The Lord really impressed upon my heart to start reading the
book of Joshua this week. I have never really read Joshua before but I knew the
basics of it from veggie tales. How Moses had just died and the book consist of
multiple stories about how the Israelites go and slaughter all the people (some
they don’t but that is a different blog) and take the promise land for their
own. The one story that really jumped off the pages to me was the story of
Jericho….ya ya ya we all know the story but I got a deeper revelation of it
because of something God showed me at this past weekend’s ladies retreat and it
continued into this week. On Saturday night as I was worshipping the King of
Kings, the Lord spoke to me and said “the violent take it by force” so I
started entering it in like never before and wow I felt his presence so strong
and it was intangible. I realized that if I can enter his presence by taking
authority over the Devil and calling forth unto God then what else could I take
by force? I left it at that thought and then I read the Story of Jericho and
the thoughts about taking it by force continued.
Immediately after I read the story of Jericho God spoke to
me and said, remember how I told you the way to enter into Me is by force, by
taking authority over the Devil and having victory. Well the same can happen
with strongholds in your life. You must take control of those strongholds by
force and have victory over them.” We must have a fire for God, an intense zeal
for Him. We must be secure in our authority that we have through Him because He
has commanded us to take what the enemy has stolen from us and turn it into
good for God. The Israelites were secure in the knowledge that what God had
told them was theirs was truly theirs. Once they entered the promise land there
were the people of the city of Jericho who were occupying the land in which God
promised them. This stronghold was keeping them from the promise which God had
granted to them. The Lord said in Joshua 6:2 “And the Lord said to Joshua:
“See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of
valor. God has given us the victory too and our victory is through His son,
JESUS. We need not be worried about what we face anymore because what has been
promised to us will be fulfilled. Later in this chapter it describes how they
took the city. They went to march around the city for 7 straight days and then
on the 7th day they marched around the city wall 7 times. On the 7th
time around they let out a shout and the trumpets began to sound. They didn’t
let out a soft yell, or just start talking, no they let out a SHOUT! They
released a noise not only on Earth but in Heaven as well. God moves when we violently cry out to our Daddy.
Just like when a child calls out with a shriek to his father, the father will
come running and help the child with whatever he needs. The same happens with
our Heavenly Father, when we shout out to Him He shows up.
God loves it when we lift up our praise to Him. When
we glorify His precious name it brings a smile to His face. In this life it
should never be about glorifying ourselves or be worried about what bills we
need to pay next month. Everything should be about Him because we are not our
own but are His. He is the rock upon which we stand, the shield which protects
us from attacks, and the sword which fights our battles for us. God spoke this
saying to me the other night and I feel the need to share it. He spoke to me
“whatever you ask I will give to you, whatever you desire is yours. I bestow my
gifts upon my loyal and faithful servants as long as you serve me with all that
you are and all that you have I will pour out my abundant blessings upon you
because I long to shower gifts upon my beloved.” His blessings do not just consist
of rewards or items but of victory over strongholds in our lives. It is time
that we take back what the Devil has stolen from us. He is just a squatter
taking up space in our lives. He owns nothing because God owns everything. With
a shout we must arise up and kick the Devil out. God has promised you victory
that is why His son died for us. We must become like the Israelites and
understand that when God speaks a promise He sticks to that promise.
There are no strongholds that are too big to
overcome because Jesus overcame death, why then are we afraid? When strongholds
arise, when a conflict arises we must be prepared and we must stand for what it
is. The Lord is waiting to hear us shout unto Him and call out His name. We
must take what is rightfully ours (Which is this Earth) and return it to the
glory God has for it. The Devil stole away the beauty of this Earth when he
deceived Adam and Eve into eating the apple but once we as His chosen bride
step forth in our authority we no longer have to live under that mistake. For
it says in Galatians 3:13 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law…”
The law has been cursed but what the Devil has made for evil God will turn it
around for his Good.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Walk in a
violent love that casts out the enemy from your very presence. Shout unto the
Lord to give you strength, because of Him we are redeemed and victorious. We
have an eternal life in paradise waiting for us, do not let the Devil have a
stronghold in any area of your life that will keep you from that!
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