I woke up to the sounds of harsh clapping and intermittent shouting. It was coming out of my neighborâs house and after straining to hear, I deciphered they were casting out a demon.
Judging by the âI say, âCOME OUT!â and tongue-speaking, from two distinct voices respectively, I concluded it was two men surrounding the victim, determined to exorcise the demon this afternoon.
As to the appropriateness of this, who is to tell. The laws are a bit liberal with noisemaking of this sort, as far as Iâm concerned. Nevermind it was loud and disturbed my sleep, someone was being âdeliveredâ.
Which reminds me, of many a time people were being âdeliveredâ in churches. Some institutions thrive on this tangent of ministry, with their members equating the strength of the Man of God, with the number of people he delivers. Now Iâm no voice of authority on this subject, but I am a young Christian and these are my thoughts and experiences.
Somehow, we have managed to associate falling a lot in church to two extremes; overly sensitive to the Spirit (a.k.a Spiritus) or intensely possessed by evil spirits (a.k.a demonized).
To the average young person imbedded with an insatiable desire for spectacles and drama, the latter would be more exciting to accept.
After all, we are all at this program (#convention #revival #allnight) to see the âPower of Godâ in visible signs and wonders.
If people donât fall, the program wasnât âOgyaciousâ enough and the ministers & minstrels probably didnât do the fast.
I dare say thereâs a lack of information, counsel and guidance when it comes to this area. In churches, not from online preachers & counselors, where some of us took the pains to learn and understand these dynamics from. Itâs sort of a grey area and I dare say, many a young Christian or converted unbeliever are left confused.
Picture this;
You have been invited innocently for a convention. Unexpectedly, you fall and make a scene. You are held by a lot of strangers constantly speaking tongues over you and when you come to yourself, all you see are the sneaky stares of people. Some think you have been unconsciously possessed and are reluctant to get close to you. Or if yours is the case of being told a beautiful prophecy of riches, you wake up to people who think you are Godâs pesonal friend for Him to have lined your future with such blessings.
But you? Looool. You have NO IDEA what just happened!Â
Granted, at such programs, there is an allocated team to trace and counsel these ânew convertsâ, so you may be spoken to.
But what about those of us already in the fold, who are constantly falling.?đ
Who gets to explain to us the dynamics so we donât walk around thinking thereâs an actual legion living inside of us.
Which is weird because weâve been told God is in us.
Mine was so bad i was actually taunted a lot.
I even felt at a point I was probably faking and would fight myself to not fall.
If I knew a certain worship song had done me wonders in the past, I would clench my fists, open my eyes, chew gum, even play on my phone because I definitely was not about to fall again!
Anything to not be laughed at again, or considered a weirdo.
But oh the mind battles I fought!
The remembrance of some of the encounters, what the supposed spirits said they had been doing all along?
The interspered prophecies where God was actually talking…Like, how.??
In the same body??
Was it me? Something I ate? Someone in my family?
Was I abnormal? Or faking?
The questions were endless.
I got lucky enough to have someone dedicate himself to teaching and guiding me through the priniciples
Until after a while, I wasnât overthinking it anymore. I just knew God was in control regardless.
Do I fully believe the phenomenon? No!
Who is to say when itâs from God and when itâs not, while youâre scattered all over the floor.
But thatâs me.. Iâm still a believer because God has literally taught me about who He is through His word, fellowship, falling and rising, prayer, mentors and the like.
But for the newbie who keeps falling.
For my neighbour who has just been âdeliveredâ
For the visitor whose forehead is currently drenched in annointing oil so blinding..
Who will guide them?
Who will reach out to make sure they donât end up literally afraid of Jesus.
#mytwocents.
-sheyla.
p.s I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THE IMAGE ABOVE.