As Christian counselors and teachers in deliverance ministry (Above & Beyond Counseling Academy www.AandBAcademy.org) , we find often that some people err on the side of wanting to blame demons for everything. The reality is that while demonic attack and oppression is real and a source of many problems, often times God is allowing his people to be broken for the purposes of rebuilding and renewal!

A world that celebrates success doesn't see value in broken things. But God brings beauty out of brokenness. For a plant to rise from the soil the seed must be broken. For a baby chick to experience larger life the shell must be broken. Even a thoroughbred horse must be broken; it must learn to respond to the tug of the rein and the sound of the master's voice. Getting the idea? After a humbling encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road, Paul reevaluates all the religious activity he once boasted about and calls it "dung" (Php 3:8). And you don't brag about dung, you're repulsed by it.

Brokenness is the work of God by which He strips us of self-sufficiency so that the character of Christ may shine through us. Now don't misunderstand; being broken doesn't necessarily mean experiencing some tragedy. Many people suffer tragedy without drawing closer to God or even acknowledging Him. Indeed, the same sunshine that melts the butter hardens the clay. The issue in brokenness is not so much our circumstances, but our response. What is God trying to teach us? True brokenness is when He strips us of self-sufficiency to the extent that we've no strength left to fix ourselves. When God blocks every exit we try to take and we come to see that He alone is our answer, we make a life changing discovery. "And what's that?" you ask. When God is all you have - God is all you need! Bottom line: God's power is reserved for those who have given up trying to do it in their own strength or to accomplish it for their own ends!

Paul writes: "Now may...God...sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord" (1Th 5:23 NAS). This word "sanctify" means to be "set apart," to be used exclusively for God's purposes. Paul describes it as "the high calling of God" (Php 3:14). And it happens from the inside out! Notice, our fleshly body comes last in order of transformation for a very simple reason. The problem with a thief isn't his hands, it's in his mind or spirit, which tells him stealing is okay. His mind tells his hands what to do. So if you transform his spirit his hands will follow suit. Otherwise you can handcuff him and take him off to jail, but he's still a thief inside. Too many of us want to get victory over bodily sins without being truly transformed within. But God starts with our spirit because that's the part of our being that makes us conscious of God; that "connects" with Him. When God sets us free in our spirit, then our emotions and our body begin to fall in line.

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