Turn Dread to Bread
Have you been wrestling with feelings of apathy, dread, and hopelessness? Does it seem that nothing you are doing seems to be bearing any fruit?
Will you press in with me?
A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream. In this dream I was a manager at a department store. I’m standing at the back of this store near the freezer section when a really tall, strong man appears next to me wearing a puffy jacket. He begins to reach into a freezer and pull clothes out of it and stuff them under his jacket to hide them. He was stealing from my store! I turned to him and said “What are you doing? Put those back!” But what did he do? He ignored me! He then runs out of the store to his vehicle and puts the stolen goods and his jacket inside of the car. The man marches back into the store, storming toward me. I thought to myself, “I have to figure out how to stop this man.” I wanted so badly to run after this thief and physically try to stop him, but knew that it was against the store rules for me to do so because of the liability involved. The dream ended.
Are you feeling powerless about your financial, physical, and relational health?
There is good news for you. God has a simple solution for the complicated process you’ve been in! You are not alone in the delay of provision for all areas of your life.
So how do we keep the strong man out of our storehouses? The truth is, we in and of ourselves cannot do it. We need to invite the Stronger One in!
Luke 11:21-22 says, 'When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. '
The Stronger One that Luke chapter 11 refers to is your Heavenly Father through Jesus!
Keeping the enemy out of the storehouse of our heart comes by standing up in Christ and using our voice! The Word says that we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.
'No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
Are you feeling weary in your fight of faith?
It’s time to stand up in the armor of the Stronger One. It is in that place that we have the victory before we see the victory manifest in our lives.
Ephesians 6:13 says, 'Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.' The armor of God is Christ Himself. He is our garment of praise. We are hidden in Him and He is our fortress!
James 4:7 says, 'Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.'
God has given you legal ground to stand up and say “No” to the devil. God is inviting you into a fresh encounter with His grace where you have felt powerless with no right to speak up and prophesy over your situation. His grace is sufficient for you and the blood of Jesus removed the liability out of the equation! The enemy cannot touch you. You are protected and safe.
You can be confident that God is out for your absolute good and doesn’t want you to lack for any good thing.
Psalm 34:8-10 says, 'Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord , you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.'
What does it mean to take refuge in the Lord and to fear the Lord? How does that cause provision in our lives?
Fearing the Lord means to highly revere and to respect Him. It means to see Him rightly. How do you see God in your life? Have you reduced Him down to the size of your lack? Haven’t we all?
The armor you’ve made for yourself isn’t super trustworthy is it? I’m sure Adam and Eve can relate. They partook of the fruit of fear, clothed themselves with shame and hid from God. Take a breath and remember the fig leaves in Genesis 3. Are you putting on an armor of fear to protect yourself from famine like Adam and Eve did? You don’t have to hide, and you don’t have to protect yourself using fear. God is fighting for you and for connection with you. You can allow God into your situation in place of fear as provider and protector in your life.
In the world we live in, fear and doubt are everywhere. You don’t have to search hard to find the problem do you? The promises that God has spoken to you, through you, and over you are very real, but do you still believe what He said?
When the promises of God burn in your heart so intensely that it seems that all of your capacity and energy has been overtaken by them, the timing of your heart’s fulfillment is not far away. It is hope and faith rooted in love that brings about your promise. If things are feeling out of control in your life, you are not alone.
What's in the storehouse of your heart?
Attitudes, beliefs, convictions, doctrines, realities, feelings, choices and behaviors all reside inside of your storehouse.
How is your heart doing? Are you discovering that the shelves of your heart are empty of promise? Has the enemy been stealing your righteousness, peace and joy?
Are the shelves of your heart that were once stocked with the rhema Word of the Lord been swapped with unhealthy things like manipulation, control, fear, and anxiety?
Being in confident expectation in union with rest in the secret place will be the birthing center for your promise. Be encouraged to stand up in the Spirit and take back what’s yours in Christ.
If you are feeling dreadful about how much you lack in this season and question your connection with God, it’s time to reevaluate! A Financial Sozo will set you on the path to freedom.
