Freedom from the Prison of Grief

Freedom from the Prison of Grief
By: Cherie Sheridan


Isa 53:3 -5 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”

We are told in Isaiah 53:3-5 that Jesus was familiar with grief and sorrows. Because of a dream the Lord gave me while fasting, I realized I did not truly understand what that meant, not in its fullness.

I will share the relevant part of the dream and then reveal why it is so important.

There were three of us in a room. I, a man, and a woman who represented the Holy Spirit. We went into a room. The man sat down on a rectangular coffee table, bent over with his face resting on his hands.
The woman and I proceeded to go through this room. There were dead bodies laying on couches, they were just dark images. There were pictures of people and events all around the room on the walls. There were objects like bikes and trophies, successes and failures.
No one, except me, was really concerned with the dead bodies or anything as we looked around the place. There also seemed to be a young boy in the room, I told him to call the police and report the bodies. He did but the police kept hanging up on him. So finally, I went outside to the van and got my phone and called the police. He answered in Spanish, which I answered him in Spanish, then explained everything to him in English.
As I and the other woman continued to look around and head upstairs, the door was burst open by the police. I went downstairs and told them I was the one who called them.
At this point, the young man seemed to disappear.
In the room, on one side, was a large boulder, it made up the wall. Toward the top of it was a path that led out of the room.
The other woman and I convinced the man to get up and follow us onto this path and we led him out of this room. End dream
​
I know some people might wonder how I understood this dream. I'll tell you, Holy Spirit showed me. He showed me the man was sitting in a prison of grief. The people who had died, the memories he had. The things that he idolized; the good and the bad. When Holy Spirit and I went up the stairs it represented intercession. Calling police and them busting into the room was an act of deliverance and rescue that came from the prayers. Leading the man on the path that was upon the rock (the rock being Jesus) was him being delivered from the captivity of the prison of grief.

Having this understanding of the dream I felt prompted to do a deep dive into the meaning of grief. I realized I really didn't know the full meaning. To my surprise it has a far deeper meaning than most of us know. It takes the scripture I first quoted from Isaiah 53 when Jesus took our grief and sorrows, to a another level.

​I realized, many of us are imprisoned by grief and sorrow and do not know it.

I found there are at least 33 definitions for grief in the Hebrew and Greek within the bible. As I read the definitions for the various words for grief I realized I did not have the full picture of it's meaning and what Jesus had taken for me when He bore my grief.

Here is a short extrapolation: idols, losses, regret, death of people, vexation, stumbling blocks, adversity, affliction, bitterness, calamity, disease, suffering, indignation, anger, fatigue, mourning, lamentation, depression, heaviness, sorrow, pining away, disappointments, misery and distress.

There are alot of things that are comprised in the word for grief. Another thing that I found is there was a prison or a cage. Grief can capture you and you are not aware of it. It can stop you from moving forward with your life. Regrets of what you did or didn't do, what you said or didn't say. Things you enjoyed but you can no longer do. It can create oppression, heavy sadness, and lamentation. In American English we consider grief when someone dies and the sorrow and sadness that comes with that. What Jesus took for us was far greater than that!

We can make idols of people, events, ourselves, and accomplishments. For instance, the football player that scored the winning goal in High School, who had high hopes for his future and never accomplished them. The event and the disappointment of his life can be caught up in the grief prison. People who have been in the military who enjoyed the structure and come into the world and it's chaos can grieve their time in the military and their identity as a soldier. You can grieve the loss of your role in your family and your identity within the family structure. Grief can come with a divorce, the loss of a job or a position, even a ministerial position. Why? Because you identified yourself in a role you no longer have, plus the emotional attachments (soul-ties).

I have a relative that told me when her mother died she no longer knew her role in the family dynamic. As the eldest child she took on the responsibilites that her mother had but that was not her role, because of this, it drained and overwhelmed her. She had to learn who she is separate from her previous role as her mother's daughter. It wasn't until she could discover her God-given identity that she was able to walk in the role He designed for her.

This happens in many families. The dynamic of the family structure changes when someone dies, especially a parent. It can be especially difficult for those who are left alone; no longer a son or a daughter; a mother or a father, when all of your family is gone.

Grieving is a real process. I would never try to make it less than it is. Every person grieves differently. What I found in this study is that most people are experiencing grief every day. It may not be from someone's death, but it can be from some type of suffering. You can be grieving because your too skinny or too fat. You can be grieving because you were passed over at a job, in school or opportunity ...yet again. The loss of a relationship or friendship. Public shame and embarrassment can cause us to grieve. There are so many reasons we are grieving!

That is why when Jesus took our grief and sorrow it is so powerful and liberating for us if we can receive the exchange and take His oil of joy and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Isa 61:2-3 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

There is one happiness we can have, that if our loved ones knew Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior that we will see them again. The Lord likened it to me as a deployment. They have been deployed to heaven for a different assignment.

I'm sure if I pondered awhile I could write many more examples of how grief can keep us imprisoned. What I would like to do is pray for you to be set free.

Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

The literal translation of the Hebrew words used here is: Loose them and let them Go!


Declare this:


I destroy the prison of Grief over my life and break agreements with it. I destroy the idols, losses, regrets, vexation, stumbling blocks, adversity, affliction, bitterness, calamity, disease, suffering, indignation, anger, fatigue, mourning, lamentation, depression, heaviness, sorrow, disappointments, pining away, misery and distress of grief. In Jesus name! Jesus took ALL of my grief, mourning and sorrow. I exchange it for His oil of joy and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Amen!


If you are suffering from grief or anything requiring prayer or spiritual council, please contact us.

CherieSheridan.com
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