Monday, March 4, 2013

Sadness – Time to Let It Go




This post is linked to Peter Pollock’s One Word Carnival  The word is; SADNESS

Sad Lady
courtesy photobucket.com
Many years ago, I had begun to acquire rental property in the city of Oakland.  In those days, $1000 offered would be a down payment to purchase a nice rental, and the payments to the bank would be covered by the rent.

By the time we met Tom and his wife, I had obtained a great rental property that was close to our church with a basement apartment and an upstairs apartment plus a small cottage in the rear.

My husband was busy working, so I found a handyman to do simple repairs and paint for me.  Then the basement apartment became vacant, and I received a phone call from my Pastor.

He said, “The Home of Peace just called me and wanted to know if we can find housing for a couple and their young son, who just arrived from the jungles of Peru.”  I told him that I would go and pick them up and show them my apartment that was ready.

Tom and his wife liked the furnished place and immediately gave me a months rent.  They also liked the fact that the apartment was so close to our church and they began to attend.

Tom had been traveling the world working on his doctorate and had married an English girl while he was studying at the University of Oxford.  For his research he needed to journey to the jungles of Peru to explore and document about the lives of the natives.

While they were living in Peru a strange thing happened to Tom.  He became a different person and began to do wild things like a mad man.  The natives called him the “Crazy Gringo.” 

During one of his angry spasms, the local authorities took him to the hospital, where the doctors said they could not help him, but allowed him to stay a few days in their clinic.  Tom requested that a missionary come to visit him.  He told the missionary, “I believe I am demon possessed, and I need you to help me.” 

The missionaries were taken back a step of two, because this was an appeal they had never experienced before.  They told him they would go home and read their Bible and return later.

After reading their Bible, they decided that perhaps they needed to fast a day and seek God’s direction before visiting Tom again.

When the missionaries returned, Tom was ready and willing to do what ever they suggested.   Very carefully they laid hands on him and commanded the evil spirit to leave and to never return. 
 
Then they signed the medical release for Tom, and took him, his wife and their baby home with them. 

The missionaries welcomed them to live in their home for six months, while they explained how to be born again and to serve God.  During this time they taught them how to apply God's Word to their lives.
 
James 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Tom related his story to us and suggested that we get together for Bible Study and prayer, which we began to do each week.

One evening they brought with them a woman guest that Tom had met at the Berkeley University where he was completing his doctorate.

The woman had heard Tom’s story of his experiences and decided that she might have an evil spirit.  She was continually depressed, and never smiled or laughed.  Tom and his wife had explained how to receive Jesus, but she was still plagued by a sorrowful mood.

As we prayed together, Tom, addressed the spirit in the woman and asked it’s name.  The woman slowly spoke in a harsh voice and said the word, “SADNESS.”

We were novices at all this, and I can’t say we helped the woman much.  She did enjoy the fellowship, and told us that she would begin to read her Bible.  I believe she wanted to keep her SAD outlook on life. 

Proverbs 12:25 (Sadness) Heaviness in the heart of man makes it stoop: but a good word makes it glad.

At that time, I did not know that it was important to have the person agree that they are willing to give up their negative attitude (spirit of sadness) and receive an opposite attitude (spirit of happiness, gratitude and thankfulness). 

Choices and decisions can make or break us.  If we are experiencing self pity and wallowing in the mire of “poor me,” it is time to get up from there, and to begin to count our blessings. 

When we discover that God loves us unconditionally, and just as we are, then we realize that  he does not want us to remain that way. 

If we are SAD,  perhaps we should exchange sadness for a merry heart according to:

Proverbs 17:22  A  merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones and by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Proverbs 12:15  The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkens unto counsel is wise.

This post is shared at: Tell Me a Story
 This post is also Shared with Laura at The Wellspring

6 comments:

Gayle said...

Wow, I really did enjoy reading this. I found the thread to you over at Joanne's blog. I've just started reading the book, I Declare. It really isn't the kind I usually read, but I think the Spirit is saying to me to be positive, to declare the goodness, to look for it. This post really says the same thing as well.
I am a nurse, and while I usually don't go around saying this, I believe many who are classified as mentally ill are demon possessed. When I was in nursing school I had to do a training at a psych ward. One woman would look at me with the strangest eyes, and then back in the corner and then spew the most foulest language. She didn't do this with the other nurses. What was with that? I wondered if it wasn't a demon seeing the spirit of truth within me... I'll never know of course. And I don't believe those who are mentally ill are all possessed. But it is a mystery, is it not?

Floyd said...

We tend to overlook the power of free will. Many choose to be the way they are. It is the ultimate gift from God to be made in His image and have the choice instead of just instinct. "Today is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it." Or we can choose to be sad...

HisFireFly said...

He offers a brilliant exchange His joy for our sorrow, Hos righteousness for our wretchedness...

Laura said...

Wow, Hazel, what a story. Sometimes I wonder that so many of our problems may have this root cause. It begs pondering.

Wise Hearted said...

Dear Hazel...how brave of you to tell that story, some are so afraid folks will get the wrong idea about their belief if the share a demon pocessessed story.

In my early years of Christiany I was working with a lady show was struggling with the same thing, she was being oppressed. come to find out her husband was into all kinds of sexual preversion in their home, on of their daughter had a child by him. Not knowing the whole cause of it my pastor wife and I took her to a counselor who was very versed in that kind of ministry. I was so young in the Lord it left quite an imnpression on me. He too felt like she was being oppressed. I built a relationship with her. Then her husband wanted me to counsel him...of course I said no...because by then she had confided to me about the sex with their daughter. He never got saved and is now dead...the lady is still in church but I have not seen her for years. Sin our root cause and where there is sin there are evil spirits. Good post...thought provoking.

caryjo said...

I just chuckled when reading Gayle's. We've become true sisters. I'll be seeing her again in the Sea-Tac area in July. ANYHOW, I agree with the demonic issues. Been involved for many years, both in individual lives and in national/tribal situations. AND sometimes it's simply physical stuff that has messed us up. Other times it's through abuse or "garbage" in our lives that have controlled us. I've read so many deliverance books by Derek Prince, MacNutt, Basham, and others. Also demonic living locations in many nations. Do I sound serious? Absolutely! Am I still desiring to see things turned back only to our Lord? YES!! HE IS BIGGER!! Sooner or later we die and go to heaven... nothing else counts.

Blessings...