Last night, as Kandi (my wife) and I were reflecting on our fears and frustrations regarding our financial situation, the Lord struck Kandi with a powerful thought. He spoke to her that our fears and intense, negative emotions were all based on RUMORS. As we processed this thought, it dawned on both of us that it is true, all our intense fears, worries, anxiety have all been based on speculations revolving around where we 'might,' or 'could' hypothetically be in weeks to come. We've speculated the future based on the ebbing tides of financial support for our ministry over the past months and realized our emotions and thoughts have been HIJACKED!
The Lord also reminded Kandi of a story like ours in 2 Kings 18-19. King Hezekiah, seeking desperately to return a wayward Judah back to their sole devotion to God, chooses to rebel against the king of Assyria, who had dominated much of the land for some time. King Sennacherib of Assyria then sends word to Hezekiah and the people of God - "On what are you basing this confidence of yours(18:19)?" "The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it (18:25)." "Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says - 'The Lord will surely deliver us.' This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grin and new wine...a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death(18:31-32)!"
This is exactly what I've been experiencing. The Lord has been calling our family out from the bondage we've been in to the gods of money, success, image, reputation, etc. Well, as soon as we made a decision to serve the living God and not these false gods, the enemy came with a full attack. But this is the interesting part, the devil really only has one option when he's dealing with the children of God - LIES. Because we have been set free from his power by the blood of Jesus, the devil's only option is to trick us into giving him power in our lives. He does this through LIES (pay close attention cause it's the same trick he used in the Garden of Eden). He begins by spreading rumors. He uses information we get from CNN, ABC, talk radio, internet news, and even stories from friends and neighbors to stir FEAR and INSECURITY in our hearts. FEAR causes panic, which leads to a grasping for security, which makes us vulnerable to the false promises of the enemy and suddenly, before you know it, we've struck a deal with the devil himself!
In my case, I had been reading the headlines of CNN each morning, entertaining fearful converstions of politics and the financial condition of our country and world, and even heard some painful stories of neighbors who are short-selling or foreclosing their homes in attempts to out-maneuver the financial downfall in our land. Ironically, none of these rumors were actually happening for our family, but it was the HYPOTHETICALS and WHAT-IF'S that captured my imagination. These possibilities became fuel for fear and I found myself running around trying to prepare for something that I may or may not have to deal with. The point is, Jesus says God provides each day for those who put their trust in HIM, not in CNN, ABC or any political leader or financial analyst(Luke 12:22-34). Instead, I'd been entertaining the RUMORS and found myself befriending a spirit of fear. With the spirit of fear whispering daily in my ear, together we began preparing for a future that does not exist. I had lived under the heaviness of growing fear and anxiety for nearly 3 weeks (of course, that's growth compared to my past)!
Then the Lord spoke the words He spoke to Hezekiah again to me - "DO NOT BE AFRAID of what you have HEARD - those WORDS which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me (2 Kings 19:6)." The Lord reminded me that He has promised to provide for our family as we do our best to obey his leadership. Our future is NOT bound by the circumstances that surround us, but by every WORD that comes from the mouth of GOD! As we submit each area of our lives to God's authority, we come under His jurisdiction, His kingdom rule, His provision for every need and more! That means, as our King, He takes care of us!
As Holy Spirit was kind enough to expose the source of my panic-driven days, He was also kind enough to help me take full responsibility for my decisions. He reminded me that the enemy only has power in my life where I give him authority. I gave him authority when I willingly associated (befriended) with the spirit of fear, who was masked behind the rumors. As soon as I confessed this association and repented of it, turning back to the arms of Jesus, Holy Spirit broke off me the yoke of heaviness from my shoulders and blew through my soul, mind and body with refreshment and peace(Acts 3:19). I then commanded the spirit of fear to leave our home (which he did) and I suddenly found myself laughing in His joy (which I hadn't for some time) and rejoicing in heavenly tongues. PEACE, PEACE, PEACE!
I was FREE! Better yet, I AM FREE . "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1)." I had been delivered from a yoke of slavery and am again (I am writing this with a BIG smile on my face, full of peace) enjoying the green pastures and calm waters of His presence!
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