Agreements!

Recently, the Lord revealed to me, through a couple of unexpected sources that I had a judgmental spirit toward a loved one. Had anyone come up to me and said, "Terri, can I just tell you that you are misguided and you are not judging the situation correctly, and you seem a little bit on the judgmental side?", I would have balked and defended myself and my position. Why, because there was a good REASON I was judgmental. I had a right! Hmmm...and that is how the enemy gets his foot in the door!

So God, in His infinite wisdom, gently showed me what my judgments looked like. He used a couple of innocuous conversations to get my attention. But once He had my attention, I was able to see the ugly truth about myself. The cool thing is, there was no shame, because God is ever so loving and gentle, even when revealing the ugly truth.

I want to share a little bit about the subtly of sin, agreements and judgments, in particular. For me, I was hurt and experienced injustice, and then I experience the same injustice, repeatedly. Very slowly, and over time, I developed an attitude of judgment and superiority. It was all very underground and manifested itself to me in a feeling of frustration, impatience, or anger, depending on the circumstance that triggered it. I prayed about it, and tried everything to 'deal' with my frustrations and my feelings of anger, but it just wouldn't go away. That is, until the Lord got my attention and I recognized that it was sin, the sin of judging. Wow! A passage the Lord used to confirm it was Romans 14 :4. ""Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand." In other words, who am I to judge a fellow believer? Is it my job? He/she is accountable to God, and God is the one who is able to judge righteously, He has all the facts and He is a fair judge. So, get your paws off and leave that person alone. Judging is serious business. But, I believed the lie, that I had a right to judge. When I did that, I gave the enemy a place in my heart. I made an agreement to believe him and not God. Ephesians 4:26-27 says "Be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give the devil a place."

Have you heard the term "making agreements"? Well, it is just that. Agreeing with the devil, giving him a place. No one, who is seeking the Lord would consciously give the devil a place! We must keep in mind that he "prowls around, seeking those he may devour", and that he is a thief, coming to "steal, kill and destroy". Steal my joy? Kill my heart? Destroy my relationships and unity? Absolutely. Whatever it takes, and he knows my weaknesses. He knows my flesh.

So how do I know if I have made an agreement, believed a lie? It is manifested in our actions, attitudes, and feelings. It begins with a truth...perhaps a wound, an injustice, or something legit but it kinda gets 'morhped' into something else...a belief...an agreement...a twisted truth...and ultimately a lie. It not only gives the enemy ground to wreak havoc and hold us down, but it also clouds our judgment. It colors everything we see, and prevents us from walking in the fullness of joy the Lord has desired for us. It is basically agreeing with the enemy, siding with him, owning his version of truth over THE truth. It is ever so subtle and gradual. And, there are consequences!!! That's what got me. I was living under the consequences of believing a lie. There was disunity, there was a lack of peace, as mentioned before there was an underground anger that I couldn't resolve, there was a lack of joy...I could probably go on and list many more consequences. The fact is...we don't live in a vacuum, there are consequences not just to what we are doing, but to what we are BELIEVING. No one but God truly knows our hearts...but praise be to Him that He has our best interests in mind and when He judges our hearts and reveals what is there...it is to grow us, to love us, to make us more like His Son. It is to free us to walk in the fruit of the Spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So what is it that is troubling you? What is it that you are believing that is robbing your faith, your joy, your love, your patience...etc.? Keeping up with what is going on on the inside takes some time, but most importantly, it is time in His presence. He WILL reveal truth...His word says that He "desires truth in our innermost being"...hallelujah, because I am incapable...and I need His help to reveal the lies so that the "truth can set me free."

If you want, pray this prayer today:

"Father, thank you for loving me, for knowing me, and for setting me free. Reveal to me any lies or beliefs that are holding me back from walking fully in your spirit. Give me courage to see what I don't want to see. Break the stronghold the enemy has that has blinded my eyes and covered my ears from seeing and hearing your truth. I confess that I have sinned against you by ___________. I release ____________ from all judgments against him/her.I ask you to release me from the stronghold of Satan's lies. Fill me afresh with the Spirit of truth. Bless my enemies, let the fruit of you Spirit be manifest in my heart, mind, emotions and actions.

In Jesus name, Amen.