Deliverance

Deliverance is a complicated word. Hollywood has given us depictions like “The Exorcist” that make us think demonization is always that dramatic, but that isn’t the case. We tend to think that people are either “normal” (i.e. without any demonic influence) or they’re “possessed” in the Hollywood sense. But reality holds a long continuum between those two extremes. There is actually a great deal of variance in the middle.

As far as I understand, there is no one who is completely without any demonic influence. The most “healthy,” functional of us have at least normative bothering from the enemy’s camp, like thoughts that are accusatory or strong emotional reactions that are not entirely ours. The more and more of this type of influence a person has, the closer they get to looking demonized in the Hollywood sense. Obviously, it is a more serious issue if a demon or evil spirit manages to get inside of the soul or body. Internal influence is much more oppressive than external influence.

But one thing is true no matter the severity. Jesus is Lord.

Jesus overcame the enemy and all of his legal rights at the Cross and the empty tomb. When we are “in Christ” we are ambassadors of his authority over the enemy. That is the legal fact regardless of how we may feel. No amount of fear or intimidation changes the legal fact of our authority in Christ. But our feelings about it definitely impact our ability to carry it out. The more intimidated one is by warfare, the more compromised their ability to accomplish deliverance. And authentic confidence is not measured in greater intensity. We do not become louder and more dramatic the more confident we are. True confidence is quiet. It does not need to puff up or sound threatening. If the facts are the facts, they need no amount of volume to empower them.