Have you ever heard this saying that sin thrives in the dark? Any sin or weakness that has not been acknowledged and dealt with or still lies hidden in someone who seems all put together is the breathing ground for brokenness. One of the reasons why the devil allows us to remain in a fallen state is because we fall into same kind of sin over and over, even after we have sought forgiveness from God. It is like an addiction that even when you try to avoid you cannot avoid it hence you feel less of yourself and think you are not good enough or you are scared to take big steps because you feel like that weakness will portray. I will share with us an example of how hidden sins keep us in brokenness.
LUST AND OTHER RELATED SEXUAL SINS
There are many people suffering from addictions especially watching pornographic content, lustful thoughts or desires, masturbation amongst others. It may surprise you to know that this is very common among believers and preachers of the gospel. The basic tenets of Christianity of course condemns fornication, adultery, amongst others. As a result, many people claim to be free from these sins simply because they have not been physically involved in these acts but they have lustful thoughts and desires. In order to satisfy these cravings without necessarily getting physical with anyone, they give in to watching pornography in hiding, which leads to masturbation and other lustful acts. When this occurs over a period of time, the spirit behind this act takes over that person, such that they know it is not good but they cannot stop themselves from doing it. As a result, that spirit frames excuses such as “well, you are not getting physical with anyone so it is not a sin”. At times, people affected by this may find it difficult to pray because as they close their eyes, those scenes play in their subconscious. There are anointed men of God who preach the gospel vibrantly but power for signs and wonders cannot be exhibited because of these hidden weaknesses. Consequently, such people are not able to achieve half of their God-given potentials. Brokenness sets in because they know that they can do more in the task God has called them to do but they don’t know how to deal with this weakness so they just remain in one position doing the same thing thinking that probably they were made that way and cannot change it. This is akin to the message to the church in Sardis in Revelations 3 where it is written “…I know that you have a reputation of being alive, even though you are dead…” How many of us fall into this category of people?
DEALING WITH THE HIDDEN WEAKNESS
As mentioned above, these hidden weaknesses have a great role to play in our brokenness. When we find ourselves in these helpless acts, we live in self condemnation, feel less of ourselves and can hardly ever fulfill our God ordained purpose. The tendency most times is that we own the weakness and make it part of us but if we confront it, we will discover that we will enjoy peace and confidence in our self-identity such that the devil who is the accuser of the brethren can never play a fast one on our minds.
– Firstly, acknowledge that it is a weakness which is not supposed to be part of you because you were not created that way. It is often said that the first solution to a problem is acknowledging that there is a problem. When you call the weakness by name, you can confront it.
– Do research about this weakness and how it manifests itself in different people.
– Ask God by the power of the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the spirit behind this weakness so that you can handle it. Even if you don’t have a supernatural encounter like other people about the spirit behind it, just understand that there is a spirit behind it and rebuke that spirit in the name of Jesus.
– Ask God to show you steps to take to live free. You may need to delete the content from your device, change your circle of friends or change where you stay because some spirits thrive in specific atmospheres.
– Talk to a trusted Christian Brother or sister, preach to others about your research/discoveries on the weakness and share with them your journey to freedom. Your testimony means bringing the darkness to light and it sets you free. “They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die for it…” (Rev 12:11).
After taking these steps, I believe and many have testified that you will experience some kind of peace in your heart that helps you to stand firm in the freedom that you have received. You will discover that you will get your self-confidence back and the weakness you were dealing with has already become your first ministry zone as you help others out of it.
Dear friend, don’t allow any hidden weakness keep you in a broken state and stop you from fulfilling your purpose. The devil, who is the accuser of the brethren has already been casted down into the abyss so that you can go free. “Freedom is what you have, Christ has set you free. Stand then as a free person and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.” (Galatians 5:1).