Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Welcome dear Saints. Our Heavenly Father is always on task to keep us in check. As some of you know, having the “Peter mentality”, I have to learn things in a very different way than maybe some of you. With that being said, allow me to share these revelations that has been given to me.
The Holy Spirit has shown me how far the depths some burdens can go. A bold statement for sure and trust me, it can be debilitating. He’s given me understanding with this and assured me He was in control and that He loves us more than we could hope for. I’ve had to battle some very trying and dangerous times before getting a glimpse of this revelation and learning how to defeat it. After the enemy’s flaming arrows were extinguished, I was given a very profound revelation of how difficult some struggles are that I’ve not known before and some of which I was very familiar with.
Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
I was shown how we can become held in bondage, shackled and chained with what looked to be certain defeat but very much disguised as a victory. Then, in perfect timing, Mercy came down and showed compassion… The Holy Spirit gave me scriptures that will clear up some messy stuff, so let’s start with this one:
Revelation 3:7-8 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens: I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
Beautiful, revealing scripture. The doors God opens and the doors He shuts are a done deal. There is nothing and no one who can undo this, period. The opened door is our decision to have a relationship with our Savior. The door He shut is where death awaited us if we choose to walk away. This should give us comfort but mostly build our confidence in our faith. He is also telling us He is in control, even in our weakest moments and by faith we walk through the door He opened for us, we are His, forever. Why was this verse revealed to me? Believers will encounter opposition, it’s inevitable…
- It can come from ourselves…our doubts, our fears, lack of understanding, discouragement, etc.
- It can also come from others: their criticisms, pressure, rejection, etc.
- Opposition is also spiritual. Be aware that we have an enemy that only thinks of destroying what God is building!
The devil is quite real, and the Bible calls him “the enemy of our souls.” If you aren’t battling with him, it’s because you’re not bothering him very much. So, don’t be surprised that you encounter him along your path when obeying God. Here’s the good news; the enemy cannot close a door that God opens regardless of the circumstances, (Rev 3:7-8).
The enemy does things that comes back to hurt him every time and we should always remember this, especially while in the midst of our battle. He thought he was stopping me from understanding the troubles I was going through, which he was trying to destroy my ministry and steal my praise. Yes, it was that serious; in reality, however, the enemy was accelerating the process of Divine guidance by which I found a new, deeper, and profound understanding of God’s word and why I was being attacked so fiercely! He opened me up to receive a much-needed revival of my spirit. But, as many of us can in a brutal battle, I felt myself slipping.
I was questioning God, why?!? Why must I continue to fight these same battles over and again? I had to wait on this breakthrough to understand the burdens of not only mine but of others. Let me premise this with the act of forgiveness. How many times do we relive something that happened to us, whether it was something said or maybe something done that really hurt us, to the point where we needed to forgive that person for it? I can say multiple times I’ve relived situations in my life where I was hurt. We have to forgive this person over and over just as Christ forgives us over and over, and sometimes for the same thing.
This realization gave me a new strength that I have not had before or at least, didn’t realize was mine to have. Putting my trust in Him first and not in my abilities or my understanding. I’ve heard this many times on my Christian journey and this is easier said than done when we become faced with such debilitating circumstances. With my situation, I knew I couldn’t fix it and reaching for the One who gives me strength seemed to be too far away. So how do we get out of this rut and back on the path?
The first thing we do is step back. Take a minute to know that God didn’t cause any of this but on the contrary. We have to remember that God is Love and does not inflict distress on His children. Once I realize this (not instantly), I put it into motion. I could turn to Him and begin to believe He was in control, He has me in His arms and always did. I found my strength by never once looking away or giving in regardless of how defeated I felt or thought I was. What does this mean exactly? There is no secret meaning in this statement, it simply means to literally praise Him and thank Him while in the midst of the fight, while the energy is being sucked out of you, and through it all, even when I felt dirty and ashamed, unworthy and drenched in sin, I found my Hope and my strength in the Praise of my God, my Savior.
Remembering His sacrifice was decided and determined for me and you. His life was an example and His death was for us to be cleansed and acceptable in Gods eyes. We cannot overlook this regardless of what our circumstances are.
The things that happen to us, whether good or bad, should not define who we are in our faith to Him. Understand this statement to its fullest, Jesus took our sins, all of them, our past, present and future sins, and forgave them, even the repeats. How perfect is this? Flawless!
We beat ourselves up so bad sometimes that we tend to minimize or forget that Jesus took the punishment we deserve and shed His precious blood to allow us to have a relationship with our Father.
While in a vicious battle, giving into the enemy by believing the lies, is giving him too much power and too much control over the situation. God does not teach us faith by doing evil, nor does He give Satan the power to rule over us. On the contrary, we have power over the enemy by the authority given to us by Jesus Himself.
Matthew 28:18-19, 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…
When God created man, He gave man authority to have dominion over everything on earth. (Genesis 1:26) But when man sinned, he gave this authority to Satan. And when man’s authority was transferred to Satan, Satan brought in diseases, poverty, strife, bitterness, pain, loss and death. He messed up everything on earth for man. By the death of Yahshua on that cross, He righteously restored all that man had lost. That is why, just before He went back to heaven, He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore…” Those words tell us that He has transferred His authority to us by the power of His name. God does not attack us but when the enemy does, He wants us to call out His Son’s name and use the authority given to us through the Holy Spirit and demonstrate our faithfulness.
I’ve said all this my dear brothers and sisters, to give you the knowledge of how to break the chains that bind us, how to finally be free and most importantly, how to stay on the path. The not-so secret is to just praise Him. Through it all, praise Him and thank Him! We just need to give God praise! Simply put but sometimes not simply done.
Is it any wonder that we typically call out and show our devotion to the Father when we are under a lot of pressure or fear of certain defeat? Is it any wonder that when we are held in bondage we sometimes allow it to overtake us and we lose our faith? And some have.
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
When we finally meet the Father, there is not anything we go through here and now that can be compared to His wonder. The restoration of our hearts in a way that He had intended.
When we are hard pressed by the enemy and we call out to the Father, something happens within us. When we keep our eyes on Him for guidance and believe He is in control, a sweeter victory is in the making. Back in those days, olive oil was priceless because it took so much effort to make it. As the olive is pressed under great pressure and squeezed until a drop of oil is released. As a single drop of oil from this intense pressure, so too is the best version of ourselves when being pressed and keeping our eyes on Jesus.
Please pray this prayer: “Thank You, Jesus, because You possess the key to every door. You are the answer to my difficulties, and no one can close the doors You open. I praise you Jesus during my trials and in the midst of my toil, I will lean into You. Today, I choose to trust You. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
