YOUR INPUT DETERMINES YOUR IMPACT
By Christina Willis
For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with what happens after we die. In my early thirties, I became increasingly obsessed with watching horror movies. I was looking for the rush of terror, but the more I watched, the less anything could REALLY scare me anymore. It’s almost like I became numb to darkness or paranormal activity. The more I watched, the more I needed to really feel the impact. The same is true for people who like the rush of roller coasters or adrenaline. One thrill leads to another until finally, you need life-threatening risk to really feel the high anymore. That is where the term “adrenaline-junkie” gets its name.
I was a “ghost” junkie. What started as a seemingly innocent movie thrills became a need for more and more darkness. Soon, I could literally feel the darkness hovering over my life. The search for the thrill led to what felt like curses over my family. We were surrounded by sadness and extreme anger. No matter how hard I tried, I could not figure out how to stop the emotional outbursts and eventually the anger began revealing itself in my relationship with my kids and how we spoke to each other.
As a child, I can remember seeing “ghosts” that would wake me up in the middle of the night. I wasn’t dreaming about ghosts, I was literally waking up at night and seeing ghosts either beside me or at the foot of my bed. I could hear their voices and feel chill bumps as the cold gushes of wind passed by me. When I was twelve years old, I woke up in the middle of the night and felt compelled to look down the hallway. I watched what appeared to be my deceased grandmother, walking down the hall toward my bedroom. As she reached my door, she stood there for what seemed like an eternity, smiling at me, then disappeared right in front of me. These spirit encounters became normal for me. Watching horror movies or shows with witchcraft became an obsession that I didn’t realize at the time, had taken over my life.
When my youngest daughter reached middle school, she also began to see, hear and feel the evil spirits. She was afraid to sleep in her room because she said the devil was there. These instances became increasingly violent as the spirits manifested their presence around us. At one point my entire closet was destroyed, boxes pulled off the top shelves, my shoes thrown into the wall, and clothes completely ripped. This happened as I laid in bed, frozen and too terrified to move. No one was home that night but me, and I knew I had crossed over into a very dark world that most people think is only in movies.
When I started reading through the Mission Possible Study, I determined, once and for all, to release my ties to all areas of my life that did not reflect God’s Word. It seemed impossible at the time to find freedom from a life of paranormal addiction and abuse, but I was emotionally exhausted at fighting the curses over my life. I was crying out for freedom and this study changed everything. I remember getting halfway through the study when it asked us to write down, on pieces of paper, what we wanted to eliminate from our lives and the areas in which we needed freedom. I wrote down several things that night, but the two that I remember most clearly were “anger and darkness”. After we wrote them down, we went outside to a fire pit and tossed those pieces of paper into the fire to indicate our freedom from the chains that had bound us. It was a physical illustration of the natural releasing of darkness from our lives.
As I watched my past go up in flames, I felt a sense of freedom rushing over my soul. On my way home that night, I heard God so clearly tell me to get rid of the horror movies, Harry Potter books, and anything containing magic or spells. I was so on fire that I immediately threw out everything in my home that contained any type of darkness, wizardry or magic. I even went through all of my music and began pruning the dead and dark entertainment that once filled my eyes, ears, and heart.
I felt a shift take place in my life. I literally felt the darkness leave. I began researching what the Bible says about ghosts. What does God think about magic and are there actual curses? I know some of you reading this may be thinking this sounds crazy. How could watching Harry Potter or a little Disney show with fairy Godmothers and spells affect our lives in a negative way? Well, I am glad you asked!
Let’s take Cinderella, for example. It tells a wonderful story of a young woman who overcomes abuse, shame, rejection, and abandonment. She is locked in a prison within her own home and who comes to the rescue? A man called Prince Charming. What is her medium to being “good enough” for such a prince? A Fairy Godmother. And of course, if you are Cinderella, with the help of a little magic and mystical power of a Fairy Godmother, you get to live a beautiful life, happily ever after. Seems innocent right?
Most Christian and even many pastors would typically consider these little show or movies “good” magic. White witches, WICCA, and sorcery have become an acceptable form of entertainment by many. But let’s be clear; IT IS STILL MAGIC. What does God say about magic? The Bible states that God hates magic. Why? Magic promotes and brings praise to the person performing the act, instead of bringing glory to God. Magic is also deceptive. We know that there is no fairy godmother and wishing on a star will not make our dreams come true. Instead of pointing to the real Prince of Peace and God, in whom, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, these shows and books point to mysticism, witches, warlocks, and wizards.
Why would God want us to eliminate these movies and music that promotes the sins Jesus so painfully died for? Does God really care if we fill our minds with this type of entertainment? The Bible says in Philippians 4:8 – “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Why does God tell us to think about these things? Because they promote love, peace, happiness, kindness. God wants us to live in peace and joy, so we are to think things that bring peace and joy to our lives.
Ghosts are described in the Bible (Ephesians 6:11-12, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15) as satan’s followers that were cast from Heaven with him. They roam the earth looking to deceive and destroy those who allow them to come in. Had I not listened to the Holy Spirit, I would not believe that watching Harry Potter, Cinderella or any other movie could have such a major effect on my life. The same is true of music. If you constantly listen to music that demeans and degrades women, speaks of violence, sexual acts, are anger-driven, then guess what? You are what you feed yourself. Your input determines your impact.
What are you putting into your mind and that of your children? Maybe you are having issues with anger, resentment, shame, regret, bitterness or unforgiveness. Maybe you are having marital problems, issues with your other relationships, trouble focusing, unable to sleep at night. I challenge you today, to ask God what He wants you to eliminate from your life so that the Holy Spirit can take up more capacity. You will know when darkness has been removed when the Fruit of the Spirit becomes your new normal.
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Take time today to ask yourself, “Am I following the ways of the Holy Spirit or am I simply following the ways of the world?” You can experience immediate freedom by letting go of what’s been holding you back. Begin to change your input so that God can use you for greater impact.
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