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 and have been trying to do so. Please pray for me about this. This is not going to be an easy or simple process as harmful things have been done on both my end and theirs and reaching out to reconcile has been nerve wrecking for me. There is also demonic activity involved affecting these people and causing them to behave out of the ordinary way they usually would in very evil ways in addition to some of them being unsaved/deceived by false teachings which could also impact how they respond to me. This has also caused concerns for me as I reach out. I am noticing that many of these people don't really actually seem as if they are trying to rebuild a relationship with me at a personal level apart from public perception. I'm also concerned because there are people in my life who under the influence of this same demonic activity were pressuring me to make peace with these people and they seem blind to the reality of the situation in multiple ways. It's like they're under some kind of spell. I really wish I had someone to talk to about this who could understand the kind of things happening here including the demonic activity. Maybe my pastor and elders might...Please pray. Thank you.

 

[Articles]

We thank you for sharing this burden with us so honestly and we have heard the weight and complexity of what you are carrying. We rejoice with you that God has given you insight about the danger of unforgiveness and its connection to the harassment you have experienced, and we want to walk with you in prayer and in the truth of Scripture as you seek His will in this difficult process.

We understand your history in the new age opened doors to demonic influence, for Scripture warns us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11:14 and that we should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness in Ephesians 5:11 and that there shall not be found among you anyone who practices divination or sorcery in Deuteronomy 18:10. We praise God that He has delivered you, for He delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love in Colossians 1:13. If you have not fully renounced and repented of every new age practice, teaching and object, we encourage you to do so openly before the Lord, confessing it as sin and asking for His cleansing through the blood of Jesus in 1 John 1:7.

You are right that unforgiveness gives a foothold to the enemy. Scripture says do not give place to the devil in Ephesians 4:27 and warns if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses in Matthew 6:15. We affirm your desire to forgive, and we want to gently bring clarity between forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is a command and a matter of the heart before God, where we release the debt as Christ forgave us in Colossians 3:13 and we choose to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us in Matthew 5:44. Reconciliation and the rebuilding of a relationship, however, requires repentance, truth and often time, and it is not always possible or wise to pursue closely, especially when harmful things have been done and when demonic influence and deception are still active. The Word says if it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men in Romans 12:18. That verse shows us that peace is to be pursued as far as it depends on us, but it is not entirely in our control, and we are not to force a closeness that the other person does not share or that would expose us to further harm.

We hear your nerves and your concerns as you reach out, and your discernment that some of these people seem concerned only with public perception and not with genuine personal restoration, and that others are pressuring you while seeming blind to reality. We believe you are right to be cautious. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places in Ephesians 6:12. The enemy is a deceiver and prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour in 1 Peter 5:8. We are told to be sober and watchful, to test the spirits whether they are of God in 1 John 4:1, and to not be conformed to pressure from others but to seek godly counsel. Your desire to talk with your pastor and elders is wise and biblical, for we are told to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another in James 5:16 and to not forsake assembling together in Hebrews 10:25. We strongly encourage you to bring this entire situation, including the history of new age involvement, the harassment, the attempts at peacemaking and the spiritual pressure you feel, to your pastor and elders soon, so they can pray with you, help you discern boundaries and stand with you in spiritual warfare.

We also notice that your request spoke of God but did not mention the name of 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 in John 14:6 and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved in Acts 4:12. Our authority over demons, our forgiveness and our peace with God all rest on His finished work on the cross and His resurrection. If you have not already, we encourage you to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead in Romans 10:9, and to daily submit to Him, for if we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us in James 4:7. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds in 2 Corinthians 10:4, and greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world in 1 John 4:4.

We are praying together for you now.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we come before Your throne of grace and we lift our dear brother or sister to You. We thank You for opening their eyes to the trap of unforgiveness and for the work You have already done to bring them out of darkness. Lord, we ask You to deepen Your forgiveness in their heart, help them to release every person who has harmed them into Your hands, and heal the wounds that harmful actions on all sides have left. Give them wisdom to know how to obey Your call to be at peace without striving beyond what is wise or safe, and guard them from the enemy's schemes to use guilt or pressure from others to push them into unwise entanglements. We ask that You break every remaining demonic harassment and close every door that was opened through the new age, by the power of the blood of Jesus. Put Your full armor upon them in Ephesians 6:11, teach them to stand firm, and let no weapon formed against them prosper. We pray for the people who have harassed them, many who are unsaved and deceived by false teachings, that You would open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light in Acts 26:18. We ask that You give this dear one godly counsel through their pastor and elders, clear discernment of spirits, and the comfort of Your presence, for You are faithful, who will establish them and guard them from the evil one in 2 Thessalonians 3:3. Lead them into Your perfect peace and into the freedom that Christ has secured. In the mighty and only saving name of Jesus we pray, amen.

We encourage you to stay rooted in the Word daily, to pray in the name of Jesus, to walk in ongoing repentance and forgiveness, to keep healthy boundaries while leaving vengeance to the Lord in Romans 12:19, and to remain under the covering of your local church. We are standing with you and we trust that as you submit to God and resist the enemy, the harassment will be overcome by the Lord who is your refuge and fortress in Psalm 91:2.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how heavy and lonely this has felt, and how much courage it has taken to reach out again when past attempts have left you feeling shaken and unsure.

You mentioned wondering if making peace with those who have harassed you is the way to stop the harassment, and also noticing that many of them don't seem interested in a real, personal restoration, and that others urging you toward peace may not see the full picture. That tension makes sense to feel nerve wracking. One thing that may help bring clarity as you seek wisdom is that forgiveness before the Lord and rebuilding a relationship are not the same thing. You can choose to release a debt and seek healing with God even when restoring contact is not wise or not mutual, especially when there has been harm and ongoing spiritual confusion.

Since you mentioned wishing you had someone who understands both the spiritual pressure and the practical side, we think your instinct to talk with your pastor and elders is a good one. We would encourage you to pause further outreach on your own for now and instead invite one or two trusted, mature leaders to sit with you, hear the whole story at your pace, and help you discern next steps, boundaries, and timing together. Bringing notes about what has happened and what you are sensing can help them care for you well, and you do not have to carry this discernment alone.

Father, we lift our brother to You in Jesus' name. Cover him with Your peace, guard his heart and mind, and give him clear wisdom and safe, steady counsel as he seeks You. Lead him to the right support and help him know Your nearness and protection each day. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your burden has been read with prayerful care and with sorrow for the trial you describe, and with thankfulness that the Lord has already shown you something of His mercy in bringing you out of the darkness of the new age into the light of Christ.

There is a word that meets you at the very point of your fear and trembling, that with a penitent heart you desire forgiveness. Scripture says, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions. This is a divine forgiveness, and a surprising forgiveness, and a complete forgiveness. Were all men to hiss at you and withhold their pardon, it would not be necessary that you should have it to enter heaven, for the forgiveness that saves is with God. There is forgiveness with Him, whatever your sins may have been, however you have sinned on your end as you confess, and however you have been sinned against. That forgiveness is not a whisper left for you to guess at, but a certain promise, and it is only to be obtained from God through Jesus Christ His Son, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He has found a ransom. The prisoner ready to be executed receives undeserved deliverance because the King's own Son has borne the penalty. In Him you have not only a first forgiveness, but a continuous and an eternal forgiveness, full and perfect, for Christ's sake.

You speak also of forgiving others and of making peace with those who have harassed you. Hear this rightly. We are called to a joint work of mutual forgiveness, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven us. To forgive from the heart, as God has forgiven you, is to release the debt before the Lord and to will no vengeance, and this the Lord works in His people. Yet forgiveness before God is not the same as the rebuilding of a personal relationship, and peace, as far as it depends upon you, does not require you to place yourself again under harm or to force a reconciliation where there is no repentance. Some who have harmed you may show no desire for true peace at a personal level apart from public perception, and some may remain unsaved and deceived by false teachings, behaving in ways that are out of the ordinary and evil. You are right to be cautious and to feel nerve wracked at the thought of reaching out. Do not be pressured, even by well meaning people in your life who may be blind to the reality of the situation, as if under a spell, to pursue a peace that is not safe or wise. Go not alone in this. You have done well to think of your pastor and elders. Take this whole matter to them, tell them plainly of the former new age involvement, the present harassment, the demonic activity you discern, and the pressure you feel. The Lord gives shepherds for such an hour, that you may have counsel, protection, accountability and prayer with others who can see what you cannot see alone.

For deliverance, remember that it is solely by the power of God. It is not of him that wills nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. Israel did not share the honor of their deliverance with God, but willingly consented to His salvation, for He brought them forth. That deliverance came when the lamb was slain. So your deliverance from worse enemies than Pharaoh, from sin and from the archers that trouble you, is wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ and His greater salvation. Your theorizing that if you can manage peace in just the right way the harassment will end will only bring labor and fear, as one who stayed at the brook Jabbok full of fear and trembling. The clock of mercy strikes in heaven according to His eternal purpose, and He makes deliverance effectual. He not only delivers, He enriches and gives peace within our borders. Therefore look not to your own skill in reconciliation to purchase peace, but to Christ who is your peace, and ask the Lord to work deliverance in His way and time.

We will pray for you, and we urge you to keep close to Christ, to forsake every remnant of the new age, to walk in the Word, in prayer, and in the fellowship of the church.

We pray that the Lord would assure you again of His full forgiveness through the blood of Christ, and teach you daily to forgive as you have been forgiven, without bitterness and without hardness of heart. We pray that He would grant you deliverance from all evil harassment, that He who has found a ransom would keep you from the pit and bring you forth with His own hand. We pray that He would give you clear discernment to know when to speak and when to be silent, when to seek peace and when to keep a guarded distance, and that He would not let you be driven by pressure from others but guided by godly counsel. We pray that He would open the eyes of those who are deceived and unsaved, that they might come to salvation through Jesus Christ alone, and that He would restrain every evil influence that stirs them to harm you. We pray that He would provide for you a trusted pastor and elders with whom you can speak openly and be understood, and that He would give you songs of deliverance even in this trial, for His glory. Amen.