Mark 3:23-27

…Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house…

Today we’re going to continue talking about spiritual “strongmen” in our lives that prevent us from being everything God has made us to be. These strongmen hinder us from walking in complete freedom and victory in Jesus through the battlefield of our minds. The strongmen are spirits/attitudes/behaviors that we partner with under the influence of the enemy. We walk around carrying these strongmen on our backs like heavy weights. It’s time to be free! We can walk the path to freedom through the knowledge of God’s Word and renewing our minds to His principles and Truth.

Isaiah 61 refers to the spirit of heaviness. This passage is a prophetic Word declared by Isaiah about the longed-for Messiah. Let’s read this passage:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

The Hebrew word for heaviness is “kehey.” It means, “dim, dull or faint.” Some translations call it, “despair, broken hearts, sorrow or discouragement. It can also mean feeble or weak. A person who is feeling the influence of the spirit of heaviness may feel like the things they used to do with ease now look overwhelming. The smallest task can look like a mountain when heaviness is operating. The spirit of heaviness can cause one to feel depressed or oppressed. It can manifest itself in a person exhibiting controlling behavior, paranoia, mental illness, gluttony, grief, hopelessness, despair, fatigue and exhaustion.

Jesus came to give us, “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Beautiful clothes and oil poured on the head represented joy. Beautiful clothes were compared to the “garment of praise” that God gives us in exchange for heaviness. Like all garments, we choose whether or not we will put them on. In practical terms, we put on the garment of praise every time we choose to worship God. God deserves our praise and heaviness cannot stand in the presence of worship. It will flee when we worship God.

How does this spirit of heaviness get into our lives? Sometimes it’s a devastating situation in our lives that opens the door, just like any other spirit. It could be the death of a loved one, divorce, financial problems, illness, relational problems with friends or family members, a wayward child, unmet expectations in your marriage, family, job, life in general, betrayal, trauma, abuse, neglect…the list of open doors goes on and on. We all face difficult times in life, but when we begin to feel depression, despair, overwhelming grief, paralyzing disappointment, paranoia, chronic fatigue, the inability to stop eating or drinking to mask the pain, no will to live…it’s time to recognize what’s going on and stop that demon in its tracks. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I’m not saying it’s easy, but the Word says we can resist it and it will flee!

When we begin to discern this spirit trying to get in, it’s time to put on our garments of praise! If you wake up in the morning and have an “ick” feeling and you can’t figure out why, that’s probably the spirit of heaviness trying to come on you. DO NOT ENTERTAIN IT FOR ONE MOMENT. It is your responsibility to resist it. Get your praise on IMMEDIATELY!

Maybe you’ve been in agreement with the spirit of heaviness for a very long time, so much so that you don’t know what it feels like to live without it. It’s time to repent of partnering with this demonic influence over your life. Jesus came to set you free! He wants to pour His oil of joy over your head. He wants to turn the ashes of what you thought life would look like into a beautiful tapestry made by His hand just for you. It’s time to tell Heaviness to go!

Pray and ask Holy Spirit to shine His light on your soul. Have you opened a door in your life by partnering with the vile spirit of heaviness, thus allowing the enemy to gain a stronghold in your soul? It only seeks to kill, steal and destroy you. This spirit must be called out into the open and be exposed!

Steps to Break the Influence of Heaviness:

1. Admit that you have partnered with the spirit of heaviness and opened a door into your soul.
2. Confess and forsake despair, hopelessness, paranoia…whatever you’re dealing with.
3. Ask God to help you forgive anyone involved in a situation that opened this door to you and forgive yourself for allowing heaviness to come in and stay.
4. Renounce the spirit out of your heart. “I renounce the spirit of heaviness in the name of Jesus.”
5. Ask God to fill that place in you with His love and Holy Spirit, and show you your place in the work of the Kingdom.
6. Speak the promises of God’s Word over yourself.
7. Get your praise on!

Remember, freedom is sometimes a journey…a daily walk with the Lord through His Word and the renewing of our minds. Even after the initial prayer of deliverance, we must continue to stand on the Word and maintain our freedom…just like mowing our grass or washing the dishes. It has to be done consistently and on a regular basis! We must also allow Holy Spirit to continue to show us the layers of gunk we have and allow Him to work it out of us in His time. We are continual works in progress and I’m so thankful He never leaves us where we are, but continually calls us to come up higher with Him!

*** If you have been following along with our study on “Spirit, Soul & Body,” you will already have an understanding of where these spiritual strongmen or strongholds hide in our lives…in our souls. If you have not, I encourage you to watch the video series I made. ***