Shattering the Occult Matrix: A Romans 12 Pathway Every Survivor Can Walk
There is a lie that a lot of survivors don’t recognize that they carry, and most of the time it didn’t start with them. It was built into them, both by the lack of knowledge of the church and their programming. The lie says that being able to help yourself heal is for people who are further along, more stable, more aware, or somehow “ready” in a way you don’t feel. So, you sit there thinking you have to get to a certain place before you can actually participate in your own healing. Your programming tells you that there is no way out, no other options, and no other side to the story you’ve been told.
The good news is that’s not how this works.
Deprogramming doesn’t start at the finish line. It starts right where you are. Whether you feel clear or confused, grounded or overwhelmed, connected or completely shut down, you are still qualified for this process.
I love this Romans 12 deprogramming sequence because survivors can apply it in their everyday life. It lays out a process that is simple to follow and can be started with baby steps. It is spiritual, but also incredibly practical. And it meets survivors in every stage of the journey. This is not a replacement plan, or something that will complete the deprogramming process on its own, but it is something every survivor can add to the work they are already doing.
Before I even talk about Phase one, I want to make it very clear that this scripture does not mean what the occult teaches us it means. Presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice means we present ourselves as living a holy life, not partaking in the desires of the flesh that we know are not good for us. We avoid things that we know are sin and make healthy choices that deepen our relationship with the true Yeshua and point others to Him. Every time we choose our words wisely, make a decision not to watch that movie, attend that party, or gossip to that friend, we are living in alignment with this verse.
Yahweh will never require us to surrender our body to another person for their nefarious deeds. The cult has taught that being a living sacrifice means we have to allow them to do whatever they want to us, to bring harm to our body and use our body against us. This is a lie from the pit of hell. They cannot pick one verse that serves their evil agenda, change its meaning so that it no longer lines up with the rest of scripture, and still call it truth.
The Romans 12 Deprogramming Sequence Phase One: Surrender
Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.
The first phase is surrender. “Present your bodies a living sacrifice.” That sounds like church language until you actually try to do it. For survivors, especially those who had to survive through control, surrender can feel like the most unsafe thing in the world. People often say we are controlling as if it is just our personality trait, but what they don’t understand is that it was the only way to survive. Managing everything, staying ahead of everything, and predicting what came next is what kept many of us alive.
But what protected us then can keep us bound now.
Surrender is not about becoming passive. It’s about releasing the belief that you are the one who has to hold your entire system together to stay safe. It’s letting Yahweh into the places you’ve managed, hidden, or locked down. It’s admitting that you are tired of carrying it all and choosing to trust Him before you feel safe doing it.
That’s where deprogramming actually begins. We don’t have to rip everything apart; we just need to make a decision to trust Him and start yielding to His authority. If you’re like me, then you also have to admit that nothing else you tried ever worked long-term, so do you really have anything to lose? When we stop trying to be the one running the system and place our life back into the hands of the One who designed it, we can finally let out that breath we have been holding. The truth is that we cannot dismantle something we are still trying to control.
The Romans 12 Deprogramming Sequence Phase Two: Renewing Your Mind
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
The second phase of deprogramming is to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This is where some survivors start to feel the tension as their system starts kicking and screaming because it is terrifying to actually read the Bible and/or pray for themselves. Programming doesn’t just go away because you recognize it. It runs automatically. It reacts faster than your conscious thoughts and it reinforces itself. So, renewing your mind can be as difficult as it is necessary.
That’s why so many survivors say things like, “I know the truth, but I don’t feel it,” or “I keep going back to the same patterns,” or “something in me overrides what I believe.” That’s the programming doing exactly what it was designed to do.
Romans 12 doesn’t say “remove everything and you’ll be fine.” It says be transformed by renewal. That means replacement. Everything we have becomes less effective over time if we don’t maintain it. Renewing our mind works the same way. It’s a daily responsibility if we truly want to deprogram and be free.
You can’t just pull out lies and expect there to be nothing left. You have to replace them with truth, intentionally and repeatedly, until truth becomes the new default. The goal is to build new neuropathways that serve you and help you create the life you want. That means identifying the beliefs that were planted about Yeshua, about yourself, about safety, and about your identity and confronting them. It means interrupting automatic reactions instead of just going along with them. It means speaking truth out loud, journaling through what’s coming up, and going back to the Word not just to read it, but to let it re-pattern the way you think.
Resistance often intensifies in this phase, and you may feel so much internal pushback that you want to scream some days. The confusion, emotional flooding, and chaos will push you to stop. We must recognize that these responses are parts of us that don’t agree with what we’re doing. That doesn’t mean something is wrong. It means the system is being challenged, and they are scared.
This phase is about sharing the truth in love with those parts. Help them understand and see that they have been lied to for far too long. Give them the other side of the story and empower them to make informed decisions based on the full truth of what has been done to them and what is now available to them if they choose freedom through the true Yeshua.
A system that was built for survival is not going to quietly step aside. You have to bring all your parts out of trauma time and help them understand that things can be different now. As you spend time daily in the Word renewing your mind, invite them to listen and ask questions. Challenge them to become curious about the truth, because they deserve to know how much they are loved and how much hope, forgiveness, and joy are on the other side of their fear.
The Romans 12 Deprogramming Sequence Phase Three: Activation
Romans 12: 6-8 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them accordingly: if [someone has the gift of] prophecy, [let him speak a new message from God to His people] in proportion to the faith possessed; if service, in the act of serving; or he who teaches, in the act of teaching; or he who encourages, in the act of encouragement; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy [in caring for others], with cheerfulness.
The third phase is activation. “Having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.” A lot of people rush here or misunderstand it completely. Activation is not about stepping into a role or proving that you’re healed. It’s not about performing or striving. Activation is what naturally happens in Yahweh’s timing when His truth becomes stable inside of you, and He has equipped you for what He wants you to do next.
But there is a pattern we see again and again that needs to be addressed honestly. Survivors often feel a pull to step into leading, teaching, or even helping others heal long before they are actually ready. On the surface, it can look like passion or calling. But many times, it is tied to programming that keeps cycles going. It’s kind of like the blind leading the blind.
Scripture talks about removing the plank from your own eye before trying to remove the speck from your brother’s. That’s not about disqualification. It’s about order and safety based on biblical principles. It’s also about truth, because the reality is we don’t know what we don’t know. It’s a struggle because it can feel like we are going backwards, but the truth is, we are growing and it is good!
If there are still areas in us that are running on programming, distortion, or unhealed trauma, those places will shape how we lead, how we discern, and how we respond to others. We would never want to harm anyone, but what is unresolved in us will eventually show up through us, especially under the pressure of being in leadership.
I’ve lived this. My own handlers pushed me into ministry, including leading deliverance sessions, long before I was actually ready. I knew I had trauma. I had learned coping skills and was functioning well enough on the outside. But they didn’t see what was happening behind closed doors or the layers hidden behind my Christian presenter part.
Thank goodness for truth and for people who are willing to say it. Kelly was one of those people for me. She knew I wasn’t ready, and she told me the truth about where I actually was and what steps I still needed to take in my own healing journey.
I don’t lead deliverance sessions anymore. Maybe one day I will again if that’s where Yahweh leads. But for now, I stay in my lane, and part of that is being very transparent about the fact that I am still on my own healing journey.
There is no shame in that. In fact, it is one of the safest places you can be.
Because true activation doesn’t come from stepping into a role early. It comes from being rooted in truth deeply enough that what flows out of you is no longer shaped by what you haven’t healed yet, but from the living waters of a renewed mind.
When your mind is being renewed, your discernment becomes clearer and your identity in Christ becomes more grounded. Your connection with Yahweh shifts from something reactive to something relational. And out of that place, your voice, your gifts, and your calling begin to come forward in a way that is safe and aligned with His timing.
A lot of healing happens through the renewing of your mind that you cannot access any other way. Skipping this step causes a lot of distortion and being stuck. Gifts get misinterpreted or misused, and discernment becomes unreliable. You can fall back into performance without even realizing it. But when activation comes after our mind has been renewed and the lies replaced, it is grounded in Him and brings life to both you and those you help.
This process is not linear. You don’t walk through it once and move on. You’ll come back through these phases again and again. Deeper levels of surrender happen as you uncover new layers of programming. I don’t know if it ever becomes easy, but it becomes different. He walks you step by step through the training process of what He has called you to do. Peace and understanding begin to increase, even in the hard places, and that is part of how the programming is dismantled.
He has a calling and job for us to do throughout our healing journey. It doesn’t always come with a platform or look the way we thought it would, but it equips us in ways we didn’t know we needed.
If you feel overwhelmed, start with surrender. If you’re recognizing patterns, begin renewing your mind. If you’re finding clarity, ask Him to reveal the next layer that needs to be addressed. You don’t have to wait until everything is fixed. You don’t have to understand it all. You just have to be willing to take the next step.
Deprogramming isn’t about fixing something broken in you. It’s about removing what was built on top of what was never supposed to be altered in the first place. Romans 12 isn’t just instruction; it’s an invitation for you to partner with Him on your healing journey.
He has given us His blueprint for healing in His Word. Between sessions, between meeting with a counselor, or attending the next group, is where you apply the Romans 12 Deprogramming Sequence. This is a daily process you are invited into as a way to advance your healing and begin taking back what the enemy has stolen from you.
I am not saying this is the only thing required to deprogram, but it is a very necessary daily part of the overall process. It will make every class, group, and individual session more productive and can shorten the time it takes for you to heal.
The only question is are you willing?