Harassment

[Dhitlor]

I have posted before about experiencing harassment by people who were doing so under the influence of demons that came into my life when I was in the new age. Well, God has helped me see that problems with unforgiveness kept these demons being able to harass me. After this, I began to theorize that making peace with these people who have been harassing me was the key to finally putting an end to this demonic harassment but I am getting a little frustrated because although progress has been made in my relationships with some of these people after I reached out to them, some of their evil behavior under the influence of these demons is still there/may still be there. I know I have to be persistent but I get a little bit annoyed. I'm also struggling with a medical condition that has me feeling very irritable anyway right now and it's causing me to have feelings of unforgiveness toward these people again. Thank you.

 

[Articles]

We thank you for sharing this update with us and for your honesty about what you are still walking through. We rejoice with you that God has given you insight about the danger of unforgiveness and that you have turned away from the new age, and we want to stand with you in prayer for complete freedom and peace in Christ.

We see your discernment is correct that unforgiveness gives the enemy a foothold. Scripture warns us Be angry, and don’t sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, neither give place to the devil Ephesians 4:26-27. Jesus taught For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses Matthew 6:14-15. We are called to forgive as the Lord forgave us Colossians 3:13 and to bear with one another in love Ephesians 4:32. When we hold onto bitterness, we keep a door open for harassment and oppression, even after we have left the new age behind.

We also want to gently correct the idea that making peace with those who harass you is what will make the demons leave. While God calls us If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men Romans 12:18, our deliverance does not come from appeasing people or from their changed behavior. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places Ephesians 6:12. People may still choose evil even after we have humbled ourselves and sought peace, because they have their own free will and may still be under the influence of darkness. True freedom comes only through submission to God and resistance to the enemy in the name of Jesus. Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you James 4:7. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds 2 Corinthians 10:4. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to specifically renounce and confess all involvement with the new age, for those practices are an abomination to the Lord Deuteronomy 18:10-12, and to ask God to cleanse you through the blood of Jesus. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9.

We understand your frustration that some of the evil behavior continues and that your medical condition is making you feel irritable and tempted again toward unforgiveness. The Lord knows your physical weakness and your weariness, and He does not condemn you for feeling irritated, but He calls us to not let that irritation become sin. We are also concerned because your request mentioned God but did not mention Jesus Christ, and we want to lovingly remind you that it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father and deliverance from darkness. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me John 14:6. There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved Acts 4:12. If you have not already put your full trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, believing that He died for your sins and rose again, we urge you to do so today, for if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved Romans 10:9. It is in His name alone that demons must flee and that we are forgiven and empowered to forgive.

We are praying together for you now.

Father in heaven, we come before You in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, and we thank You for bringing our dear one out of darkness and into Your light. We thank You for revealing the trap of unforgiveness and for giving a desire to forgive and to seek peace. Lord, we ask You to forgive any remaining involvement with the new age and to wash and cleanse by the blood of Jesus, closing every door that was opened to the enemy. We ask You to help us to forgive from the heart, not by our own strength but by Your Holy Spirit, even seventy times seven Matthew 18:22, and to release every person who has harassed us into Your hands. Give us grace to be persistent in forgiveness even when feelings of irritation and annoyance rise up because of physical suffering. Lord, touch this medical condition and bring healing and relief, and give peace and self control which is fruit of Your Spirit Galatians 5:22-23. Teach us to put on the whole armor of God Ephesians 6:11, to stand firm, and to resist the devil so he must flee. We pray that You would protect us from all harassment, that You would either change the hearts of those who do evil or remove their influence from our lives, and that You would help us to not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good Romans 12:21. Fill us with Your peace that passes understanding and remind us daily that You are our deliverer and our refuge. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, amen.

We encourage you to continue to forgive as an act of obedience even when your feelings have not yet caught up, and to not measure your spiritual victory by whether those people change. Keep your eyes on Jesus, stay in the Word daily, pray continually, and walk in fellowship with mature believers who can pray with you and help you stand firm. God is faithful, and He who began a good work in you will complete it.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how tiring this has been for you, and we appreciate you sharing so honestly again. It makes sense that you would feel both hopeful about the progress you have seen and frustrated that some of the hurtful behavior has not changed, especially while you are dealing with a medical condition that leaves you feeling irritable and worn down.

One thing that may help is remembering that forgiveness and rebuilding a relationship are not the same thing. Choosing to forgive is an internal decision to release the hold of resentment, but the quieter emotional peace that follows often takes much longer and can come and go, especially when you are still being hurt or when you are physically not feeling well. Reaching out in peace is a good and brave step, but it does not guarantee how another person will respond. It is understandable to feel annoyed when your effort does not bring the change you hoped for.

With that irritability you mentioned, we encourage you to keep letting your doctor know how you are feeling, alongside prayer, so you have support for your body as well as your spirit. It can also help to have one steady pastor or counselor you trust to talk through these relationships with, so you are not carrying the discernment and the disappointment alone.

Father, we lift our friend to You in Jesus' name. You see the harassment and hurt they have carried and the sincere desire to walk in forgiveness. Give them rest, wisdom for each relationship, and protection and peace in You. Guide their medical care and renew their strength day by day. Amen.

 

[Reumore]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your honest and troubled letter has been read with much care and prayer, and I thank you for speaking so plainly concerning these harassments and the inward struggle that remains.

There is forgiveness with God, and there is forgiveness to be exercised by you, and both truths must be kept clearly before your soul. You have rightly seen that unforgiveness gives place to the enemy, and that a bitter spirit keeps open a door which Christ would shut. Yet take heed that you do not turn forgiveness into a mere theory or a charm by which to manage demons. Deliverance is not by our making peace with men as a technique, but by the blood and authority of Jesus Christ alone, who forgives sin and casts out darkness by His own power.

You write that you have reached out to some who have harassed you and have seen some progress, though evil behavior still remains in others, and this has left you annoyed and weary. Remember the pattern set before us, even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. His forgiveness of us is not a single act only, but a continuous and eternal forgiveness, complete, surprising, divine. I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions. When you have tasted that full forgiveness, that your debt is nailed to the cross and remembered no more, you will find strength to forgive others not because they have become worthy, but because you have been so freely forgiven.

Forgiveness on your part does not depend upon their repentance, nor does it guarantee their change. It is a deed of grace in your own heart before God. You may forgive from the heart and yet, if men persist in evil, you are not bound to expose yourself to their sin. To forgive is to release the debt into the hands of God, to wish them no ill, to pray for their souls, to refuse revenge. Reconciliation requires their repentance and a turning from sin, and where that is absent, wisdom may require distance even while love remains.

Do not be surprised that irritability rises again, especially while your body is afflicted. The Lord knows our frame and remembers that we are dust. When infirmity weighs upon the nerves, the heart is more easily stirred. This is no sign that you are cast away, but a call to come again to Him who daily forgives. He not only forgave you at the first, but He continues daily to forgive, and His forgiveness is eternal. Come anew with penitent heart and desire forgiveness, and you shall find it. Where God draws no limit, do not you draw any. There is forgiveness, now, at this moment, for the chief of sinners who will trust Christ.

Therefore be persistent, yet not in fretfulness. It is indeed a joint stock business of mutual forgiveness among Christians, and we must take large shares in it, forgiving one another even as Christ forgave us. When feelings of unforgiveness return, confess them at once. Say, Lord, I believe in the forgiveness of sins, and I would have that forgiveness reign in me toward others. Ask Him to keep your heart tender, to guard you from the hardness that so easily besets us, and to give you that great mindedness which counts forgiveness not as degradation but as nobility.

Look to Christ alone for salvation and for power over every demonic influence that came in through that former darkness. Turn from that old way wholly, cleave to the Word of God, seek the fellowship and counsel of faithful pastors, and continue in prayer. He who has forgiven you will also keep you, and He will not play fast and loose with His people. What He has forgiven is forgiven forever.

May the Lord grant you healing according to His will, patience under trial, and a heart that rests in His complete forgiveness while it freely extends that same mercy to others, leaving vengeance and deliverance in His sovereign hands.