Is Deliverance Freeing?

This weekend I read from Acts 16 and saw a woman released from demonic possession, only to be told almost immediately that her deliverance was not acceptable. Those who used her bondage to gain wealth were now without a money source and decided to throw Paul and Silas in jail for being a part of her deliverance from this bondage. She had been set free to really experience life and was now being told it was not OK, it was not acceptable.

I was met with the same kinds of things when I became a Christian. The night I got saved I was met at home with concerns about maintaining the way we had done church in the past, and respecting the way I was raised, let alone the constant reminders from my dad that I was not measuring up to the standards he expected of me. My freedom was not rejoiced over, but rather I was instantly met with struggles. My new learning was not celebrated, but rather it was squashed with trials and people who had better things to do than to see God's hand in my life.

I think back to the things that have broken the bondage in my life, and how when I hear someone say they feel light-hearted, I know that feeling as something being missing. I don't mean this in the sense that my heart is missing out on what I used to know, but that I understand the truth Jesus spoke of when He said that a house that has been cleaned must be filled, or else that which was once there will come back even stronger than before.

Woe to be this woman who has just been set free and is witnessing those who set her free taken captive and dragged to prison for thier acts. It was not OK to be set free. My heart goes out to those women who, maybe under the tyranny of husbands who are to busy with more important matters, maybe under the tyranny of fathers who abuse them each time they find new freedom and hope for getting away from that abuse in the first place, are so torn apart and don't know that the freedom they have is OK, as a matter of fact, GOOD! God wants you to be set free, and He sent His Son to do just that. Know that no matter what anyone else says, because the Son has set you free, you are truly free, and you don't have to wonder whether that is good or OK. It is!

I am so glad to have had a conversation last night with a brother in Christ and to have the freedom God has recently given me in an area of my life celebrated. He told me it was OK, and said I should continue in it, and I am so glad he was there to participate in God's work in my life. If you read this, and you know who you are, know that I am glad to be free. Thanks.

Today, my challenge to those who read this is to first look inside and see where God has set you free and celebrate it. Know that it is OK, and you are His precious child in whom He delights, and whom He delights to set free and see grow in His freedom. Second, if you know someone who is hurt by their freedom being taken from them, and this could have happened in many ways, minister to them. Spend time praying for them and seeking ways you can encourage them. Remember, they may not believe you at first, as they are probably not used to knowing it's OK to be free and celebrated, much less encouraged about anything at all. Love them with Christ's heart and let them know you are celebrating with them today.