We’ve promised you an occasional post on some of the Sozo-related things we’ve learned over the years, and so we’re kicking off with this: what’s the difference between a lie and an inner vow, and how do they relate to each other, at least as far as Sozo is concerned?
This may not be something you’ve considered before, or tried applying to a Sozo, so let’s take a closer look.
I think we’d all agree that forgiveness is one of the most important elements within a Sozo. Our guests ask the Godhead what, specifically, they need to forgive the person concerned for and how it made them feel, and we then lead them through the forgiveness of both the event and the feeling. We then get them to ask Father God/Jesus/Holy Spirit what lies they’ve believed as a result of the behaviour they’ve just forgiven and the feelings they’ve harboured as a result. The answer invariably lists the negative emotions and responses that the guest has been allowing to influence their life and thinking over what is usually a considerable period, probably since childhood. It could be that they’re worthless, unlovable, stupid, ugly or any of a host of different things, and each one of these will have an outcome.
Lies
‘Worthlessness’ will result in feeling not good enough, justification for not being included in things, rightly passed over for promotion. ‘Unlovable’ will result in no friends, no spouse, loneliness; with ‘stupid’ will come an inability to make decisions, never voicing an opinion, expecting to make mistakes, to be unheard.Ugly’ carries an expectation of rejection, of an inability to find the right person, of being alone etc., and it’s all these that are the lies that need to be recognised, renounced and replaced with God’s truth.
Sometimes, though, and this is really where Holy Spirit helps, you’ll get a sense that there’s more than a lie in play, that behind the lie there’s a declaration, a statement of intent, a lie that’s been allowed to turn into a belief and take root as a vow. “I’ll never allow someone else to hurt me in a relationship”, “I’ll never allow myself to be rejected”, I’ll never voice another opinion”, and this is where the Sozo First gets the guest to ask Father God / Jesus / Holy Spirit, “Have I made an inner vow about this?” because they can renounce the lie but retain the inner vow, it somehow has precedence. Once the vow is exposed and the guest understands its significance and negative effect, it can be dealt with.
Very often the guest has no inkling that they had made that vow, but when they see it, it changes everything.