THE HEALING WORD: Everything Is Energy and We’re All Connected Pt. III
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Bishop Jim’s insightful messages help others find THEIR METRON through M~otivation E~nlightenment T~ranscendence R~enewal O~utreach and N~etworking
Learn more: www.bishinthenow.com
Follow Jim Swilley on Youtube to see the videos live Sundays at 11:11 am – https://www.youtube.com/bishinthenow
Bishop Jim Swilley continues “The Healing Word” by turning the focus inward: the most powerful healing word we may ever hear is the one we learn to speak to ourselves. He reframes “familiar spirits” as familiar patterns of thought—old stories, survival mechanisms, fears, and emotional responses that once protected us but can eventually prevent us from moving forward. Healing does not require denying pain or pretending difficult experiences never happened. Instead, it requires changing the energy we continue giving those experiences. Like the man at Bethesda, we can remember the bed without remaining confined to it. Through renewed thinking, healthy relationships, empathy, and a willingness to interrupt familiar patterns, we can transform the internal dialogue that shapes our present reality.
Main Takeaways
- The most significant healing word may come from within. Other people can encourage and strengthen us, but our continual internal monologue profoundly affects how we experience our lives. This connects naturally with Romans 12:2 and transformation through the renewing of the mind.
- “Familiar spirits” can be understood as familiar ways of thinking. Bishop Jim reframes demons as obsolete thoughts and survival patterns rooted in what has become emotionally familiar. In Matthew 12:43–45, Jesus describes an unclean spirit attempting to return to its former “house,” illustrating the pull toward what is familiar even after change has begun.
- Freedom can feel unfamiliar. The message uses examples of animals remaining psychologically confined after physical restraints are removed. In the same way, people can leave a difficult environment while continuing to carry the environment internally.
- The Holy Spirit represents movement rather than stagnation. “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Spiritual transformation continually calls us beyond obsolete patterns and toward new ways of seeing ourselves and our circumstances.
- Change the energy attached to your story. In John 5:1–9, the man at Bethesda explains why he has remained where he is for 38 years. Jesus does not debate the story; He introduces a new possibility: “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” The bed remains part of the man’s history, but it no longer determines his identity or destination.
- Change the question from “Why me?” to “What now?” Instead of continually energizing the question of why something happened, ask what can be learned, changed, created, or healed through it. This is closely connected to metanoia—repentance understood as changing the mind.
- Acknowledging pain is not the same as remaining trapped in it. Jesus Himself acknowledged suffering: “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39). Healing does not require pretending something doesn’t hurt.
- Not everyone is qualified to speak into your pain. A healing word is different from dismissive positivity. Someone saying “count your blessings” can minimize legitimate pain, while someone who understands, empathizes, and then introduces hope can genuinely change the energy of the conversation. Romans 12:15 says, “Weep with those who weep.”
- Timing matters. Proverbs 15:23 celebrates “a word spoken in due season.” Even something true can become unhelpful when spoken without empathy, relationship, or appropriate timing.
- Deliverance can mean interrupting an old thought. Rather than a dramatic supernatural spectacle, Bishop Jim describes deliverance as recognizing a familiar pattern, interrupting it, and redirecting the mind toward something healthier and more life-giving.
Featured Quote
“Sometimes a thought just needs to be interrupted and redirected.”
— Bishop Jim Swilley
Another line that captures the heart of the message is:
“You still keep your story. You still remember that you were on that bed. It’s just that now you’re changing the energy on it.”
— Bishop Jim Swilley
Key Scriptures
Psalm 107:20 — “He sent His word and healed them.”
Romans 12:2 — “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
John 5:1–9 — Jesus tells the man at Bethesda to rise, take up his bed, and walk.
Matthew 12:43–45 — The unclean spirit seeks to return to its familiar house.
Mark 5:1–13 — Legion resists being sent away from familiar territory.
Acts 17:28 — “In Him we live and move and have our being.”
Romans 12:15 — “Weep with those who weep.”
Proverbs 15:23 — The power of “a word spoken in due season.”
Matthew 26:39 — Jesus acknowledges His suffering while continuing forward.