Reminding A Thief of his Sentence.

The past week the Lord has really laid this subject on my heart. You might ask, what exactly does this mean? Let me explain. It has been revealed to me in such a dramatic way. I see everything that Satan has stolen from me throughout my life. He stole my father for many years, he stole my joy, my identity, my time, my purity, and my innocence. In place of all those wonderful things, instead he gave me fear, a broken spirit, a corrupted heart, a wound that seemed impossible to heal, a life with no purpose, a emotional wreck, a person of no worth or value, and believe me it doesn’t stop there. I begin to look at all these things. This was a lifestyle that I had thought was normal. This was all life was to me. How dare Satan think that he can get away with this. I think that now is the time that a generation should look at everything that the enemy has tried to steal in your life. If we can take our eyes off of man and replace our anger on the real source, we can get somewhere with this. Satan has already been defeated. Karen Wheaton said it best when she stated that our anger is misplaced. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  The Lord has really been putting it on my heart to take back everything that he has kept from me. I want to make Satan regret ever doing what he did to me, just by bringing people to God. You go through things for a reason. Not for yourself, but for the sake of others. It’s time that you stop giving the enemy ground in your life and you fight against that dark power, that really HAS NO POWER OVER YOU, IN CHRIST. Are you willing to just let the enemy cause you tremendous amounts of hurt, pain, rejection, fear, insecurity, and get nothing in return? I feel that it’s time that we fight back. That we resist the enemy. This is not okay, and we don’t settle for defeat. I want you all to read I Samuel 30:3-10 - -

1 Samuel 30:3-15 (New Living Translation)

  When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families,  they wept until they could weep no more.  David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured.  David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

 Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it.  Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”

   And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

  So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor.  But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men.

First, David and his men SAW. They recognized the spring of the problem and they weren’t willing to let it get away with the ruins it had done. He knew his authority and he knew who he was and was willing to engage in that as  much as possible. People, we need to walk in our power.

The Second thing they did was WEEP. I believe that it’s time to cry out to God. You know that Jesus always went to pray in the wilderness. This is very interesting to me. One day I asked God, “Why the wilderness? Why not some other place? What’s so special about the wilderness?” and he told me because the wilderness is when we need to seek God the most because it’s the roughest, most dry places of our lives. It’s the time we feel distant from God. It’s the time when we feel alone and no one else is around us. It’s the time of desperation and all we can do is cry out to him. I believe that the Lord is calling us to be desperate for him. To call out for him before we go into this battle for restoration as a sign of surrender to him. Lord we can’t do it without you, and we know that.

The next thing I notice is that many became BITTER. This I believe is just another thing the enemy would like for you to do, yet so many people fall into this trap. They get mad and they let it rage inside their heart, when it could have just stopped at a thought. The word says to take every thought captive. This is very important when you’re dealing with the heart and something that you have to consider. Don’t let the enemy take anymore ground in your life. Wouldn’t you agree that he has already taken enough, so why give him your heart as well?

Then I see that the only thing that kept David stable was the Lord’s STRENGTH. I find that many people go back to the same trap that the enemy has placed them in before. They run back into the bondage and chains because they haven’t found and rooted their strength in the Lord. A good friend of mine once said, “God made Satan too. And if everything that God makes is good then he is going to be good at what he does as well.” He may be good at what he does, however he is already defeated so let’s not give him any more reign in our lives. You can’t do it on your own. God’s ever unshakable strength is the only thing that will get you by.

Next I see the Lord DEMANDING, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” As Christians, I believe that this is our job. To quit allowing the enemy to take from us and not chase him down and remind him of the death sentence the Lord of all creation has granted him. I believe it’s the time we utilize the supremacy that the Lord has given us. He calls us to PURSUE THE ENEMY because he knows the authority that we have. It’s time we recognize this authority, believe it, and act upon it. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DEFEATED CHRISTIAN. And if there is, who would ever want to be apart? Let us be the ones to walk this out and prove this to be true. He’s taken so much, but it’s time to make him regret ever putting God’s children through the things that he did. It’s time to out and praise God for the damage that has been done because the glory of the Lord will shine so much brighter.

And the last thing that really stand out to me is that only 400 of the 600 preceded to go after the destructive force. I find that some people get too tired. The word of God says in Isaiah 40:29-31

“ ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.

 ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;

 ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.”

I believe that many of us might admit to being one of the 200. I would promise you that God wants to give you the strength to run the race with endurance and to fight the good fight of faith. How about we replace our anger on our real enemy. Let’s all take a stand and be the 400 that aren’t afraid of a giant that has been rendered powerless. I believe that it’s time to refuse to live in chains and to embrace the freedom that comes with the POWER OF THE CROSS and share that with others to remind the thief of his sentence, DEATH.

-       Natalie Hallford