This Week's Focal Passage:
"For thus says the LORD; Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe…'For I will restore health to you, And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD…" Jeremiah 30:12 & 17a
Let me begin by confessing something to you. I am an unclean woman who has been cleansed solely through and by the grace of God. When I speak/write to you, it is not as one who is above you or ahead of you or better than you in ANY way. It is because I have been forgiven much that I come to you and share with you so that God alone in glorified. If you ever read/hear something that touches your heart or turns you towards Christ Jesus, I assure you it is the Lord God working in you and has NOTHING to do with me. I am but a vessel of the Lord God and I am learning right along side of you.
Last week, we studied together about the woman at the well. We joined her there and allowed the Lord Jesus to speak to our hearts and reveal to us His unconditional love and His complete forgiveness that HE alone offers. Today, we meet once again at our well. This time, let's look deep within Scripture to study what God is teaching us about His healing that transforms severe, deep, and often fatal wounds that we have suffered due to our own sin of rebellion against Him. Turn to 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
My Friend, we MUST understand that Satan roams around us, seeking to devour us. Most often, he will not approach us with the promise of death and destruction. He approaches us and offers us something that our flesh desires - health, wealth, success, power, knowledge, love, attention, affection, status, etc. This is what Beth Moore has termed as "friendly captivity." Satan entices us with the promise of something that benefits us but keep in mind, friendly captivity NEVER remains FRIENDLY but it ALWAYS remains CAPTIVITY!!!
I have been in captivity and I can testify that I never saw it as captivity when I willingly entered into it. My flesh desired something and I followed the path that I thought would obtain that satisfaction. And I can tell you, My Friend, I never saw the bars surround me, the ceiling closing in over me, or the door locking behind me until I felt the pain of my consequences and realized I was trapped. There were years that I just sat in that cell because I felt that I had sinned against the Lord God and this was "what I deserved." I listened to the lies of the Enemy and believed that God would not rescue me because I did not deserve to be rescued. After all, I knew what God's Word said, but I rebelled anyway.
I fell deep into a pit of despair, destructive behaviors, and self-loathing. I hated myself so much, I could not look into the mirror without the desire to hurt myself. It was some of the darkest days in all my life. I began to "punish" myself with even more self-destructive behaviors because I believed that if I punished myself this would appease the Lord. HE would see I was sorry and somehow have pity on me. But all that did was deepen my despair and draw me deeper into captivity.
You see, God's Word tells us "If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). "He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13). "When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin" (Psalm 32:3-5).
When we sin against the Lord God the only way out is through Him. His Word clearly outlines the steps to freedom and we must follow them exactly. I love what our pastor says, "The only way to God is on His terms!!" There is no other way. "For thus says the LORD; Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe…'For I will restore health to you, And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD…" (Jeremiah 30:12 & 17a) When we rebel against the Lord, we must confess that sin and REPENT of that sin. We must surrender our entire being to the Lord God and allow Him to reign in our lives as Lord. When we do that, God is faithful to forgive, heal, restore, renew, rebuild, and deliver us from any and ALL unrighteousness. Do not allow Satan to convince you that your sin is too vile, too wicked, too evil, or too often for the Lord Jesus' blood to cover, cleanse and remove.
Where are you today? Are you in captivity? Did you willingly walk into a trap that the Enemy set for you? Have you been in that prison longer than you can remember? Perhaps you are in so deep that you feel as though the Lord could not find you even if HE wanted too. God's Word promises us that "God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). "For HE made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Has the Word of God spoken to your heart today? If so, how will you respond to the Lord God - the Most High? Will you run to Him and allow Him to heal you, cleanse you, and set you free from sin and self or will you remain right where you are and continue to allow the Enemy devour you? I pray that you will run to the Lord Jesus Christ…Let's meet at the foot of the cross and praise His name forever and ever!!
