How do we go about rebuking the devil when we feel there is a stronghold in our lives? I can forgive my mother but the hurt of MANY years
surfaces now and then. PLEASE help
rebuking the devil
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rebuking the devil
Last edited by Guest on Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm, edited 0 times in total.
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It sounds as if there are two questions here:
1. How do we rebuke the devil? and
2. How do we overcome the hurts inflicted on us by others?
To the first, I would have to say that rebuking the devil is not something that we are told to do. In scripture, the word "rebuke" (meaning reprove or reprimand) is a word used, mostly, in the context of one person rebuking another.
On one recorded occasion, Jesus rebuked a demon that was possessing a boy (Matt.17:28/ Mark 9:25/ Luke 9:42), and on one other, He rebuked the wind and the waves (Matt.8:26/ Mark 4:39/ Luke 8:24).
God is said to (or asked to) rebuke Satan in Zechariah 3:2 and in Jude 9, and to rebuke the natural elements (as Jesus did), in 2 Sam.22:16, in Job 26:11, in Psalm 18:15, in Psalm 106:9 and in Nahum 1:4.
Virtually all other rebukes in scripture are directed toward people.
It might be said that Jesus "rebuked" Satan when He said "Get behind me, Satan" (Matt.4:10/Luke 4:8). I suppose there would be appropriate occasions for Christians to address the devil in this manner, though it is never specifically recommended in scripture.
We best foil the devil's attacks against us by putting up a resistance to his lies and temptations (James 4:7/ 1 Pet.5:8-9). We counter his lies with the truth, and we resist temptation by the same means.
It sounds as if your mother did some things that were hurtful to you, which you have had difficulty forgiving. This is very sad, and I don’t want to give hollow-sounding advice. I was raised by wonderful Christian parents, and have never known what it is like to be offended by them or alienated from them, though I know most people have not had this advantage, and often have struggles such as yours.
However, I have experienced betrayal from trusted friends and from those whom I loved, and may be able to relate in measure to the hurt you have felt. I have never considered that I was qualified to withhold forgiveness from anyone, since I am imperfect myself, and holding things against people is just plain unpleasant. I have found that life, with its hardships, is far easier to endure without holding grudges or hosting bitterness in my heart.
Once you have decided to forgive, you may still feel pain at the remembrance of injuries inflicted on you by others, but there is great consolation in God when we know that our suffering is not justified by any wrongdoing of our own (2 Cor.1:3-4, 12). To suffer for righteousness sake is a blessing (Matt.5:10). To suffer for our faults is no blessing (1 Pet.2:19-20), though it provides no occasion for us to blame anyone else or to hold grudges, since it was brought upon ourselves by our own actions.
Fortunately, there is no command in scripture forbidding us to feel hurt when we have been injured. There can be no doubt that Jesus felt pain as a result of the mistreatment He received in His passion. I would not fault Him even if He still winced at the memory of it. There are trials of my past that I cannot remember without grief. Obviously, the pain diminishes with the passing of time, but some experiences are so poignant that I hope never to be so callous as to feel no grief in their memory. Pain and tears can be sweet, and can draw us nearer to God, and He to us (Psalm 34:18)—so long as we have really forgiven those who have trespassed against us, and the suffering includes no rancor.
Those who have wronged me (it may be) behaved more wickedly than I have ever acted toward others, but they are not more guilty of injuring me than I am of injuring God by my sins. I wish to be forgiven by God, and so I gladly forgive others.
Not only do I hope in the forgiveness of God, but I also hope to be forgiven by those whom I may have injured—whether I am aware of the injury and have confessed it, or whether I am unaware of the injury, and thus have never sought to reconcile.
A man approached me last week, whom I had not seen for over 25 years, and told me he had borne a grudge about me for something I had said back in the seventies. He told me what he remembered me saying, and I not only do not remember making the statements, but I can not imagine that I would have meant anything negative by them. In fact, I had never had any unpleasant thoughts toward the brother, and would never have wished to offend him. Nonetheless, he took 25 years to forgive me. Though I was unaware all those years of the offense, it was a relief to learn that he had gotten past it and wanted to forgive me.
I like being forgiven. Jesus said I should do to others what I would wish them to do to me. This being so, I have an additional reason to forgive others.
Many things can be said (and have been said in books and sermons) on this matter of forgiveness. You say that you have forgiven your mother, so all is well between you and God. The pain may never go away, nor is it necessary for it to do so in order for you to prosper and grow spiritually. Perhaps the fact that it only “surfaces now and then” is something to be thankful for.
I hope I do not seem too glib. I feel very sympathetic for you in your pain. I just know that suffering has been very therapeutic in my life, and I would encourage you to embrace it and deal scripturally with the temptations associated with it. It will be for your good.
1. How do we rebuke the devil? and
2. How do we overcome the hurts inflicted on us by others?
To the first, I would have to say that rebuking the devil is not something that we are told to do. In scripture, the word "rebuke" (meaning reprove or reprimand) is a word used, mostly, in the context of one person rebuking another.
On one recorded occasion, Jesus rebuked a demon that was possessing a boy (Matt.17:28/ Mark 9:25/ Luke 9:42), and on one other, He rebuked the wind and the waves (Matt.8:26/ Mark 4:39/ Luke 8:24).
God is said to (or asked to) rebuke Satan in Zechariah 3:2 and in Jude 9, and to rebuke the natural elements (as Jesus did), in 2 Sam.22:16, in Job 26:11, in Psalm 18:15, in Psalm 106:9 and in Nahum 1:4.
Virtually all other rebukes in scripture are directed toward people.
It might be said that Jesus "rebuked" Satan when He said "Get behind me, Satan" (Matt.4:10/Luke 4:8). I suppose there would be appropriate occasions for Christians to address the devil in this manner, though it is never specifically recommended in scripture.
We best foil the devil's attacks against us by putting up a resistance to his lies and temptations (James 4:7/ 1 Pet.5:8-9). We counter his lies with the truth, and we resist temptation by the same means.
It sounds as if your mother did some things that were hurtful to you, which you have had difficulty forgiving. This is very sad, and I don’t want to give hollow-sounding advice. I was raised by wonderful Christian parents, and have never known what it is like to be offended by them or alienated from them, though I know most people have not had this advantage, and often have struggles such as yours.
However, I have experienced betrayal from trusted friends and from those whom I loved, and may be able to relate in measure to the hurt you have felt. I have never considered that I was qualified to withhold forgiveness from anyone, since I am imperfect myself, and holding things against people is just plain unpleasant. I have found that life, with its hardships, is far easier to endure without holding grudges or hosting bitterness in my heart.
Once you have decided to forgive, you may still feel pain at the remembrance of injuries inflicted on you by others, but there is great consolation in God when we know that our suffering is not justified by any wrongdoing of our own (2 Cor.1:3-4, 12). To suffer for righteousness sake is a blessing (Matt.5:10). To suffer for our faults is no blessing (1 Pet.2:19-20), though it provides no occasion for us to blame anyone else or to hold grudges, since it was brought upon ourselves by our own actions.
Fortunately, there is no command in scripture forbidding us to feel hurt when we have been injured. There can be no doubt that Jesus felt pain as a result of the mistreatment He received in His passion. I would not fault Him even if He still winced at the memory of it. There are trials of my past that I cannot remember without grief. Obviously, the pain diminishes with the passing of time, but some experiences are so poignant that I hope never to be so callous as to feel no grief in their memory. Pain and tears can be sweet, and can draw us nearer to God, and He to us (Psalm 34:18)—so long as we have really forgiven those who have trespassed against us, and the suffering includes no rancor.
Those who have wronged me (it may be) behaved more wickedly than I have ever acted toward others, but they are not more guilty of injuring me than I am of injuring God by my sins. I wish to be forgiven by God, and so I gladly forgive others.
Not only do I hope in the forgiveness of God, but I also hope to be forgiven by those whom I may have injured—whether I am aware of the injury and have confessed it, or whether I am unaware of the injury, and thus have never sought to reconcile.
A man approached me last week, whom I had not seen for over 25 years, and told me he had borne a grudge about me for something I had said back in the seventies. He told me what he remembered me saying, and I not only do not remember making the statements, but I can not imagine that I would have meant anything negative by them. In fact, I had never had any unpleasant thoughts toward the brother, and would never have wished to offend him. Nonetheless, he took 25 years to forgive me. Though I was unaware all those years of the offense, it was a relief to learn that he had gotten past it and wanted to forgive me.
I like being forgiven. Jesus said I should do to others what I would wish them to do to me. This being so, I have an additional reason to forgive others.
Many things can be said (and have been said in books and sermons) on this matter of forgiveness. You say that you have forgiven your mother, so all is well between you and God. The pain may never go away, nor is it necessary for it to do so in order for you to prosper and grow spiritually. Perhaps the fact that it only “surfaces now and then” is something to be thankful for.
I hope I do not seem too glib. I feel very sympathetic for you in your pain. I just know that suffering has been very therapeutic in my life, and I would encourage you to embrace it and deal scripturally with the temptations associated with it. It will be for your good.
Last edited by FAST WebCrawler [Crawler] on Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
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In Jesus,
Steve
Steve
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_Anonymous
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- Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:03 pm
Steve,
thank you for sharing in such depth, I have forgiven her but the pain surfaces sometimes..I just need to know that it is ok...I am very concerned with a personal walk with the Lord and yet sometimes
the intense grief is very difficult. Other grief like the loss of a child
that I have experienced is so hard too but I just want to make sure
I am forgiving her........
THANK YOU for your time
thank you for sharing in such depth, I have forgiven her but the pain surfaces sometimes..I just need to know that it is ok...I am very concerned with a personal walk with the Lord and yet sometimes
the intense grief is very difficult. Other grief like the loss of a child
that I have experienced is so hard too but I just want to make sure
I am forgiving her........
THANK YOU for your time
Last edited by Guest on Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm, edited 0 times in total.
Reason:
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