...Something That Scares You

When God Tells You to Do Something That Scares You  by Juan M. Vallejo

 

Early on in my ministry, a woman came to our church seeking deliverance from evil spirits that were continuously tormenting her. 

We did not have much experience praying for people to be delivered from demons, but we had seen it done a couple of times, and we knew there was power in the name of Jesus. Before proceeding with prayer, we asked her a few questions about her life; that is when she informed us that she was a martial arts expert. She expressed concern that she would hurt us because the spirits would cause her to act out violently. Need I say that I also became concerned?

Even though we knew that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world, we proceeded with caution by gathering a group together, and then began to pray and to command the spirits to leave. As expected, the woman began to act out with violence and, at one moment, lunged forward at my throat with her mouth open and actually bit through a gold chain I was wearing. We continued praying for her with no apparent breakthrough. When she acted up and yelled, we would raise our voices louder, commanding the spirits to leave in Jesus' name.

This struggle went on for quite a while. When we took a break to rest, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me, "Hug her."  

"What? I questioned. Did you see what she did to my chain? What do think she will do to me if I hug her?"  

Fear wanted to take hold of my heart, but the voice of God continued firmly: "Hug her."

So, when we gathered again to pray, I told everyone to step aside. I walked up to her, looked into her eyes, extended my arms and, with the overwhelming love of God that came over me, hugged her. She immediately shrieked the loudest shriek I had ever heard and then began crying profusely.  As she wept in my arms, she was completely delivered. The love of God had set her free.

That day I learned a lesson about the power of His love. Until the love of God grips our hearts and permeates who we are and what we do, we are powerless to make an impact in the lives of others. When we learn to love as Christ loves, we will see His power flow through us like never before into a world desperate for Him.