I fell for it again...I was not being careful to watch those precious boundaries in my life. Jesus came to set the captive free, didn't he? But I walked right into that prison disguised as love or mercy or emotional junk.
My stomach was in a knot, my heart was pounding in my chest, my emotional center felt like a ship wrecked on the rocks. How did I get here once again? I heard the Spirit of the Lord say to ask for his perspective so I took a deep breath and sat down. I mean in the spiritual sense since I was still literally standing in the middle of my kitchen.
I sat down in the spiritual realm where I belonged--seated with Christ in heavenly places.
I heard the Holy Spirit ask me a question: "When are you going to stop allowing them to hold you an emotional hostage?"
Ohhhhh!!! I get it now! I answered: Right now! I'm breaking out of this prison. I am emancipating myself from that stronghold in my mind. I had tears on my face but joy came to my heart. That's when you KNOW it is the Holy Spirit and not just some straw to grasp at in an emotionally draining war. You KNOW when peace and joy flood your soul simultaneously that it was a supernatural act of God.
But immediately the "what ifs" advanced their troops. What if they do that? My mind was drowning in a sea of fear in a matter of one second. The most tormenting thoughts entered my mind in less time than it took to inhale.
Again I heard the Holy Spirit say. "Those voices are from the prison you just left. Their voices will fade as you step away from the place of bondage."
Isaiah 61
THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because
the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to PROCLAIM LIBERTY to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the OPENING OF THE PRISON and of the eyes to those who are bound.
THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because
the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to PROCLAIM LIBERTY to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the OPENING OF THE PRISON and of the eyes to those who are bound.
And you want to know the really, really good news? Jesus set us free by his sacrifice for all humankind. He has already accomplished everything we need for life and godliness! Those who the Son made free are free indeed!
We can choose to stay captive. We can choose to stay inside the prison walls but the chains on the doors have been destroyed. The door is open but we have to choose to walk outside. The enemy has been defeated. He can snarl and act vicious but he's been de-fanged. He can only use deception to convince us we are trapped inside a prison with no actual door.
The gates of hell shall not prevail. There is no door!
