Deliverance

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5.1 ESV

We are called to be free: If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8.36). To be free, however, we need to be freed i.e. we need to be delivered. Delivered from the soul bonds that imprison us in our egos and in our flesh, delivered from the dominion of the prince of this world, and—ultimately—delivered from the power of death: He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1.13).

Deliverance is a process. A process in which we must be heavily invested, if it is to succeed. Although Christ and the salvific power of His Cross works in us—It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2.13)—He also wants us to work with Him: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3.6). Furthermore, we are to work out our own salvation: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2.2).

Opportunities for Deliverance

Our lives in Christ are full of spiritual scenarios that can act as containers for the life-changing moments of transformation in which the Lord Jesus Christ delivers us from something by which we are bound and to which we would, were it not for Him, be enslaved for the rest of our lives.

Our work is to learn how to make use of them. Once we do, everything in our life will change. What follows are some of the opportunities that we can use to seek the Lord in prayer and ask for deliverance from different bondages and forms of inner imprisonment, so that the groaning of our souls can find resolution and the pain in our hearts can be healed.

• Fasts

• Feasts

• Pilgrimages

• Sabbaticals

• Guided retreats

• Self-organized retreats (either away or at home)

• A weekly day/ morning, afternoon or evening/ set period of time that is dedicated to God

• Saturday night (vigil) and Sunday morning (liturgy)

• Moments of encounter with holy people

Hindrances to Deliverance

Here are two hindrances (of which there are many more) to our entrance into these processes of deep inner exposure, cleansing, healing and rehabilitation:

• The mind

Our intellects need to be crucified. It is only when the sword of God’s word starts to penetrate the density of our fleshly minds that we will be able to see change in our inner lives. The more that we open ourselves up to the possibility of changing our mindset—which in literal terms means acknowledging that the way that we think is wrong and changing it as a result of this renewed understanding—the more quickly we will transform:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12.2).

One of our main problems is that we worship our minds. The idol of the intellect is one of the hardest idols to pin down because it knows how to cover its tracks. If we are serious about getting free from the bondage of the flesh, however, we need to watch our thoughts and take note of our patterns of thinking, open ourselves up to criticism (by whoever—the person doesn’t need to be a spiritual elder) and measure our beliefs and convictions against God’s revelation of Himself through the Scriptures.

• Pride

It is impossible to be delivered without humbling oneself before God. Christ is the Great and Only Savior and the eternal salvation that He offers us is a gift: By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2.8—9).

The working out of salvation, however, is, as noted, a dynamic interaction between the Lord Christ and the human being that is willing to be helped by Him. The more arrogant that we are, the more likely it is that Christ will flee from our presence so as to find other friends—friends who are open, willing, and ready—with whom He can work.

Christ gives abundantly and His humility, compassion and mercy are beyond understanding and measure. This does not mean, however, that He has no boundaries: merciful and easygoing are not the same thing. If it is gold that we seek, then the furnace of humiliation is the route that we must take to get to our goal: Gold is tested by fire, and human character is tested in the furnace of humiliation (Sirach 2.5 GNT).

Ways To Maintain Our Deliverance

Christ is the One who delivers us. He is the Redeemer, who came into the world to rescue us from the sin in which we are imprisoned, so as to free us from its eternal consequences and reconcile us with the Father from who we are, otherwise, separated. Nevertheless, we have to learn how to keep our deliverance.

• Cleansing with the Blood

Through the blood that Christ shed for us on the Cross, we have been saved. As the verse in Colossians tells us, we are redeemed through His blood (Colossians 1.13). As well as receiving the Blood of Christ through Communion, we can also repeat the scriptural verses that detail the work of Christ’s blood and proclaim it over the areas within us that have been/ are being redeemed by Christ.

Verse: Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1.5b).

• Immersing in the word of God

The word of God is alive and has the power to expose our inner depths and bring whatever is sick and in need of attention within us to the light of Christ: The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4.12). We need to learn to constantly dip our souls in the river of God’s word, so that we are continually being washed by the regenerating stream of life that flows through it.

Verse: Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart (Jeremiah 5.16a).

• Walking in the Spirit

As noted, Christ graciously delivers us from the hidden networks of sin that exist within each of us and that, in many cases, operate undetected for years, decades and—even—whole lifetimes.

It is our responsibility, however, to protect the work that He has done/ that He is doing within us, by avoiding the emotionally chaotic and verbally undisciplined ways of the world and to, instead, walk in meekness, self-denial and peace: No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier (2 Timothy 2.4).

The more that we grow in our ability to do this, the more that Christ will see that we are spiritually maturing and the more confidence that He will then have to entrust us with greater and greater spiritual responsibilities, opportunities and privileges, as a result.

Verse: Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5.16).

Amen +

Author of You Are Mine and Apocalypse, Sister Anastasia writes on the role of the ancient, ascetic Church in a rapidly changing, modern world.

Photo by Ivan Jevtic on Unsplash