How Does Rebellion Affect Us Spiritually? The A-B-C Series on Ancestral Influences
By Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena
The word rebellion reminds me of the young boy who was told to sit down. He did not want to obey and instead asserted, “I may be sitting on the outside, but I am standing on the inside!”
Haven’t there been times we wanted to defy authority believing our way is better?
Rebellion in the Bible
The spirit of rebellion can be traced back to creation when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden Tree of Life.
Numerous verses in the Bible refer to subsequent generations as God’s rebellious people. Psalm 78 records the history of Israel so the Israelites would not forget God’s mercy and kindness and turn back to rebellion and unbelief. Verses 7-8 say,
so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
First Samuel refers to the seriousness of rebellion and likens it to a form of witchcraft. Saul was God’s chosen king over Israel until he chose to disobey God and follow his desires. He suffered grave consequences because of his disobedience. Samuel said,
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:23)
Rebellion results in:
- Division
- Destruction
- Discontentment
- Disobedience
- Doubt in God’s faithfulness and goodness
The spirit of rebellion partners with pride leading us to believe we are in charge, not God. This is a dangerous place to be, as Saul discovered.
Development of Strongholds
The spirit of rebellion can partner with the spirits of rejection and control creating a stronghold in our minds. When we feel we are losing control of ourselves or a situation, the spirit of rebellion tells us to scheme to regain control. The Control-Rebellion-Rejection Stronghold is maintained by believing the enemy’s lies.
If we fear our shame may be exposed, the spirit of rejection may tell us to withdraw so that we are not controlled or exposed, which strengthens the Fear-Shame-Control Stronghold.
The strongholds we developed in an attempt to protect ourselves result in protecting the enemy who manipulates our thoughts and suggests our actions.
We need to recognize these strongholds and ask for the Lord’s help to break them by renewing our minds and replacing them with Christ’s thoughts (See Romans 12:2). Second Corinthians 10:4-5 reminds us:
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
The Steps to Freedom in Christ:
- Equip ourselves with prayer daily by putting on the full armor of God (See Ephesians 6:10-18).
- Humbly let the Holy Spirit expose any darkness that may be associated with rebellion.
- Embrace our authority in Christ by renouncing the darkness and rebellion identified and asking the Lord’s forgiveness for partnering with it.
- Lean on God’s truth.
- Trust and obey God.
What negative consequences have you observed as a result of rebellion? Be sure to share your observations in our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.
We are all stronger when we learn from each other. Looking forward to your input.
Blessings,
Gena
In case you missed the rest of the Ancestral Influences Series, here is the link to the Archives:
https://simpleeffectiveprayer.com/category/healing-ancestral-wounds/
