"God Calls Us From the Shadow of Fear into the Glory of His Power" by Catherine Brown Nov 12, 2008 "And it will be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with His mighty hand." Exodus 13:16 I want to take all of us on a journey together to explore various facets of healing and all that it means to modern-day Believers. Today, I would like us to take a fresh look at the Book of Exodus from the perspective of deliverance and destiny being intertwined in God's heart for His people. According to the dictionary, exodus means mass departure, migration, emigration, flight or evacuation. The Israelites could not avoid their "exodus"; it was a necessary part of their process of deliverance and healing under God's mighty hand. They were delivered by the blood of Passover into a mass departure from enslavement to the Egyptians. In much the same way today, every child of God needs to embrace "exodus" as a crucial element of God's plan of acceleration and release into the next stage of their Kingdom destiny. By this I mean we need to be willing to leave the past behind in order to step into the incredible potential and promises of our future with God. Our broken hearts and shattered dreams need to be healed by Jesus just as much as broken bones and wasting diseases that need His miracle touch. Just like the Israelites we must learn to appropriate the Blood of the Lamb, our Passover King, as we embrace our own personal exodus. We need only believe that Christ is truly who He says He is - the Saviour and Healer of all mankind and our personal Redeemer. God's Perspective of Our Battle is Strategically Brilliant! "Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.'" Exodus 14:3 In effect, God had created a smoke-screen as part of His battle strategy. By telling the Israelites to turn back and camp near Pi Hahiroth, it looked to Pharaoh and his army that God's people were in total confusion and on the run. However, quite the opposite was true! God allowed His people to experience a wilderness, but this difficult terrain was to become a springboard to ultimate deliverance from oppressive evil. A wilderness is a dry, barren environment with apparently little or no fruit; a place in which we may feel isolated and intimidated. Yet even when we don't understand God's plan for our lives, we must realise that God's perspective of the battle is strategically brilliant. He will ensure we are positioned for victory. Even when we walk through a wilderness season, we can be confident that our breakthrough is near. The devil will take us to the edge of hell, but God will bring us beyond the brink into Kingdom blessing. On the other hand, it is typical that the enemy of our souls will try and turn the tables on us and create his own smoke-screen in an attempt to convince God's children that they are oppressed, enslaved and in confusion. We must declare boldly that the devil is a liar and a thief. God's perfect plan in Christ is to rescue and deliver us into total healing of body, mind, spirit and soul. As God directs our lives we will see the outworking of His mighty deliverance in every area of our lives and we will know the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding. Peace produces a harvest of righteousness, and righteousness is a fruit of heavenly wisdom at work in us. When God is Initiating Confrontation with the Enemy, He Equips His People For Battle "The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle." Exodus 13:18b When God is about to initiate confrontation with the enemy He always equips His people for the battle and clothes them in divine armour. This is an important principle for us to embrace - the battle truly belongs to the Lord God of the armies of Israel. He is the One with whom our enemy must contend. It is in the might of Christ that we stand, not in the strength of our own valour or accomplishments. It is Calvary's victory that will ensure we walk in total freedom so long as we keep our focus on Him and not our circumstances. God's glory is our place of shelter and our resting place. Apostle Paul's words to the Church in Ephesus help us to remember the garments with which we are clad for spiritual warfare - truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God coupled with the power of unrelenting prayer (see Ephesians 6:10-20). Child of God - don't give up! Keep praying and pressing in until God's glory manifests in your particular circumstance. God's Fire Will Burn Up Enemy Activity On Our Behalf "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night." Exodus 13:21 One faithful aspect of God's character is that He is our Shepherd King. In this role God patiently and powerfully guides us into covenant blessing. His word lights our path and His fire consumes all unholy activity around us as we earnestly seek Him in a lifestyle of obedient love and devotion. God's fire will burn up the enemy's activity on our behalf. If you have ever been without light (perhaps due to a power shortage), you will appreciate that even the tiniest of flames will illuminate the darkest midnight depths. How much more then will the light of Christ's love illumine our hearts and minds with His thoughts and ways as He leads us as His lambs in healing exodus? The enemy wants to draw us into the shadows of despair and doubt, but God's love speaks of a better way - a living in faith which embraces us in the Father's tender care. Beloved, step out of the darkness of self-doubt and unbelief into the clear blue water of God's Promised Land and enjoy the sweet fellowship of His sustaining presence. Whatever you are going through just now will pass, and in passing through this trial, you will know a deeper revelation of God's character at work in you, and His love expressed in and through you. God Calls Us From the Shadow of Fear into the Glory of His Power "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory..." Exodus 14:4 It can be difficult for us to acknowledge, but the reality is that sometimes God permits the enemy to pursue us so that His glory is revealed in His delivering power in our lives. God will allow fear to become evident in our lives so that He can heal us from its debilitating effects. God permits us to become aware of previously hidden issues because He wishes to impact them with the power of the Cross. Many modern-day heroes of faith just need to step out of the shadow of fear into the glory of Christ's healing power. In principle, facing personal fear was what occurred when God permitted the Israelites to become aware that Pharaoh was hot on their trail. I have learned through my journey of healing that an essential principle to being an overcomer is learning to face our fears in order for God to help us conquer them and thus transition us from "victim" mode to a "victor" mentality. Breaking this destructive cycle will forge a clear path away from all kinds of abuse into true hope and healing. Mental health issues, depression and all kinds of phobias are just some of the ways in which satan seeks to keep God's people ensnared. But God declares over us that He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind. Child of God, I break the power of every enemy assignment of sickness over your life in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Face Your Fear and Let God Heal You "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD." Exodus 14:10 The Israelites started out well, but at the first sign of enemy intimidation they were petrified. Let's face it - we are not so different ourselves when trouble comes knocking at our door! When things don't quite go according to plan, we can be just as prone to "faith wobbles" as the Israelites were. It is therefore most liberating to understand that embracing healing is not about the absence of fear in our day to day activities. True courage can be ours when we receive God's grace and persist in pursuing personal freedom. Our enemy will always try to intimidate us, but we have grace to overcome satan's every onslaught, planned sabotage, assignment and destructive plot in the name of Jesus Christ, the Name above all names. Let's Pray: Heavenly Father, today we come to You in the name of Your beloved Son, Yeshua, and ask that You would deliver us from all evil. Lord, contend with those who contend with us. Father, we thank You that You are for us, and therefore nothing is able to stand against us. Holy Spirit, we ask You to expose areas of our lives in which You desire to bring healing and restoration, and we surrender to the journey which Your grace will take us on as You liberate every part of who we are for Your glory. Amen. Catherine Brown Gatekeepers Global Ministries Email: admin@... Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. 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