Thought I would share this with ya'll...perhaps it might help somone. This is my own personal testimony.
ginnyrose
Deliverance from the Sin of Evil Imagination
INTRO.: As I pondered what to put in the bulletin today, my mind went blank, even though I have 50+ pages of articles, stories in my files to use someday. The story of my deliverance from this sin of evil imagination kept coming up; I had shared it before but for some reason the LORD is saying I should share it again. Hope it will help any who are struggling with it as I did.
DESCRIPTION: its roots reside in the heart of a man, most notably as a result from a suggestion of jealousy, a sense that others are better then I am and now I must discover where they are weak. It all starts when you take a piece of truth and your imagination will start analyzing it, adding to it – fueled by jealousy – where you will soon believe what you have decided is the truth about the matter. To convince one you are in error is as difficult as pulling teeth without any anesthesia. The fight, the pain, the fear is just as bad if not worse.
MY DELIVERANCE: I was a young mother, in my twenties, when the Holy Spirit started to convict me with an intensity that we are at war. He said this way of thinking is sin. Period. It all would start when I would hear a person say something about another and perhaps for some reason or another I did not appreciate him/her. Now this piece of information may not have been all that bad, it may even have been good: it did not matter – all you had was just a piece of knowledge. Then my imagination would kick in gear to work to discredit it if it was good. If it was a little negative, the enemy would add more suggestions to this information and while analyzing it you would begin to see the logic of this reasoning and before too long you will believe this to be the truth.
What made me first aware that what I believed was not the truth was when I learned to know these persons apart from people who were inflicted with this sin as well. I learned to know them as good honest people who were not at all like I thought they were. This was the starting point in which the Holy Spirit used to demonstrate to me how wrong I was and that this way of thinking is sinful.
After I agreed with the Holy Spirit about this mentality, I confessed my sin and asked God for forgiveness, fully expecting this lifestyle to be history from this point on. But such was not the case: it just marked the beginning of an intense battle. The next time I heard something else, I fell right into that pattern of thinking again and I found my self totally helpless to stand against the onslaught of this temptation. The cycle of confession, prayer, crying continued. In desperation for victory I read every article I could that would tell me how to gain victory over sin. They all offered many methods to use: pleading the blood, quoting Scripture, prayer, confession. All worked for a short period of time and then the cycle repeated itself. I was bound. No relief. I was desperate. I would fall on my knees beside my bed and cry out in tears to the LORD for the ability to withstand the onslaught of the enemy who has such a hold on my spirit. This happened many times…so many times I have no idea how often.
Then one day, ONE DAY! The Enemy came to me again with another temptation, just like always, and without thinking I said, “Devil, you leave!”* I was standing by the refrigerator in the kitchen at the time. At this moment, I felt a peace come over me: it started at my head and went down all the way through my body. It was a physical thing. From that point on I was delivered! No more struggles! I no longer had a problem with resisting this temptation – it was gone! GONE!!! The LORD had given me the victory! Praise his Holy name! He is awesome!
NEW BEGINNINGS: Now that one is delivered from this sin, it will free you to think differently. You will want to know the untarnished truth, one that will stand up in a court of law. “How do you know?” Will become a standard question you will ask when you hear a report. Or, you will go to the person personally to find out the truth. Eventually, you will find it….and this will not sit well with others who are involved with this sin. You will begin to see people as the LORD does….but this is a lifetime process.
IN HINDSIGHT: I would guess this is a problem more females are afflicted with because we are more emotional oriented then males. However, it is just as debilitating as the problem males have with porn. When I heard their testimonies, I can easily identify with their struggles because what they describe is the same as mine were.
CONCLUSION: It has been over thirty years since this experience, and the memory of it is still just as fresh as though it happened yesterday. My main point is that we are totally helpless to win this battle over sin. We have absolutely no power over it! None whatsoever. And it is a battle fought in your soul between two supernatural powers: God and the devil. But you can have the victory and to get it you must persist, persist, persist, persist…..and eventually, the LORD will give you the victory!
Sandra Miller, March 2007
* I believe this response was initiated by the Holy Spirit because it was spontaneous, automatic, came without premeditation.
