When Snap Judgments Steal God’s Blessings

Lessons from Randy Clark, Word of Faith, and the Danger of Misrepresentation

There’s a sobering truth I’ve come to realize over the years—especially in my journey studying divine healing: we don’t know what we don’t know. And tragically, in that not-knowing, we often judge too quickly and too harshly. I want to share a story from Randy Clark’s book, The Healing Breakthrough (Amazon link), that powerfully illustrates this danger—and encourage you to take a deeper look before dismissing what might just be a door God wants you to walk through.

Randy Clark recounts how he once turned away from the Word of Faith movement. Why? Because the only people representing them in his experience were, in his words:

“…not the best representatives of the Word of Faith movement…”
(Randy Clark, The Healing Breakthrough)

He saw legalism masquerading as faith, pressure to make only positive confessions, and even people too afraid to ask for prayer for fear of sounding faithless. Some people were literally shamed for acknowledging a physical need—told that saying “I’m sick” was a negative confession and would block their healing. In that environment, people felt silenced, afraid to be honest, and terrified that one “wrong” word might cancel God’s help.

No wonder Randy was turned off. Honestly, many of us would be too.

“As a result of the experiences I had with those who were not the best representatives of the Word of Faith movement, I developed a prejudiced, negative view that extended even to the charismatic movement as a whole.”
(Randy Clark, The Healing Breakthrough)

And in a way, you can’t blame him! But thankfully, the Holy Spirit didn’t leave him there. Because as he came to realize, that poor representation was not the full or total picture at all. Over time, through people like Bill Johnson and Pastor Joe McIntyre, Randy was introduced to the real roots of the Word of Faith message—truths deeply rooted in scripture, shaped by historic holiness movements, and carried by believers with genuine love and maturity.

Here’s where it hits close to home—because how often do we do exactly what Randy did?

We hear one extreme statement, see one flashy preacher, or read one critical blog post, or someone we admire makes a negative proclamation about this or that movement—and just like that, we mentally close the book on an entire stream of the body of Christ without even blinking. But that’s not discernment. That’s spiritual pride and wrong judgment.

Imagine judging all of Christianity based on someone who misrepresents Jesus. We’ve all met Christians who don’t act like Christ. And no wonder Jesus said to count the cost! Those who claim to follow Him but act otherwise—that kind of hypocrisy is destructive. We’ve all seen it, and it can make people walk away from the church entirely.

But do we abandon the faith because of them? No—we press deeper into the Source. We go back to the Word. We seek truth.

“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” — John 7:24
“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” — John 14:9
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…” — Hebrews 12:2
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved… who correctly handles the word of truth.” — 2 Timothy 2:15

Like Randy, we may need to unlearn some assumptions. Because when we make a snap judgment and decide something isn’t of God—without seeking Him—we might be rejecting the very thing He sent to bless us.

Speaking personally, I didn’t grow up in a charismatic background. I wasn’t taught that divine healing was already provided. They didn’t teach against it, but it just wasn’t seen as part of the whole gospel—something I now embrace after my own study and experiences. We didn’t place a lot of emphasis on the power of our words or confessions either. Not because we didn’t believe in the authority of Scripture—but because no one had taught us how much words matter in the mechanics of faith.

Honestly, we also didn’t talk much about the power of fasting or biblical meditation. But now? I see how essential these spiritual disciplines are for breakthrough. They’re not optional—they’re kingdom tools, and they’re thoroughly biblical.

As I’ve sought the Lord more deeply over the years, I’ve discovered so much—about the gifts of the Spirit, about spiritual breakthrough through Spirit-led prayer (Spirit Prayer on Amazon), about intimacy with God that goes way beyond head knowledge. When I embraced these truths, they changed my life.

And if I had dismissed them simply because my own circles hadn’t exposed me to them at a deeper level, I would have missed out—plain and simple. If I had accepted the idea that maybe God doesn’t want to heal me, instead of believing that healing is part of my inheritance in Christ—I might never have experienced the miraculous healing that I personally received.

That healing was a breakthrough. And it was the very catalyst that birthed the passion I now carry to see others experience the same. I’m not just writing about this—I’ve lived it.

And I’ve had to humbly repent for making judgments about people or movements that I didn’t fully understand. Because once I learned more, I realized I had only seen a tiny piece of the bigger picture.

Now I realize these truths more deeply—and they have greatly impacted my own journey.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” — Hebrews 10:23
“He sent out His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave.” — Psalm 107:20

As for Randy Clark, he eventually went deeper. He learned that E.W. Kenyon—often cited as a foundational figure in the Word of Faith movement—wasn’t shaped by harmful distortions. Instead, Kenyon’s views were primarily influenced by the Holiness movement, the Faith Cure movement, and Baptist traditions.

“This well-documented, well-researched book helped me understand that Kenyon and the Word of Faith movement were not influenced, as many believe, by New Thought or Christian Science… I also learned that he was a Baptist who had the heart of an evangelist.”
(Randy Clark, The Healing Breakthrough)

Randy also discovered that Kenneth Hagin had rebuked some excesses in the movement most associated with his name—especially its drift toward materialism.

“I discovered that some of my theology and perceptions were also wrong.”
(Randy Clark, The Healing Breakthrough)

And then came the moment that pierced his heart. The Holy Spirit said to him:

“I love these people, and I don’t like your attitude toward them. Look how much they love Me… I want you to quit being angry toward them.”
(Randy Clark, The Healing Breakthrough)

Whew. That should give all of us pause.

I also want to mention a book I’ve really appreciated: ReGrace by Frank Viola (Amazon link). In it, Viola points out that even the greatest Christian leaders in history—Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, Graham—had blind spots. He doesn’t say this to dishonor them, but to help us walk in humility when it comes to theological disagreements.

He reminds us: if we looked closely at all their beliefs, we’d likely find things we don’t fully agree with. Yet we’ve been able to accept the good and true from their teachings. Shouldn’t we extend the same grace to those alive today?

“The world watches the blood-letting, and the Christian witness is tarnished.”
(Frank Viola, ReGrace)

And man, isn’t that true today? Social media has made it so easy to cancel, block, or condemn someone based on a single theological soundbite. But Viola reminds us—if our heroes didn’t get it all right, maybe we’ve got blind spots too.

Instead of trying to correct one another constantly, maybe we should spend more energy trying to understand each other—and even more energy loving each other as Jesus commanded.

Friend, let me ask you honestly: What have you agreed with in your thinking that might not be from God? Have you dismissed something because of a single bad experience or someone else’s opinion? Have you assumed a promise from God isn’t true just because it hasn’t shown up yet?

“Let God be true, and every man a liar.” — Romans 3:4

Faith isn’t about denying reality. It’s about agreeing with a higher one.

And when understood in a balanced, scriptural way, the message of the Word of Faith movement has real power—especially for the poor, the hopeless, and the oppressed.

“Word of Faith brings a message of hope… that God is concerned about blessing and prospering them.”
(Randy Clark, The Healing Breakthrough)

Before we say, “That can’t be God,” let’s ask: Have I gone to the source? Have I prayed? Have I sought understanding?

Let’s also reaffirm that God’s Word is the truth. We’re not about blindly accepting anything. But we need to be very careful that we aren’t reasoning away truth just because it doesn’t align with our experiences. Our theology shouldn’t be shaped by what hasn’t happened—it should be shaped by what God has promised.

Don’t let your experience become your theology. Let God’s Word reshape your experience.

No movement is perfect. No teacher gets it all right. But that doesn’t mean we toss the whole thing out. Let’s be people who dig deeper, pray more, and judge less. Let’s look for the gold—yes, even when it’s surrounded by gravel.

Because when we stop judging by appearances and start listening for God’s voice, we might just find the breakthrough we’ve been crying out for.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” — Matthew 7:7

Sources:

Clark, Randy. The Healing Breakthrough: Creating an Atmosphere of Faith for Healing. Chosen Books, 2016. https://a.co/d/a2yv3a7

Viola, Frank. ReGrace: What the Shocking Beliefs of the Great Christians Can Teach Us Today. Baker Books, 2019. https://a.co/d/7OwLZaj