The Meal That Heals

Carrying What You Do Not Need To Carry

2. He was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). 3. He was oppressed and afflicted (Isaiah 53:7). 4. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him (Isaiah 53:5). Christ was rejected and oppressed. Imagine being conceived of the Holy Spirit, having an angel call you the Son of God, and people in your hometown calling you the son of Joseph (John 6:42). When Christ was tempted by the devil for forty days, Satan challenged Him by saying, “If you are the Son of God, then prove it” (Matthew 4:3-6). During Christ’s final hours, as every fiber of His body throbbed in pain, unbelieving men huddled below the cross, mocking Christ as His redemptive blood dripped from His bruised and beaten flesh. Despite this harassment, Christ was willing to forgive those who instigated His death (Luke 23:34). Christians who walk in rejection and dwell in their past, not forgiving those who have erred against them, will be emotionally weak against any attack of the adversary. Often they go from one prayer line to another, one personal prophecy to another, seeking the ultimate will of God or personal affirmation to lift their spirits. Yet, in a short time, they have settled back into a condition of depression and oppression. I have seen individuals place the blame for their emotional roller coaster on others who have hurt them, never realizing they have never allowed Christ to release the people they are holding captive in their mental prison. Some emotionally weak Christians cannot build a relationship without it ending in a conflict. In some instances, they are manifesting an inward struggle, birthed from past pain and fed by continual clashes with others. I have met believers who know that God has forgiven them of their sins, but they have difficulty forgiving themselves. The greatest danger is that continual unforgiveness in your heart can open the door to allow a tormenting spirit to operate in your mind (Matthew 18:34-3 5). Jesus provided forgiveness for your sins, but you must appropriate the finished work of Christ by utilizing the A, B, C’s of faith: asking in prayer, believing in your heart, and confessing the Scriptures. Christ has provided for your physical well being, but you must believe and respond to the healing promises. Likewise, Christ, our suffering

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