I was recently in an airport lounge, awaiting my flight, when I saw several people walking with noticeable limps. It immediately struck me that something was not right, and that the Holy Spirit was bringing this to my attention for a reason.
As I further inquired, He was showing me that people have picked up wounds, and that although this was obvious to my eyes, this was not the case with those that carried them. Instead, they had become part of their physical identity, and they have adapted in such a way that they no longer even see that they are encumbered. They have accepted these physical limitations as a natural progression of life.
When I know that I am carrying a weight that is effectively influencing my movement, I take it serious. It is then that I seek the Lord, asking questions regarding the root of the hindrance, praying for spiritual awareness and understanding.
Some years ago I developed a painful issue with bones in my left foot, and when I inquired of the Lord for clarity on this, the understanding that emerged was very specific. I knew that the Holy Spirit was telling me that my physical walk was being targeted, and that at the root was an attack on my spiritual walk. This was an attempt to get me off balance, alter direction, and to cause delay.
With anything in life, when we know who and why a thing is happening, it changes everything. We can then approach it equipped with what we need to alleviate the attack at the source. For believers we know that this is the powerful weapon of prayer, and the word of God.
Hebrews 12:1 NLT "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us"