch. I often hear clients say, “At thirteen, I decided I was no longer going to be abused by my father’s anger. The first time I yelled back at him, I recognized anger’s power. I embraced anger as a weapon that day, and I became my father.”
Children that cower and stuff their emotions. They say, “I’m not really angry; I am just hurt.”
Hurt is anger that grows in the dark because it lacks boundaries. It simmers until it explodes, making its victim look crazy. These people are marginalized because the root of their anger is hidden.
They view themselves as doormats and become passive/aggressive. They use sarcasm to indirectly get their point across.
This form of anger is linked to the perfection necessary to get parental approval. Clients tell me, “I had to be perfect to get my father’s attention. I can still hear his critical words, only now it’s my voice. I can never live up to my expectations. I feel unworthy and rejected if I am not perfect.”
I call spirits of perfection, legalism, and self-condemnation the unholy 3-ply cord.
Perfection sets the bar, legalism calls you a failure because you didn’t do it right, and self-condemnation follows to punish you. It’s all rooted in rejection that produces self-anger.
Righteous anger is rare.
It occurs when significant injustice exists but is always anger under control and directed at the condition and not at a person. Righteous anger is wrapped in love, never threatens or uses revenge. Anger is a warning sign that a boundary was crossed. Allowing broken boundaries breeds resentment that leads to bitterness.
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give [a]place to the devil. (Eph. 4:26-27 NKJV)
Don’t let generational rejection leave you trapped with anger. It’s time to see where you fall on this anger spectrum and get help. Deliverance is a critical element God gave us for freedom. Use the key to unlock it!
“I am sick, and I will never get better. My life has no hope.”
“What if I die young and never get to see my children grow up?”
“I made a mistake, so now I am condemned to the consequences.”
The lie at the root of your fear is now an idol driving obsessive/compulsive thinking.
There is a lot to that statement, so let’s break it down.
At the root of obsessive/compulsive thinking is a lie. Something you have agreed to that does not line up with the truth of God’s word. The facts of your current circumstance are not the defining truth for your future. Demons use facts to magnify an anthill until it looks like a mountain. It is the nature of these devils to lie. Anything you let consume your thoughts obsessively is an idol keeping you from God. Let me give you an example
A client told me she had to go back to the doctor due to something seen on her mammogram. Her mother died of breast cancer. That reality was all the enemy needed to convince her she was under a generational curse, and she was dying. Thoughts of death swirled in her head daily until she came to my office saying, “It’s time for me to die. My life is over.”
That may seem like an extreme conclusion, but the “what if” worrier runs way ahead of God. Worry takes you out from your umbrella of grace given for today. Instead, it clobbers you with scary scenarios of your future. Grace is like manna; you only get enough for today.
Let’s go back to my original statement: the lie at the root of your fear is now an idol driving obsessive/compulsive thinking. People don’t think of infirmity as an idol, but it has a loud voice. Pain screams over the truth of your healing. Dread that accompanies sickness brings hopelessness and wants you to fall into apathy, so you give up like my client. Demons network to kill, steal and destroy.
A spirit of legalism is the golden child demons use to bring in self condemnation. They remind you this problem began with a mistake you made. They convince you it’s all your fault, and now you are condemned with no way out, but God is a deliverer. He never abandons his children. He knows the plans he has for you, and there is hope for your future. (Jer. 29:11)
Idols cause you to rehearse the lies until they become your truth. It is a process of deception that demons employ to get you to disagree with God’s word.
You can’t drink from the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t feast at the table of the Lord and feast at the table of demons. (1 Cor. 10:21 TPT)
The word “feast” in this passage also means to participate, which is the Greek word metaecho, or to “echo with.” In other words, you can’t feast at the table of the Lord in Psalm 23 with your head anointed with oil and your cup of joy running over if you repeat the lies of the enemy.
That kind of repetition makes you the feast of demons who use sharp steak knives of anxiety, dread, and self-condemnation to chew on you.
“What if our economy crashes?
“What if I lose my job?”
“What if we lose our freedom?”
Welcome to fear of the future that creeps in with the dreadful words “What if?”.
“What if’s” are meant to take you out of God’s timing. They run you out from under his umbrella of grace with foreboding spirits of dread. They cause you to fear tomorrow, next week, or years from now.
Grace, like Manna, was only given for a day. When you run ahead with spirits of fear, you come out from under God’s protective grace, and your manna supply rots.
It is time to stop! Turn off the sound of conflict and focus on the word of God.
God is still in control, the ruling spirit is still the Holy Spirit, and God’s promises are for today! Focus your attention on the truth of God and not the lies of the enemy.
We struggle with disappointment because we lean on our own understanding. Do you remember the two believers traveling on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13? They were heading away from Jerusalem while consumed by the disappointment of Jesus’ death. They failed to realize Jesus was walking right beside them with the roadmap. As believers, we walk from a place of victory at the cross to success in our future. Don’t let the “what if’s” steal your peace.
The word Shalom means the absence of chaos. You may find yourself in a hurricane of thoughts and emotions, but it is time to center yourself in the eye of the storm and rest in the Shalom presence of God.
I love how The Passion Translation paints the picture of Abrahams faith in God’s promises:
Against all odds, when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it. Romans 4:18
Abraham believed because he did not rely on the facts.
In spite of being nearly one hundred years old when the promise of having a son was made, his faith was so strong that it could not be undermined by the fact that he and Sarah were incapable of conceiving a child. Romans 4:19
Some battles require pastoral counseling assistance. If you can’t do it alone, get help to win the battle!
Some clients come in who are mad at God. They’ve received prophetic words, or assurances in their spirit, about what God was going to do, and they’ve not been fulfilled. They’ve believed teachings that tell them God’s plan will always be accomplished, and their faith takes a beating as life events unfold in a different direction.
Is that you? [Read more…]