Our God of the Impossible

God chose His people to live as Covenant people. He called these people into a relationship of faithful service. They, like we, were not immune from His judgment but were special and set apart. God stated in Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.” What a privilege! We all know, however, how the Israelites fell away from God's plan and wandered the desert for forty years in bondage to and because of their sins.

In her book called, Finding Peace For Your Heart , Stormie Omartian states, “…Deliverance is the severing of anything that holds you, other than God. It could be a spirit of fear, of anger, of lying, of depression or of lust. It could be a behavior that you've acquired for self-defense, like compulsive overeating or habitual withdrawal from people. Being born again delivers us from death, but we need to be delivered from dead places in our lives as well…actually when we're in bondage, we've already lost control to Satan. Deliverance assures that we are God-controlled,” (p.131). That , dear friends, being controlled and guided, directed and driven, by a loving, caring and just God, is true freedom.

Many times we believe that since salvation has made us new, it also erases the years of sin and bondage we have lived in. Indeed, we are new creatures in Christ. But have we not witnessed time and again, the ugly, filthy head of Satan popping up in church relationships and interactions? And, outside of the church, have not our habits been controlled by the darkness, making it difficult to discern who the Christians are and who are not?! There is work to be done to achieve freedom!

Stormie outlines seven steps to emotional freedom:

1.     Acknowledge God ~ Recognize that God is on your side and acknowledge Him as Lord over every area.
2.     Lay a foundation ~ Recognize that your relationship with God is the sure foundation upon which emotional health is established, and then strengthen that relationship by spending time in God's Word, prayer, praise, confession, and ongoing forgiveness.
3.     Live in obedience ~ Recognize that God's rules are for your benefit, and try to the best of your knowledge to live HIS way, knowing that every step of obedience brings you closer to total wholeness.
4.     Find deliverance ~ Recognize who your enemy is, and separate yourself from anything that separates you from God or keeps you from becoming all that He made you to be.
5.     Receive God's gifts ~ Recognize that God has provided gifts for you, and take the steps necessary to receive them.
6.     Reject the pitfalls ~ Recognize and get free of the negative traps and deceptions that rob you of life.
7.     Stand strong ~ Recognize that as long as you stand with God and don't give up, you win.

These seven steps might seem overwhelming, especially when you are standing in the center of a long, dark tunnel of depression or discouragement. They might seem impossible when your feet feel chained to the road of loss by the weights of gripping sins and addictions. Those times, when we are tempted to give up, to surrender to our sins, to allow Satan free reign, are the perfect times for God, OUR GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, to step in. God can work HIS perfect, perfect, perfect plan in our lives to pull us from everything that separates us from Him. That, again, is deliverance. And, it is an indescribable occurrence.

It helps to remember this; “All bondage comes from disobedience. Behind every sin, there is an evil spirit. When you sin, you give that spirit a foothold in your life…Deliverance, then, is evicting the devil and refusing to be crippled by him. God doesn't force it on us; we have to desire it. We have to want to put away all the pain of the past, the bad habits, the negative emotions, the sin and the self-indulgence. We have to WANT to be free. God is committed to removing burdens from our lives, but the first step is up to us,” (p132). While we cannot be, as Christians, demon possessed, we CAN be demon oppressed! “Spirits can only possess what is given to them. God does not overrule human will, through repentance though we are forgiven immediately, but we still have to throw off the bondage that came with it…satan can establish points of manipulation with the residue of our pasts,” (p.132-133).

Rick Warren stated in The Purpose-Driven Life , “The Truth transforms us. Spiritual growth is the process of replacing lies with Truth, Jesus prayed “Sanctify them by the Truth, Your Word is the Truth,” (John 17:17). Sanctification requires revelation. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God,” (p. 185).

So, freedom is really entirely up to us! God gives us all the tools we need; His Word, the Holy Spirit, prayer, forgiveness, even Godly relationships to help us overcome the past. Our choice then, is to drag the wet wool blanket of untruth behind us through a burdensome life or to allow the breath of God to pick us up to sail through the blue Heavens in perfect God-created freedom!

Michele's Bio

Michele is a freelance writer for www.heartbeatthemagazine.com . She also regularly writes articles on her blog site as God leads her.

Michele has a Master's degree in Counseling and works with special education adolescents by day in a public school system.

She is the mother of an almost 24 year old son who is undeniably God's greatest gift to her.

Michele divides her “free” time among several interests: jazzercise, kickboxing, cross-country skiing, ice skating, running, reading, writing and helping women find the freedom from their pasts that she has found in Jesus Christ .

In fact, it could be said that Michele's favorite activity is reading the Word of God and leading Bible studies in her home. There is nothing like that moment of spiritual dawning that occurs when God reveals himself to a broken woman and the healing begins!

You may contact Michele through this magazine at: www.feedback@heartbeatthemagazine or at http://www.xanga.com/catzndogz9 She welcomes your sincere comments and suggestions.