Thursday, September 18, 2008

I’ve Been Hurt by the Church






What I’m about to share here is not mere semantics, if it’s the truth we’re wanting, maybe we need to look at the facts first.
Our battle according to the Scriptures has NEVER been about or with flesh and blood.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Why do any of us think we have a right to blame the ‘church’ for hurting us when, we are the Church.
We of our own volition joined the particular religious clubs we fancied, unknowingly hidden from our sight within our flesh was an ongoing covert veiled enemy doing what he does best, lying to us. In barely knowing the truth apart from our re-born experience, we gladly chose to dive head long into the deep end of the established institutional scene.

There is one that Jesus described whose intent was and is to steal, kill and destroy, could it be that this one called Satan operating through spiritual forces, working through flesh and blood Christians, preachers, and pastors etc, were the agents these spiritual forces were (doing the deceiving) working through in hurting us?
The Father knew full well what was going to happen to us in blindly choosing to go a way that seemed to be so right, and also knowing full well the devastation we would all sooner or later encounter.

Pain can be a wonderful but painful sobriety bringing us to a place after we stop blaming everyone else and realize this was allowed only because we choose to go our own way. There is no freedom if we are prevented from having a choice, and so we chose.
No body forced us to imbibe in the tainted and polluted waters of the man made cisterns.
To continue in the blame game, others or even our selves, is a waste of time.

It takes what it takes to get our attention and in doing so we come to a place of sobriety although most often horribly hurt, we begin to learn of His love for us allowing us to go and do what we did.
In refusing to continue in the blame thing, our education can continue which includes all that we have just passed through.

We would have never been brought too see or realize that there is a very real enemy operating within all flesh, including ours, had we not gone off in our own independence.
In a heart beat we become His child, but it is over a life time that we become fully mature Sons.
That which was purposed for our destruction, Father has intended for our good.

Rich

In learning His Way more often than not we have to go the wrong way first. It is important to realize that apart from His way, the right verses the wrong way might in fact all be the same expression from the tree of the knowledge of “good and evil.”


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rich,
It is so refreshing to hear/read this blog where you lay out the Truth that we need to stop "blaming" the institutional church systems for everything "bad" we may have experienced, or may be unraveling from. I, too, must be careful in writing/posting my blogs not to reenforce or enable the "victim mentality" I see quite pervasively in the blogosphere.

While I certainly DO acknowledge awful abuses and experiences have been had by many who've left such environments, I think there becomes a point when Father desires His children to stop playing the victim card, and move on...meaning simply turn to Him for full healing and receive His love. I honestly believe that when a person draws near and receives His healing love into them, their hearts should eventually come to a place of forgiveness of the past...and move forward. This is when a person realizes they had a bandana tied over their eyes by our Opposer. They were blinded. They were bound. I think evidence of this shift in thinking occurs is seeing a brother or sister stop reminiscing about all the atrocities "done" to them, or the fact that they lived so many years in darkness and instead, they move on toward what God is doing within them, their relationship in Him and relationship with others. This occurs when we realize we are FREE now, and everyday living in the glorious freedom of knowing how our Opposer works, and by abiding in God's love, He infuses more and more discernment, wisdom and Truth into the eyes of our hearts so that we can better recognize the schemes, and instead choose the Truth-filled path.

(Hmm...I think I'm actually going to do a blog on this! Thanks for bringing up this great subject on your post!)

Blessings,

~Amy :)

http://amyiswalkinginthespirit.blogspot.com

Rich said...

Amy,

I so appreciated your comments, thank you.

The necessity of hearing the voice of our Father is critical. When I was euphemistically ‘let go’ from the ‘ministry’ to say I was mortally wounded is an understatement, but the day Papa spoke to my heart, “It wasn’t those in leadership that hurt you, it was me working through them using them to bring you to a place of knowing my best for your life.”
From that point onward there was never again a finger pointing at flesh and blood, I knew although still wounded, hurt and confused, Papa had my life in His hands.

The enemy of our souls loves nothing more than for us to continually nurse and rehearse what injustice we have experienced, but in coming to see, recognize that all of what had befallen me was being used to be identified with the One who causes all things to work together for our good.