How to Get Delivered from the CLAP BACK Spirit!

Let me first express that this blog has been in my spirit for the past few weeks but as you know I've had to meditate on it, let it marinate a little with myself first, and then tell it to the public. I whole heartedly believe that when you hear a word from the Lord, the testing of your character comes thereafter. I'm usually waiting for the opportunity to write to all of you from a place of experience so that my words won't be just mere words, but exhortations to you because I've come from a place of testing myself. Christ resisted the devil in the wilderness so that he could testify that it was possible to do in human form. He definitely the standard for all believers everywhere, and so in the words of Winans Phase 2 "He is the model, I wanna follow!"

Anyway as I was having a conversation with a friend and encouraging her through the Word of encouragement and of prayer, I stopped her mid sentence as she was speaking of some troubles she had encountered in her life. I couldn't help but think of how sometimes we can be influenced by the era that we live in. We live in the era of opinion, social media gives us a platform to expose our thoughts and sentiments. I've seen people say the most insensitive things and then say as a rebuttal "It's a forum! If you don't like people to respond don't post it, we have freedom of speech." This statement in itself has so much hypocrisy. Telling others to not express their freedom of speech in the name of not being offended by you exercising your freedom of speech is hypocrisy at it's best. I do however agree with the sentiment that everybody shouldn't know your next move, because some people can't be trusted. Others might be friends who love you and just don't understand. That's when you move in silence, and just let them see the glow up!

As me and my friend was speaking and after she had finished saying who she told and why she told them I said in the most loving sisterly way. "Sis! I love you, and you know this, but you gotta get delivered from the CLAP BACK spirit!" After we laughed a little I told her my journey getting delivered from feeling the need to always respond or prove myself to anyone and we had a great talk. Since then, I've meditated on this Word and how to give you New Creatures some steps on how to apply this to your lives. Sometimes when I go through life I don't always write down every lesson word for word. I just learn and grow, but now I have to tell others about it in a way that encourages them, and where they can write it down themselves. 

How to Get Delivered from the CLAP BACK Spirit

1. Recognize You've already been Justified

If you are like me then you probably feel an intense amount of frustration towards those who try to talk bad to you, or about you. You struggle with the violence and wanting to either curse them out, tell them off or just beat them up. What keeps me? Literally, the Holy Spirit! I cannot express to you how many times it was tempting to take the "Flip These Tables" approach, but in a very unholy way. Understand that I went through tons of turmoil in my life. There were times people turned their backs on me for no good reason, friends and family alike. Some of them believed lies that they were told about me from unknown sources but once I came to a place of allowing God to justify me through faith I realized how much time I'd waisted trying to prove anything to them at all. I began to realize that according to the scripture in Romans 5: 1-2. I was justified already. Not only that but I could also have peace with the Father because of my faith in Jesus Christ! And if you read my last post, then you know Peace with God is the first thing you need to have before getting peace with yourself or others. 

Knowing that I was justified by faith and had peace with God because of it through Christ, helped me to understand what does not justify me or define me as well. 

• I AM NOT justified by fighting or seeking vengeance
• I AM NOT justified by proving myself to anybody through any life accomplishment, because that's for me and Gods satisfaction only!
• I AM NOT justified by becoming bitter against those who speak ill will for me, and I have the authority to rebuke what they say in prayer, declare the opposite of what they are trying to speak, and keep it moving.
• I AM NOT justified by anybody's testimony other than that of Christ.
• I AM NOT justified by THE CLAP BACK SPIRIT and neither do I justify the actions or behaviors thereof because I'm a Child of the Most High, and I behave as such!

I AM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, and because of it I HAVE PEACE WITH GOD! Understand that it took me a long time to get here, and that I'm in no way implying that I'm so high and mighty that I cannot see past my own religion. I lived this. I accepted curses until I couldn't anymore and finally took control through my prayer life, and my own affirmations as well as the Word of God. 

I once had a Pastor who used to say "If what they say bothers you, then you aren't dead yet!" While I understand that she meant how the flesh has to die, the part where the spirit man must live is what I'm talking about. You want to know how to stop living a life cursed? Just don't receive it anymore in your heart. Don't invite anyone into your life who doesn't echo this! Which brings me to my next point. 

2. Consider the Company You Keep

To be blessed means to be empowered by God to take on whatever you must in short. Psalm 1:1 gives an example of how to be empowered in your walk in a way that was new to me several years ago. I thought to be blessed I had to stand there as people abused, misused, and did things that were unacceptable, but a part of being unbothered is not letting anyone have access to do it anymore. 

The scripture states that you are blessed when you don't take advice from wicked people. The King James version says "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly". Think of what it may mean if you have a counselor who is wicked. Every time you come to them for advice they tell you to go ahead and keep doing harmful things to yourself cause you don't matter. Now, think of how many people you may have called friend, or a trusted family member who you sit in the counsel of in this same way. You don't know why you do it, you just wish they would be kinder, more loving. It may be a parent, an aunt or an uncle, it might be a cousin. Whoever it is that is the wrong voice to listen to concerning your future, or anything connected to your life.

It also says that you're blessed when you don't stand in the way of sinners. Understand that sin is defined as "missing the mark". Think of who causes you to miss the mark, and keep you from being at your absolute best. Who encourages you to fight people, but not fight the good fight of faith? Who always discourages you from taking action and living out the vision God gave you? Standing in the way of sinners doesn't mean that you're just standing in front of them, sometimes it means you're standing behind them and you have to get focused and move forward in spite of them because they're standing in your path on your way to achieve your life vision. That's when you set healthy boundaries with those friends and family, and you tell them that you don't engage in unproductive conversation, unproductive emotions, unproductive thoughts...etc. 

When I began to categorize my friends I came up on top. There are some people I was called to help, there are some who are called to that brotherly or sisterly love where it's easily as reciprocated as it's given. There's also a category of concerned individuals who just can't comprehend what God told you to do like Peter when Jesus rebuked him saying "Satan get thee behind me!". These people might be an elder, a friend, or family member who really wants the best for you. These people to me can be easily forgiven because they have good intention. I can honestly say Peter didn't know he was getting in the way before Jesus rebuked him. He didn't know he was in the way of eternal life for mankind, but Jesus knew what he was here for and he didn't let his friends anxiety distract him. 

Then there's the MOCKERS...understand these aren't people you even want to be bothered by but they could be anyone of importance to you. If they didn't come in the form of those who have influence in your life, then it wouldn't be carefully planned distraction of the enemy. Otherwise it would be some stranger you'll never see again in your life, and the words won't resonate with you at all (though there are some who may be upset by a strangers offenses too). The job of the Mockers are to either make you mock others who are in Christ or to place you in the seat yourself to be mocked for being in Christ. There is always going to be someone who doesn't support you, but if you know who you are in Christ and you're confident in that, then gaining their approval isn't something on your To Do List anyway. Stay focused on your vision and move forward. 

I'd like to take this time to stick in what I call a ZIG ZAG. It's where I make a point about something else while still making my exact point. If you happen to have a mocker in your life, DO NOT glory in their downfall it says so in the word of God, and as a sister in Christ I implore you to just stay focused and stay the path. Don't even speak on it, just shut up and pray. Pray that God even protects you from making the same mistake, because it's easy to judge and then find yourself in a situation where you also can be judged the same way. 

Proverbs 24:16-18

16For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,
         But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.

17Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
         And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

18Or the LORD will see it and be displeased,
         And turn His anger away from him.

This also brings me to my final point!

3. Have Grace and Salt!

We know about Jesus talking about living your Salty life in Matthew 5:13. He even insists if you lose your saltiness, your flavor then you are good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Understand that the World has taken the term "salty" and redefined it to mean that you are frustrated with something, or you have an attitude. Then here comes Paul who says in Colossians 4:6 to "Let our conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone." 

Personally, I aspire to expose Christ in an innovative way that doesn't take away from who he is. Every generation has different views and ideas. I just hope I'm that constant that God needs to reach his people by creative means. I pray my conversations are flavorful, and full of life. As an artist and poet I've always had an attraction to poetry. I used to be obsessed with learning new vocabulary to use for writing more poems. As an adult I realize I need all that in my conversation now especially when spreading this gospel. This is the part where I have to check myself, and see that my words are encouraging, kind, loving, and sometimes to the point as well. 

What are you saying for real? Have you ever thought of the power of your words? The bible says "Death and life in the power of the tongue, and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof." (Proverbs 18:21). We oftentimes see this scripture in one way, only seeing life as a beautiful thing or death as a bad thing. Some things are written as they are for a reason. To me this scripture made me incredibly aware that there is power in what I say. I couldn't help but think of all the times I may have inadvertently given something life that deserves to be dead  because I wasn't careful. Sometimes we need to kill the negative self talk and bury our own false beliefs, and bad personal vows made in bitterness. We have to kill these things so they won't multiply in our spiritual gardens. Kill the bad words, not your future with the bad words, the false beliefs, and the actions that agree with these things. Words are seeds and if we love them we can eat the fruit of it. If you're constantly saying bad things about yourself or someone else then you are planting gigantic weeds that ultimately can choke the life out of your Harvest. There may not be very much good fruit. Sow seeds that will significantly grow your harvest starting with your own life!!!

So What Do We Do?

If you find yourself in a place where you are trying to figure out what to do next, I understand how you feel. I'm taken back into my memory to a time I was praying about Harvests I'd missed because of constantly letting others dictate my next move, or letting them affect me emotionally to where I was distracted by them. I made a new personal vow that if God restored the opportunity I'd never stop focusing on Him and the vision he gave me. That's what you do, you just keep going. If people try to sabotage your harvest remove the weeds, and the toxins through prayer. Bury those spiritual and sometimes natural things that deserve to be dead because they are killing your spirit, and your prosperity. Press forward. Keep writing the vision, making it plain, presenting it to the proper team so that those people read it can run with you to make that vision possible. Ultimately speak life over your seed and stop focusing on those who made an attempt at your life. The weapon may form but it won't prosper, why? You have a heritage as a child of God, you've been given authority to speak against those things that rise up against you. (Isaiah 54:17) So I say give life to what needs life, bring death to what needs to die, and keep it moving towards your destiny without fainting.

I challenge you to stay focused. Next time someone speaks against you, bless them who curse you like Jesus said, but don't stand there and take the abuse from them. Walk away because you're worthy of respect, love, and the strength to keep your focus. Preserve the energy you need to fulfill your purpose. We waste so much time worried about the wrong things, we neglect the care of our spirit. Although I've always been a strong advocate of self-care, I see that we've been thrusted into an era where we MUST take care of our spirits because of the Pandemic. I'm sorry that this had to happen so people could value their own lives, but so be it. 

Until next time, I hope you were encouraged by this post! I love you all! Remember to always Be a new creature!!!!