In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey wrote, “How easily do we who live in material bodies devalue the world of spirit. It occurs to me that although Jesus spent much time on issues such as hypocrisy, legalism, and pride, I know of no television ministry devoted to healing those “spiritual” problems, yet I know of many that center on physical ailments. Just as I begin feeling smug, however, I remember how easily I am tormented by the slightest bout with physical suffering, and how seldom I feel tormented by sin.”
His point is that we focus too often on the material and physical part of our existence and seem to look to the spiritual only as a last resort. In our healing and deliverance ministries, we must be careful not to be only concerned about emotional health and freedom from the demonic while not being concerned about developing the character of Christ in our people.
I have seen believers who were crushed by the weight of their freedom because they felt that their freedom was the stamp of God’s approval on their lives. Torment had driven them to Jesus. Freedom somehow took their eyes off the Lord and placed it on the pleasures of the world. The outcome was ugly. Some spirits returned and found the house clean and orderly. They moved back in and brought a lot of friends.
Even when praying for physical healing, we often think the only issue is faith. But often, unconfessed and unrepented sin get in the way of healing. James tells is that we must confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that healing might follow (Ja.5:16). In a rush to help people, we often pray before we help them examine their lives. Our spiritual condition is ultimately much more important than our physical or emotional well-being.
Freedom and healing need to be steps in the process of discipleship, not ends in themselves. I believe that emotional healing and freedom from the demonic are God’s will for our lives, but we must not offer them as stand-alone benefits, but as an expression of God’s love and power that are simply aids to becoming like Jesus. When ministering to people, I often have to remember to slow down. Do some work before praying or before deliverance. As Yancy suggests, we may need to come to a place of being tormented by our sinfulness before attacking the other torments in our lives. Just a thought.