God is not Paranoidby Pam Clark
I believe in a God of good mental health. At times, this can be a challenge for me. Religious and controlling spirits are not good for your mental health!Paul in the book of Galatians teaches that the Law is our schoolmaster until faith comes. So there are times where we need a little law and discipline and control, and even tradition, UNTIL faith comes! The devil has become quite sophisticated with the spirit of condemnation. But Romans 8:1, in the Word of God states that there is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. What I see happening sometimes is this: "Of course" your brother would have no condemnation for you BUT he expects you to have quite a bit for yourself when you don't get it right. I mean, that is just the way it "ought to be," say some. We can hear the bloody story of how Jesus died on a cross for YOUR sin and He did pay a very high price. But He did not do it so that you would walk in condemnation. He did it because HE COULD (and you couldn't) and because He believes in you and loves you and is FOR your good mental health! When people work (and I mean they will work) at making you feel sorry for God, there comes a point where I say, "Stop it, that's enough." God does not need my sympathy. God created me. He made me. He knows me and I am here because He wants me. I am SO SORRY if that upsets your apple cart, but I believe it! I may be the worst person on the face of the earth to you, but I am not too much for God. Neither is the anti-Christ too much for God. Now the anti-Christ spirit is too much for me! He was too much for Adam and Eve in the Garden and he is still too much for us today without the fullness of Jesus - which is one reason why we need each other! That spirit is devilish, sly, coy, subtle, lying, full of vanity and deceit and murder and self importance and destruction (but you don't always see that right away) and that spirit can make me paranoid! But when I am paranoid, I am living in fear and the perfect love of God casts OUT fear. So this is an area we must develop ourselves in but when I need strength, I am not going to be afraid or ashamed to cry out to those who I think should help me because that is how it is supposed to work -- and does. Often in crying out, I have found that those I thought could help me can't or won't and there is a problem there. But this only serves to make me call more upon the Lord until His deliverance comes. This will cause me to stretch in my faith. I holler a lot but it's still happening. After it's over, I am grateful, but not always through the process. In the process of the stretch there is much opportunity and invitation to believe less or on a lower level. But your soul is not satisfied there. As you keep crying out and as you keep stretching forth to God, often new people, things, ideas, thoughts and revelations come your way and ultimately the victory breaks through. Those operating in the spirit of control will try to keep you and make you to stay at a certain level. But Godly frustration will eventually win out if you keep crying out to God and continually seek Him. I wish after all I have gone through that I could give you an easier way! Like, here is the magic formula: Say this particular Bible verse 250 times and dance around the room and then shout at the top of your lungs. Now that may work, but it's going to work only if it came out of your spirit, and not because it is "a plan" or a formula. When you begin to feel paranoid, and I think there will be times that you will, just remember God is not. When you feel condemned, remember God is not the One who is condemning you. When you feel like you are the scum of the earth and no one should have anything to do with you, remember God is having a lot to do with you, right where you are, and He is on the side of your full and total restoration. When friends make you feel like you haven't repented enough, ask God if He thinks you have. Learn the difference between condemnation and conviction. Conviction quickens, cleans and heals; condemnation prolongs the pain. But don't call discipline to a higher walk condemnation. It is not the same, but you must seek God to know the difference there too! If you are being carried to a higher level of discipline, there is also a higher level of reward and walk and vision. This is the fun part, once you get there! I have been in places where I have learned and then the leadership there wanted to control and keep me at a certain level. This is can be very challenging and cause you to do a lot of soul searching. But there is liberty in Christ because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty - not to sin, but to walk in strength. God is the designer of your life and He is the God who is stretching you. Let your struggles take you to new and higher places so you will GROW into the good mental health that God has for you! Once you have gone through it and advanced, you can help others! And we then grow in strength. I'm on the winning side with you! All His Best, Pam Clark
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