Bringing Down Your Wall

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17, NIV).

Sometimes in life you discover that you are unable to speak with someone with whom you have previously shared your heart. You feel a wall growing. You might know the reason for it or not. The longer time passes, the more hardened that wall becomes and difficult to pull down. You feel paralyzed and unable to do anything. You are fearful to do anything about it, and where fear resides, the Holy Spirit is unable to move. The larger the wall, the harder it is to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, much less the freedom He wishes to impart.

If that wall consumes your life, it has grown bigger than your God. Fear has you in bondage. The best way to face your wall is to make the decision that it must come down. Through continued prayer and supplication, you can feel God removing your obsession with the fear that wall brings. You can discover the freedom to stop analyzing that wall, and trust God to take it down. You can allow Him to have your wall, realizing that only He can move mountains. With that release comes His freedom to speak or not to speak to the person on the other side of the wall. He will lead you to address the issue or just let it go. When you have erected the wall, you are the only one who can open yourself to God and allow that wall to come down in your life. But you must do as He leads you.

If He does lead you to speak to the other person, pray for the Lord to take control. Pray for His guidance and freedom to talk to that person. Pray for His Spirit to crucify any selfishness you have or any preconceived idea. Come with an open heart and spirit to listen. Realize that no one is perfect. Only the Lord. Be honest, and speak your heart in His love. Ask for a heart softened by the Holy Spirit and be ready to admit it if you are the problem. Ask for forgiveness, and also return that forgiveness freely. Ask for a heart to understand what the other person wishes to say, and remember that where the Holy Spirit is, there is freedom.

You can't take down another person's wall. You can only take down your own. You can share in honesty, and pray that the Holy Spirit will help the other person realize that you are truly sorry for whatever caused the problem―that you desire Him to rebuild your relationship with His healing presence. The wall which imprisoned can be laid to rest. Hopefully and prayerfully, the other person will experience the love and freedom and healing of the Holy Spirit, too. But it is not your place to bring healing. That is His work. It is only your place to love with the love of Christ, and allow the Holy Spirit to empower and direct you. He can bring down your wall and set you free from its control.