How FIC can help if you're struggling

No Problem Is Too Difficult For Jesus

The good news is that nothing is too hard for Jesus, and no Christian is too "messed up" for Him to heal, and heal completely. We have seen many people come through to complete freedom with the loving support of their church, even those who thought they were beyond hope or that their situation was too difficult.

It may not feel like it right now, but the Bible makes clear that, if you are a Christian, Jesus has already given you everything you need in order for you to be free, whole and fulfilled. It's all yours - all the freedom and joy you could ever want or need. He did all the hard work for us in His death and resurrection. You can be assured that you now have all the resources of heaven to draw upon in order to come though to complete wholeness.

The On-Going Battle For Our Minds

The trouble is, our minds have grasped hold of ideas and beliefs that were taught us a long time ago, and we have got "stuck" in them. Often, through what we were taught when we were very young, or because of things that have happened to us, we have received messages that have been harmful to us. We have learnt to believe perhaps that we are a failure, or not loved, or that nobody wants us. Even when we know at one level that, for example, abuse was not our fault, or that things really can get better, somehow it is hard to shift our gut beliefs. We need some help to change the way we think.

So we have to go through a process the Bible calls "renewing the mind". That is, we have to, bit by bit, kick out the lies that make us feel so lousy and fearful, and take on board the truth of how important and significant we are to God and His kingdom; how loved we are; how protected and strong we are in the face of the enemy. When we are afraid and anxious we become tense and our bodies and minds stop working the way they should. So quite often when we renew our minds we find lots of other things improve and we feel much, much better in every way.


There Are Things That Only You Can Do

The important thing to remember is that each of us has responsibilities before God. There are some things that only you can do, and some choices that only you can make.

Only you can choose to:
• obey God
• forgive others
• say yes to Him and no to wrong ways of thinking or behaving.

Nobody else can do it for you. Others can help you and provide the best environment possible but in the end your freedom will boil down to what you choose to believe and do.

That feels hard

That may sound like bad news if you have come to believe that you are helpless and hopeless and you have been looking for some 'special' person to set you free. But actually it's very good news because it means that nothing and no one can keep you from becoming the person God wants you to be.

You don't need some specially anointed person to do the right thing or say the right words. Everything that needed to happen for you to be free in Christ happened two thousand years ago at the Cross. It's in your hands.

We know, however, that it doesn't feel like that at all right now. In fact you may well feel trapped and hopeless.

All to do with lies

That simply means that you probably still believe all kinds of lies about yourself and what has happened to you, lies that come from the pit of hell. You probably struggle with what we call "strongholds" in your life.

Strongholds are places where you have got stuck in old habits and ways of thinking that are harmful for you, and from which you feel unable to escape. We have seen many, many people set free from the bondages caused by past experiences or works of the evil one, or just wrong ways of thinking. We have every reason to believe that you, too, can find complete freedom in Christ, and can live a fulfilled and "abundant" life.

You are not what you think you are!

The truth is you are totally accepted and embraced by your heavenly Father. You are definitely not a failure, and you have a really important place in His Kingdom. You may even feel you don't deserve God's love - none of us deserve any of this amazing stuff, but God has offered it to us as a gift. He sees you as a beloved child and only wants to lavish good things on you - no matter what you have done or what has been done to you. So, as the opportunity comes to reach out for a new way of living, let us encourage you to "go for it". There is such a good life ahead of you.

So how can we help?

We believe very strongly that it is the role of the local church family to help and encourage one another. Christians around you are the very best people to help you long-term, for they are the ones who know and love you. They are on the spot when you need them, and can be far more effective in loving and teaching you on a weekly or even daily basis.


They don't understand...

But what if they don't understand your issues or are frightened by them? That's where we come in. We have a team of people who, from personal experience, know what it's like to feel hopeless, helpless and trapped - but who have found their freedom in Christ and want to help others do the same. They are available to offer support and advice for those who are helping you so that they can walk you through the strongholds in your life and help you take hold of your freedom in Christ.

With your permission, we will first of all speak with your church's leader or pastoral person. We can even come and meet with them, and we will help them form a support team around you who will be there for you throughout, and have clear roles and goals. The team will not be imposed on you - you will help to choose them and they will offer whatever support is right for them.


What will I have to do?

You will first be asked to read a couple of books or listen to some tapes which will help to strengthen your faith and to understand what God really has in store for you.

Then we will, together, draw up a plan of action that is tailor-made for you with the aim of identifying the lies you have believed that keep you stuck in your old, harmful ways of living. We do this firstly through a process called The Steps to Freedom in Christ. That will help you to throw out the old lies, and take on board the truth about who you really are in Christ. It is those positive, sound and indestructible truths that will set you free.

Then it is a matter of receiving lots of help and encouragement from your church friends; learning how to live in your new freedom; understanding who you really are, and making important decisions about your life.


Other helps

There are lots of other resources we can offer to you and your church support network. We will be on the end of the phone or email throughout this journey, and will be there for the whole team, to advise and help as much as we can. We can visit, send information and, in any other way we can, support your team so that they can support you. You can be assured that we will stick around until you don't need us any more.

There is great hope for you. God loves to mend broken lives - in fact he mended you when he sent Jesus to die for you. If you read 2 Peter 1:3 you will see that you already have all that you need to be whole and happy. But sometimes we need lots of encouragement and help in taking hold of that healing. We would love to see you being supported in your journey toward that wonderful place of strength and joy that God has in mind for you.


What If My Church Won't Help Me?

It may be that, even after we've explained the support available, your church leaders will not feel able to help.

If that is the case, then we would be prepared to offer the same advice and support to another mature Christian who is helping you as long as they are working with the backing of their own church leader.

If you are not currently in a church, we would encourage you to get involved in one, ideally one that understands the Freedom In Christ approach.


What If I Really Can't Find Anyone To Help?

In our experience there are many Christians out there who are more than happy to help a hurting person, even if they don't know quite how. However, if you have not been able to connect with someone like that, there are still some things you can do to take hold of your freedom. After all, you are the one who will be doing the work in any case (it's just easier if there are people alongside you to encourage you).

We would suggest that first of all you get hold of the main Freedom In Christ teaching. There are various ways of doing that. You could:

- read Victory Over The Darkness and The Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson

- attend The Freedom In Christ Discipleship Course

- go through the Discipleship Course on your own using the DVD videos or audio tapes available

- attend a Living Free In Christ conference (held regularly around the country)

Then you should go through The Steps To Freedom In Christ. You will need a copy of the Steps booklet. You may also like to use the DVD video session available to guide you through the process.

After that you will need to stand firm in the freedom you have gained. The book Walking In Freedom will help you do that.

Although it is possible to work through the process on your own, we strongly recommend that you do that only if there really is no other option available to you.