The Word Works

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

My Process…

I don’t always know something is of significance until I do. I live a very experiential prophetic life, if you will. I am not sure this is a term. What I am trying to explain is, I am often the message before I know a message is being formed. As I go through life, God illuminates significant chunks of time or experiences for me. These significant chunks of time or experiences then become my testimonies that I'm led to share with you all. So far, they have all been testimonies of triumph.

The Backstory…

A few weeks ago, I experienced betrayal. I felt very justified and prepared to allow myself to be upset until I wasn't. Unfortunately, as a child of God, I don't have this liberty. As soon as I'm aware that unforgiveness is trying to stake a claim to the Peace of God in my life, I have to engage that battle. When I experience an unpleasant rollercoaster of emotions due to a situation where unforgiveness arises, it also comes with physiological symptoms. I can't sleep, eating becomes joyless, I begin to feel sick. My body is unable to harbor resentment for too long. This is a GOOD thing because these symptoms made me engage this threat to my walk with Jesus. News flash: ever so often, the same people we are called to, will hurt us. Call it an occupational hazard. This genuinely hurts my heart, as I am sure it does yours, but we have an obligation to forgive. Matthew 6:15 reminds us that if we do not forgive others of their sins against us, God is not forgiving us of our sins either. What a dangerous place to willingly be! Needless to say, I don't have a choice but to deal with the negative emotions I'm experiencing. I don't have a choice but to take them to God. Often times, I don't have months to get unforgiveness out of my system. I have days if not about two weeks because I begin to feel sick as I’ve previously mentioned. While I’m sitting in unforgiveness, my body seemingly begins to break down. Sounds horrible and it is. I'm also GRATEFUL for this revelation of how POWERFULLY unforgiveness can affect us. My body handles it like the poison it is—it rejects it.

The Lesson…

Betrayal or when it's perceived as such isn't always easy to get over. Sometimes I have felt justified in remaining angry. But when I chose Jesus, I gave up my right to only see things my way. In this situation, I became aware of God as Father having to be in the middle when His children are arguing and how uncomfortable or even heartbroken He may feel. I didn’t want to do that to my Papa.

To my knowledge, the persons in this situation aren’t living for God. I bring this up as a powerful reminder even to your heart, that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). I don’t know if these people will eventually live for Jesus, but because He died for them, because I know better, I must not deliberately cause anyone to stumble on their journey—even if that walk is crisscrossed at the moment. Christian, you also have this responsibility.

I Chose to Forgive. This is How…

I PRAYED (more so internally) through this time to get through this situation. I didn't want the enemy to catch a word I wasn't supposed to say and use it to hinder my process because honestly, not only was I upset, I was very hurt. The words we speak create, but they also have the power to destroy (Proverbs 18:21). After a massive worship session as I spent a Sunday in my kitchen, Holy Spirit gave me strategy to win this battle. God can meet us anywhere we invite Him to come, even a kitchen.

I was reminded of James 4:7 which says: submit yourself to the Lord, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. I’ve come to realize that when words get in the way, it's okay to write them. I took out my notebook, sat down in a quiet place, and began to write God a letter, a declaration of my promises to Him. I told Him my intentions were to forgive this situation, the people involved, and my own oversights that exacerbated the situation. As I wrote, I was reminded of more verses.

I don’t usually share my prayers this way, but I believe I am supposed to. I will not share names to protect the identity of the persons involved:

My Prayer…

“Father, in the name of Jesus, I come. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight (Psalm 19:14). Please help me to forgive blank’s actions. Thank You for it in advance. I love You.

James 4:7

“Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

“Father, Jesus said if I don’t forgive others’ sins against me, You won’t forgive me (Matthew 6:15). So, Lord, I come to You in Jesus’ name to seek Your grace in this time of my need (Psalm 46:1). You are able and willing, and just concerning all you do (Hebrews 11:6; 1 John 1:19). Only You have the perfect solution here, Lord. Those who the Son sets free, are free indeed (John 8:36). Lord, I’m free in Jesus’ name and by the sacrifice of His Blood. Lord, with this freedom, I choose You. I choose Your ways, Your will. I choose to submit to Your righteousness. Father, I wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against satan and his demons (Ephesians 6:12). Lord, even if he is using blank, as flesh and blood, Father, blank is not my enemy. Please help me to show blank, kindness, mercy, Lord, please help me to love Your creation as You do. Please give me Your eyes and perspective on this situation.

Hebrews 4:16 NLT

“So, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Father, I’ve come in Jesus’ name in my time of trouble so that I may receive Your grace to resist the plan of the enemy to keep me stuck in unforgiveness. I come to You now, boldly because of Jesus’ righteousness. I come, Father because I have made my choice to forgive blank—I’ve decided on forgiveness. Show me mercy, Gracious Lord and may Your light shine on my way forward in this matter and all that may arise (Job 22:28). I repent of unforgiveness, being angry, justifying my right to be right. All the doors that have been opened, all legal right satan might’ve had to torment me, are revoked NOW in Jesus’ name. I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus in Whom I believe (Romans 10:9) has forgiven me of my sins and I’ve been cleansed of all unrighteousness in His name. I receive Your forgiveness, Dear Lord, my Father; I accept it and I’m grateful. Thank You. Amen.”

Friends, store up God’s treasures in your hearts—His Word. As I am pouring my heart out into this post, I realize how many times I referenced Scripture in the prayer I wrote down. I promise you, on a daily basis, I don’t know that I know all of these verses. Wow, Holy Spirit. May wells of His Word also exist in you.

** I was not flipping through the Bible as I had my notepad open pouring out a prayer to my Father. I’ve added where each Scripture from my prayer can be found if you need to find them.

A Battle Won…

The next time I faced these persons, I wasn't pretending to be healed (I'm not great at faking my facial expressions anyways). I was absolutely healed. On my drive home from work the day after this prayer, as I realized those feelings of ill-will were gone, I said: "the Word works." This was both a declaration and a realization that God's Word works. I'm not sure why I was shocked, but I was. Leave it up to God to WOW us when we trust Him.

Final thoughts...

Brother, sister, from my heart to yours, I sincerely hope you allow God to restore you. He's bigger than whatever is threatening to harm you and your salvation.

No challenge for this post, just these reminders:

1.) Unforgiveness is deadly.

2.) The Bible isn't just a bunch of words. God’s Words are truth (John 17:17) and life (Proverbs 4:22; Philippians 2:16) just as It says. They pierce the darkness when it tries to overcome us, they heal, they comfort, they restore.

3.) 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that the written Word is God-breathed and serves these purposes: teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness to equip servants of God for every good work.

4.) Hebrews 4:12 MSG

“God means what He says. What He says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.”

5.) God’s Word Worked.