Forgiveness: A Path to Healing

In our journey to inner peace and healing, both guilt and forgiveness of self and others have a profound effect on this process. Guilt is defined as a feeling of culpability especially for imagined offences or from a sense of inadequacy; a self-reproach; and forgiveness as the act of forgiving or the ceasing of feeling resentment against an offender. Guilt and lack of forgiveness of self and others, burdens many people with the heavy weight of inappropriate shame and the destruction of deep-seated resentments. In recent years, much has been written about the destructiveness of repressed emotions and particularly anger and resentment in contributing to life-threatening illnesses.

The belief that feeling emotion means we are weak is a dreadful legacy to burden people with. Teaching people that strength means not feeling or denying our feelings is tantamount to creating illness. Beliefs such as 'big boys don't cry' and 'good girls don't get angry' has resulted in men and women who are unable to get in touch with what they actually feel. Depression is thought to be caused by anger turned inward and is only one of the symptoms of the need to protect ourselves from the scorn associated with expressing feelings. Many other illnesses and particularly the addictions are theorised to be expressions of a deep level of emotional pain.

Why won't we forgive? I believe it starts from our unwillingness to forgive ourselves. We believe that we are undeserving of love, respect, acceptance, appreciation, and the right to live a life where we walk in peace, joy, harmony, and abundance. Somewhere along the line, we started to believe that all the rules and regulations of the society in which we live defined who we were supposed to be. We stopped trusting and believing in our own inherent worth and came to believe that we were 'not good enough.' Messages such as 'you failed' or 'you should' became a litany for us to abuse ourselves with guilt. I call it abuse because it is just as painful when we do it to ourselves as when others do it to us. We became judge and jury and found ourselves guilty of our perceived offences. When the primary caregivers such as parents, teachers, and other societal influences are unable to love themselves unconditionally, this 'learned attitude' is passed on to the next generation as shame in an attempt to control behaviour.

Self-forgiveness is that regular maintenance that keeps us on the road. The self-forgiving person is not as many believe, or at least fear - a selfish person. It is the person who remains stuck in self-doubt and self-condemnation who will lead the more selfish, less productive life..

Practice loving yourself. We hear lots about loving our neighbor but forget that most of the great religious leaders of the world also urge us to love ourselves. Evaluate how you treat yourself in body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

Pure happiness is achieved because when you forgive a person who has done you harm, you detoxify yourself of all negative energy, free your mind, and purify your soul and body. Perhaps that's why Martin Luther said: "Forgiveness is pure happiness."

"How often do you forgive one person? Up to seven times?" Jesus Christ was asked by his disciple Peter. Jesus replied: "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Jesus even asked God to forgive those who had crucified him: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." In The Lord's Prayer, Christians pray: "And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us."

Forgiveness has great power. It is a glorious and selfless act that could radically transform the lives of both the forgiver and the forgiven - for the better.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD

OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is known to bring about racing thoughts in a person's mind. Those thoughts can be completely against the real person's personality, and though they bitterly hate the thoughts being there, they continue to pop up in their mind and compulsively force themselves through. The person often feels very fearful or shameful about thinking such things, when it is not even them thinking along those lines in the first place, although it seems like it. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, commonly referred to as OCD, is not a mental disorder or disease... it is a spiritually rooted bondage in the person's mind that needs to be uprooted.

What is OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is basically demonic torment brought on by a person's bondages to fear and shame. The person affected may experience thoughts being 'pushed' through their mind that they would normally never think (completely against their true nature), or they may experience a strong pulling on their thoughts in a certain direction. They may even hear voices inside their mind or in some other way sense that something isn't right. A great way to describe it, is to imagine a magnet in your mind that is pulling your thoughts a certain direction, despite the fact that the real you hates those thoughts. It feels like you're sharing your mind with another spirit that you totally disagree with! These 'voices' or compulsive thoughts are NOT caused because of a chemical imbalance (which the secular world cannot explain anyways); they are there because of a spiritual bondage in the person's life. I suffered from AWFUL bondage to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and there's NO way anybody can convince me that a downright evil spirit wasn't behind those thoughts that were rushing through my mind. I would experience compulsive blasphemous thoughts against the Holy Spirit, then fear would sweep over me as the demon(s) would work on making me feel as if I've just committed the unpardonable sin. The torment was unspeakable, it has to be one of the single worse feelings a person can experience.

It is not an uncommon scenario when a person experiences blasphemous thoughts against the Holy Spirit, then the demons work to convince the person that they've committed the unpardonable sin. They continually plant 'what if' questions into the person's mind, and try diligently to make the person feel absolutely hopeless and convinced that they've lost all hope. Furthermore, they make the person feel all alone in the matter, as if they are the only person in the world that such a thing has happened to. The truth is that there is almost a countless number of cases of this type of torment taking place around the world today. Anybody who has been in the ministry of deliverance for a length of time will agree that there are many out there being tormented over the fears of the unpardonable sin.

If you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), you will have likely been asking yourself these questions: "Why can't I stop thinking like this? Where are these thoughts coming from? What has happened to my mind? Can't I think for myself for a change??" If this sounds like you, then keep reading!

For the most part, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is generally caused by two things...
- A shameful identity; usually stemming from something shameful or a certain sin in the person's past
- Bondage to fear; quite possibly caused by a spirit of fear
A shameful identity

Shame plays a big role in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). When a person has done something embarrassing or shameful in their past, and they choose to meditate (or think often upon) what they have done, it programs their minds with a shameful identity. Guilt, when meditated upon, brings shame. Guilt is when you see the problem, but shame is when you feel as if you are the problem. Shame causes a person to beat themselves up mentally, and this can be an open door for tormenting spirits. Shame is when a person hasn't forgiven themselves, and is a symptom of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is an open door to demonic tormenting spirits:
Matthew 18:34-35, "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

Just as it's important for us to forgive others, it's also just as important that we forgive ourselves. Both types of unforgiveness can attract tormenting spirits. I found in my own struggle against Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that the more I thought about shameful things in my past, the stronger and worse the compulsive thinking came upon me. It was a clear pattern that I've seen in action many times before I was set free.

Shame brings a 'beat yourself up' mentality, which the enemy (working through demons) utilizes to bring an OCD patient much torment. Shame is a spiritual root that needs to be uprooted before the person will be able to experience complete spiritual freedom.

Bondage to fear

Fear is the motivating bully behind Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The person fears that they are thinking such things, or begin asking themselves, "What if that was me who thought such a thing? Would I be guilty of the unpardonable sin?" Such thinking stems from fear, and fear is an open door to mental torment.
1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
In the Bible, we find that having a sound mind (the opposite of OCD) is the enemy of fear, and visa versa... the two do not mix and are opposites of each other:

2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Fear can cause a person to eventually become a lunatic because it drives them 'out of their mind'. Fear, combined with shame, creates a favorable environment to spawn Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and racing thinking patterns.
Curing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Generally speaking, there are a few basic things that need to be addressed when bringing a person out of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), they include:
Deal with any strongholds that exist. Behind shame is a stronghold. The person is not perceiving themselves correctly if they have repented of the sins in their past, and are still seeing themselves through the eyes of shame. See teachings on Dealing With Guilt, Defeating Guilt and Shame and Tearing Down Strongholds for more information.
There are some great books that I highly recommend for tearing down strongholds; here are two of them:
Victory over Darkness by Neil T. Anderson (Learn of who you are in Christ)

Blessed Beyond Measure by Gloria Copeland (Learn of what a good God we have)

Dealing with underlying fears. One common concern with an OCD patient, is that they are petrified that they are the source of such evil or absurd thoughts. If a person truly hates the thought(s), and they run contrary to the person's true personality, then it is clear that they are not the source of such a thought. I would experience horrible blasphemous thoughts rushing through my mind, yet the real me would never ever in a million years even THINK of such things! It is important that the person realizes that they are not thinking such things, and that it is a demonic spirit that is pushing such garbage at them. There are often other fears that need to be addressed as well. Fears are usually caused by strongholds, and many times demons at found working under the scene to either fuel strongholds and/or directly cause the person to be fearful. When a fear is gripping and very hard to overcome, then it's usually a combination of both strongholds and demons at work.

When a person sees God as a cruel taskmaster, it causes them to have a very unhealthy fear of God, which causes them to go crazy over topics such as the unpardonable sin. Reading books such as Blessed Beyond Measure by Gloria Copeland is one of the best ways to quickly break down such strongholds. They need to stop worrying about God being "after them", and start to meditate on His goodness and His loving nature towards them. It is also quite possible for a person to have a spirit of fear which needs to be driven out before they will be set free. More information on strongholds can be found in the teaching Tearing Down Strongholds.

It is 100% vital that (a) the person learns of the goodness of God, and what a loving and merciful Heavenly Father that they really have - they cannot see Him as a cruel taskmaster, and (b) they must learn of who they truly are in Christ Jesus. They must know in their heart that their pasts have been washed away (providing they have repented of their sins), and no longer a part of them. I usually find one or both of these strongholds affecting those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Either or both of these strongholds must be dealt with before the person can enjoy complete and lasting freedom from OCD.

It is very important not to overlook any underlying spiritual bondages when ministering to somebody with OCD. I would look into the person's family heritage for generational bondages/spirits that were handed down and I would not overlook the casting out of demons. Casting out demons can play a very important role in setting a person completely free from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and this step should never be overlooked. Some of the spirits I would look for is fear, shame, guilt, etc. I like to tackle the strongholds and legal rights (if any) first and then go after the spirits.

Bad soul ties also need to be broken in certain cases. Many times a person first becomes worried about the unpardonable sin after breaking their virginity outside marriage. Bad soul ties, especially with people who struggle with fear or are involved in the occult can bring a tremendous amount of spiritual torment to a person. I've ministered to people being physically visited by demons at night, all because of an ungodly soul tie with somebody involved in the occult!
The good news is, there is a working cure for OCD, and it's deliverance in Jesus Christ combined with the tearing down of strongholds in spiritual warfare! God does NOT want His people mentally unstable! He has made available unto us freedom and wholeness in every area of our lives, but it's upto us to take hold of it! God's Word clearly states that it is not Him who gives or wants us to have an unsound mind:

2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
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