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What does God's Word say to us about being redeemed from our enemy? According to the word of the Lord found in Psalm 107:2 we've been redeemed from the hand of the enemy. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy," Psalm 107:2. Do we believe it? Or do we still underestimate the power of the Lord within us? At first many will respond with a reassuring response, "Yes, I believe!". But when difficulties designed by the enemy come our way to steal, to kill, and to destroy us, many of God's people cave into the attack of the enemy, and often without any form of resistance. This response to Satan's tactics is not right. We are to believe what God says about His redemptive hand upon us. And what does He say about our redemption from our enemy?
One of the great quests in the history of philosophy is investigation into the meaning and purpose of life. Philosophy seeks the purpose not only of human existence but also of animal existence, of flower existence, of the existence of rocks and of everything else. Philosophy is profoundly interested in questions of purpose and meaning. But when we consider adverse events, this is the question that burns in everyone's mind. Why did this happen? Particularly if one is a theist and especially a Christian theist, we ask the "why" question. "How could God allow this to happen?" or "Why, God, did this happen?"
The prophet Habakkuk lived during a season of moral decline, political unrest, and spiritual confusion. As he looked around at the culture in which he lived, his heart was deeply troubled. Violence was rampant. Justice seemed absent. Evil appeared to be flourishing unchecked. In his anguish, Habakkuk did what every child of God is invited to do—he brought his questions to the Lord. "How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear?" (Habakkuk 1:2) Have you ever prayed a similar prayer?
Faith is the substance of things desired. There is power in faith, in believing. Jesus told the centurion, "Go, as you have believed it will be done for you. And the slave was healed at that hour" (Matthew 8:13 LEB). Believing is not something you always like to do or always feel like doing. It's a decision you make. Just as faith is a powerful force, there is also a force opposed to faith called fear. Fear is the reverse gear of faith. It is actually faith in the devil's ability to eliminate your faith. If faith is the substance of things desired, then fear is the substance of things not desired. The reason someone fears a thing is because they believe in its manifestation. So we could say worry is believing in the manifestation of the thing we worry about.
"...just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word." Ephesians 5:25–26 Think about the feeling of waking up after a night of restless sleep when your mind is already cluttered with the noise of the previous day. You feel heavy, distracted, and slightly overwhelmed. The worries and pressures you carried yesterday have left a permanent film over your thoughts. You try to focus, but your mind is already racing with a dozen different opinions and demands that do not actually belong to you. It is a feeling of being weighed down by things you never intended to carry, leaving you stuck in a cycle of stress that you cannot seem to shake on your own.
Have you ever wondered if something is holding you back from experiencing the promises of God? I remember a time in my life when I was hearing about all the promises of God but never actually experiencing them. I heard about peace, but I didn't have any. I heard about joy, but I was unhappy all the time. I could see God's promises in His Word and I believed them, but something was missing. As I spent time studying God's Word, I came to realize that the root of my problem was found in the wrong mindsets I was living with.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world hard and unexpectedly in 2020. It became a public health crisis that sent humanity into a panic and consumed people's lives for the better part of three years. But there is another public health crisis that many don't talk about—one that is just as if not more devastating than COVID. It's called loneliness. In 2021, the United States surgeon general issued this warning: "Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health." Those are some strong words. Loneliness … an epidemic? A public health crisis?
When an era ends, everything may appear chaotic. However, the Holy Spirit hovers and governs over the chaos. God always stands at the beginning of any new shift, era, or dispensation: In the beginning… God. "Now the earth was chaos and waste, darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Ruach Elohim was hovering upon the surface of the water." Genesis 1:2 TLV Throughout Scripture, movements arose when people recognized the spiritual significance of the time. Movements of God displace individual ambition and summon a people into corporate destiny for Kingdom purpose. The second time Jesus returns will differ from the first, when He came as one man, representing the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Lord often uses things in the natural to speak to us supernaturally. One day I was in a powerful conference and suddenly a sweet perfume aroma filled the atmosphere. I knew it was the fragrance of the Lord and in that same moment the minister who was speaking shouted out: "Many of you are smelling the fragrance of God." Several of us smelled a glorious fragrance in the room but not everyone in the meeting did. Some people have a gift to discern what's in the atmosphere. For others, the Holy Spirit graciously allows them to sense or smell things in a moment.
There's something almost comical about denying yourself a cheeseburger in the name of spiritual discipline while simultaneously feasting on somebody else's business. We tend to think of fasting as giving something up. Food. Sugar. Alcohol. Social media. Coffee—which, depending on the person, may require more faith than moving a mountain. We abstain from something we enjoy because we want to create space for God, sharpen our spiritual awareness, practice self-control, or remind ourselves that our appetites don't have to control us. And all of that can be meaningful.
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