Anyone who has ever had a friend, been in love, closely followed a mentor or frankly was just born into this life has had pain. It's not hard to get hurt. All you have to do is care. Anyone or anything in this life into which you invest any part of yourself is going to eventually, at some point, hurt you. No matter how hard they try not to or how well we insulate ourselves against the impending hurt, it is inevitable, unavoidable, some might even call it a part of destiny.....
Oxford defines it this way:
pain
/pān/
noun
1.physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury:"she's in great pain"synonyms:suffering, agony, torture, torment, discomfort, ...
2.careful effort; great care or trouble:"she took pains to see that everyone ate well"synonyms:care, effort, bother, trouble
Most people, as they grow, do pretty well with minor physical aches and such. We take an aspirin or some other over the counter medication. It takes a little while, but it does eventually help reduce our discomfort and probably reduces the swelling too. The problem usually lies with the pain we can't identify. It's the pain seeded deep inside of us, which may cause some sort of physical symptoms but for most seems to result in feelings of despair, emptiness, loss and/or despair. But, that's just the beginning, because you see, it is a gateway into other parts of our body and mind. We have an enemy who fully recognizes we are a broken people. He knows it, because He is responsible. Since the dawn of humanity from Adam and Eve we have had one fatal flaw.... rebellion. We like to do things our own way. We like to leave our mark. We like to have a good name. We would all like to do something wonderful. In and of themselves these are not bad qualities, right? Of course not! They make humanity it's very best. It draws us into a place of generosity, kindness and love. They drive us to do something for our communities. They compel us to leave this earth a little better for our having been here than if we'd never existed. It is this drive to make something good from the evil and hatred we see all around us that makes us all tear up to movies like Ol' Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Saving Private Ryan, and It's a Wonderful Life.
SOME QUESTIONS ARE: If these things are inherently NOT bad, then why do they contribute to our being hurt so often? Why do they cut us so deeply? Why does it last so long?
ULTIMATELY - HOW DO WE HEAL AND CHANGE THIS FOR THE FUTURE?
I am going to present a theory here (below) which has gotten me some flack over the years. But I don't care, because it has given me strength to walk through some very dark places. I'll start with this. I struggled with battling a depressive darkness inside of me as a teenager. That was about 30 years ago now. It started after I'd received my call to ministry and after I'd spent months pouring over the Word. I'd already preached from the pulpit a number of times, I was a leader in our youth group at the request of the Senior Pastor and I had gone door to door witnessing to all of the people in a 20 square block radius of our church every Sunday and Wednesday for a few years. I should have felt on top of the world,and even though I was mostly full of joy, there were times when a darkness came up from inside of me which made it hard to even drag myself out of bed. This darkness wasn't some hidden sin, though it made temptation all the more difficult. It wasn't some hidden family secret which was more than I could bear to keep inside. It wasn't a result of poor upbringing. As a matter of fact, in many if not most ways, I could not have dreamed of a better home-life or childhood. But a good upbringing did not make me immune to a deep seeded pain of isolation and rejection. I suffered the usual amounts of torment for my faith, so don't get me wrong I by no means had a Mary Poppins Christianity. I struggled for my faith and had to face people who constantly threatened to gang up on me and "beat me up" because they said that since I stopped hanging around with them (after I committed to my faith) I must think I was too good or them. The opposite was actually true. In some ways I needed to stop hanging around them because I was too weak to fight the temptations every young man goes through and being with them made me feel too weak to resist. Not because of them, but because of me. So I isolated myself. But, I no longer believe this was the correct way to handle it, I instead have found ways to empower people to resist and actually grow in an environment of temptation and hardship. There are still times, however, when it is best to walk away from unhealthy friendships.
We often look at God through religiously shaded glasses. Whatever our religious upbringing was, or that which we have taken on, regardless the source, is how we perceive God. He is so much greater than our filters though. His love is so grand; so broad reaching; so purifying; so enriching; so delivering; so all encompassing.....I could literally go on for days and never cover everything His love can cover and melt away from the darkness we each encounter to our own varying degrees.
My theory (from above) is coming soon to a paragraph near you :-)
Hang with me for a short foundation though, OK?
I believe a platitude I once heard gives us a clue to dealing with all of this, and it points to scripture in ways we overlook. "Pain is not weakness being made apparent. Pain is a sign of being strong too long". In Matthew 11:28 Yeshua said: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (KJV) In Matthew 19:4 we find Him saying: Suffer (permit) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. (KJV) parenthetical insert mine. In Matthew 18:3 He says: Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (KJV). Lastly for now: in the pattern after which He instructed the disciples to pray when they asked Him to teach them He said "Your Kingdom Come" (paraphrased from Matthew 6:10a KJV). Now let's piece this together and see if this puzzle of scriptures begins to reveal a picture. We all have pain in this life, that much we established in the first paragraph. We all have some measure of independence too. We also all have aspirations of doing something great. let's lay it out below:
Situation Biblical Solution
Hardship - Struggle - Pain Come to me (Yeshua/Jesus)
Too Much Independence – Possibly Rebellion Be like little children – Trust Him
What does it mean to come to Kingdom Living (the Kingdom means
Him like Little Children Heaven's Agenda on Earth)
How to Live by Heaven's Agenda Speak His Will into Your life using the
Keys to the Kingdom (below)
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Use the Keys to the Kingdom Done on Earth as it is in Heaven appropriately
So, we have to give up some independence to see His Kingdom's agenda enacted in our lives. Children can and are sometimes rebellious, but they also know when they need help. Because until they learn something, they know nothing!! So when we have insurmountable issues inside of ourselves, why do you suppose we think we can handle it? Why do we suffer immeasurable amounts of pain and inner darkness when He is waiting like a loving parent to help? Maybe because we never had loving parents, so we don't recognize that in Him. Maybe because of our religiously shaded glasses which gave us an incorrect image of God. Maybe because we want to do something wonderful in the world and figure He is too busy to help. Maybe because we just don't realize He is not only willing but he is WAITING for us to learn to enact His Kingdom's principles, precepts and governing processes into this life! Honestly, there are millions of possibilities, but just one answer to them all - and it's been in our hands all along.
It's found in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18:
Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
I find it amazing that of all the wonderful lessons Yeshua taught to His disciples, this is the ONE in all the Gospels which He repeats just a couple of chapters apart. Now, I'm no detective, but I'd say that's a clue. It would seem to indicate it is important. Anytime the King James says "verily" that is also an indication it is important. So this means this is doubly important. The part I find fascinating is the He calls "Binding and Loosing" the "Keys to the Kingdom". Why would we need "keys" to Heaven before we go there? Perhaps because we can unlock heaven into our lives here on earth? Perhaps WE hold the keys to bringing heaven's agenda into our own lives while we are yet on this side of the afterlife? If this is true, then how do we appropriate these benefits?
A quick word study will show that in the Greek manuscripts from which we get the New Testament, the word Bind means to adhere one object to another. This CAN be indicative of binding with chains, in fact this is one possible translation. BUT another is to affix two items together for the synergistic affect which will result. We often hear of people "binding" the devil. But rarely hear of people binding anything together. My biggest problem with the former is that it is only half of the possible translation which refers to binding with chains or rope. The reference is to bind two or more object together. So when we "bind" the devil, what are we binding him to? I have another concern with this interpretation and application of these two scriptures..... If His Word shall never pass away and it will always accomplish what it has been sent to do, then how does the devil always get loose? I've watched people use this method of the principles of Binding and Loosing for decades now to only continue battling the same problem repeatedly. So why did it fail? Does the devil have that many demons assigned to every person struggling with a certain problem that as soon as they "bind it up" another is waiting to take over the attacks on them? I suppose that is possible, but I find it more likely that the real problem has yet to be addressed - their own soul's (their own mind, will and emotions) connection to the issue at hand. Lastly, how does "binding" the devil, in any fashion, become a Key Into Heaven?
Loosing, from the Greek manuscripts, can also be to break, shatter, crush, destroy and etc. So once again, we find another reason the "Binding" is more appropriately understood as combining two things. If one Key to the Kingdom is to bind objects together, then it is only logical that one is to separate that which does not belong together but has become bound together by some means. Just a few real world examples are addictions, heart strings, desiring the forbidden fruits of this life, becoming comfortable with the familiar mindsets which accompany depression or anxiety, avoiding emotional triggers....These are all just examples and some are even semi-healthy coping mechanisms which we innately use as defenses against what it is we need freed from. But the more walls we build to protect ourselves from the things we need loosed from us, the more we wall ourselves in with them. When done properly, Binding and Loosing can bring down those walls and help us to finally be completely free for good! But it takes resolve and courage to let the walls come down. To some degree those things can make us feel as though they will run amok again and we may find ourselves out of control and back under the bondage of the things we walled ourselves in to protect against. These are lies from the enemy. If you remain walled in, the Holy Spirit (who is a perfect gentleman) will not force His way in to bring freedom. You can and you must bring the walls down or at least open a door for Him to have access by your own self will. Then you will see an acceleration in the process of your own freedom. BUT - you hold the keys - You have to use them.
I believe a better possible application of these Keys may be as illustrated in this simple prayer below:
Father, thank you for giving us the keys to the kingdom through Your Son. Thank you that I can appropriate them into my life daily to overcome the issues this human existence puts on me. Thank you for complete victory in time as I use these keys to unlock Heaven's agenda into my daily life. I commit that I will fight the good fight of faith by daily bringing my entire being (body, soul and spirit) under subjection to the knowledge that greater are You inside of me than the influences of the
world. So right now, I bind myself to your will. May my own will (desires, goals and ambitions) begin to line up with what Your intentions are for me. May I not even need to think about it, but instead by supernatural transformation, change my will to match your own for my life. I surrender anything which you do not desire for me right now. I bind my mind to the mind of Yeshua, Your son. May I begin to perceive things and interpret them the way He does. The actions and words of others, to or about me; the behaviors I see in others and the moods they present. I want to see everything through the eyes of Yeshua and respond as He would in all things.I bind my emotions to Holy Spirit (Ruach Ha'Kodesh - if you prefer the Hebrew), His fruit and His stabilizing power. May the fruit of Holy Spirit be the filter through which all of my own emotions must be filtered so I will not be overly sensitive, or overly hardened. May I never become implacable, but always be flexible and pliable in Your hands. I bind myself to correct mindsets, individual thoughts and patterns of thinking. I bind myself to Truth and correct understanding of Truth. I bind my hands to the work of my destiny and my feet to paths of righteousness. I loose from myself, wrong mindsets, individual thoughts and patterns of thinking. I loose any and all incorrect understanding of scripture. I loose from myself any lies which I have believed about myself and others. I lose from myself fear, anxiety, stress, worry, frustration, bitterness, rejection, or any other negative emotional responses I have had which are connected to my current state. I loose the physical manifestations of (name your physical pains using the Pic as a guide**) as related to the root of (use the connected emotional root from the Pic**) and declare myself free in the mighty Name of Yeshua (Jesus if you prefer) and I thank you that I am on my way to wholeness and freedom starting RIGHT NOW!!
Many of you who have known me for a wile know of the trials and tests I have faced. You may or may not know that I have been using this perspective and application of Binding and Loosing for about a decade. It has given me amazing resiliency to recover from some very difficult times in which people purposely targeted to hurt me as deeply as they humanly could. You can bet the enemy of mankind used the attacks of those people to its fullest when he came in the dark of the night or when I was down or alone and lonely. He used their words to cut me and try to bleed me dry. He wanted to see me waste away so I'd no longer be a torturous device against his kingdom. I am here today to be a living testimony to what God can and does do when we get our own souls (mind, will and emotions) in line with His plan by appropriating the Keys to the Kingdom. I've taught this to a number of people over the years and once they saw how much common sense and Bibilical truth is behind it, they have all seen great success when using Binding and Loosing from this perspective. Naphtali and I are amazed at how fast the results are visible in the mindset, attitudes and overall peace of everyone we show this simple concept to once they begin to apply it - even if they are not fully committed or simply are not up to getting all of the information at once. This blog is a start. You will find the Holy Spirit guiding on your own path by showing you things about yourself no one could see but suddenly they are as clear as day and right in front of you. Don't resist when this happens, it is common for Him to use our behaviors to show us the next area which is ready to be washed from our lives forever in order to prepare us for the next and the next and the next. Eventually, I believe you will find your Binding and Loosing a personal maintenance regimen and somewhere along the way you'll begin to see how to apply it to praying for others.
Lastly, and once again, it will take some time and effort on your part, but using this prayer as a model, you will begin to get deeper insight and be able to personalize your own Binding and Loosing prayers to see every bit of yourself set free. While He promises to never remind you of your sin again once you ask forgiveness, He does not erase the memories accompanying our hurt. BUT praise God we can see from the scriptures above that He will give us rest when it becomes too much. We do need to follow His model in forgiveness though. He said He will cast our sins as far as the east is from the west and never remind us of them again. This may be the hardest part of our emotional journey back to full health and wellness. Being able to look passed the pain. Our memories are stored in a part of our brain affected by chemical reactions. Those chemicals are released every time "negative or painful" memories surface - or when we dwell on them. But it doesn't have to be so. Some times, time itself will cause this to diminish. But the bigger the trauma the longer the wait for this to occur. He said He would bear our burdens and lighten our load. But how can He do that if they are "bound to us" - in our memories and when our own brain chemistry induces pain to come back every time the memory surfaces? That is the beauty of this application of the principle of Binding and Loosing. As we loose things from ourselves (i.e. negative feelings from emotional reactions, etc.) we are unbinding them from ourselves and tearing down walls. Then He does what He promises and takes those burdens. Over time, which is significantly reduced by our proactive involvement in the process, the memories simply become a picture in a filing cabinet of our minds. Won't it be nice to let go of the pains of hurtful memories and say goodbye to them once and for all? Won't it be nice to be able to remember the good memories of the people whose negative memories currently dominate your thoughts of them? Most of all, won't it be wonderful to be free to grow passed all the junk that clutters your mind and prevents your exponential growth as a child of God, and truly know that "All things are possible to him/her who believes"?
NOTE: [For some the issues of this topic are not simply emotional, and therefore this article will be helpful but it may not be the end all be all I wish it could be. For those who have chemical imbalances, I do believe God can and wants to heal you, but the method I present here will not be the profound and complete answer, even though I truly and deeply wish it were. It can however, assist in helping with the ups and downs we all have, even/especially when rightfully on med's, as you the manifestation of the supernatural physical healing you desire.]
For further research I recommend a book written by Liberty Savard: Shattering Your Strongholds
This book can be obtained for as little as $4.00 shipping included.
** We do not claim that this pic is all inclusive or even correct in every case. Please use it only as a guide and do further research on this topic to assist in determining if in your individual situation any of these apply or not. This is a highly personal journey and as such we cannot claim any responsibility for the outcome of your journey. We do commit to to pray for anyone who contacts us and sincerely wish to see everyone healthy and well - body soul, and spirit.