Several years ago, Jesus brought me physically out of the abuse, but mentally I was still caged up and held captive. He gave me a vision of 3 people in a wooden, rickety shack that was about to fall down. There were no windows and there was no door, yet there were still people “held hostage” in that place. How can that be? Easy. There are numbers of people without measure in this same situation.
Abuse, neglect, trauma…all have their place in causing us to be bound up, caged like an animal, with no hope. Jesus died on the Cross to set us free, to heal us, to reconcile us to Him, to show us truth, and yet we continue to stay in the cage the devil has put us in. His lies and deceptions are multiple and powerful. He has us trapped in darkness so that we cannot see. We have believed his lies for so long that we cannot see they are lies. Abuse and hurt distorts and perverts our judgement, our eyesight and vision, so that we cannot see the truth.
Some of the darkness is caused by our own choices. We have chosen to not worship and become obedient to the Word of God and the Bible tells us in Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Also, Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient”.
John 3:19-20, “19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
Satan has brought much evil into this world and seeks to destroy us. He does that by inducing people to hurt and abuse others. He brought about pride and greed and all kinds of evil, anything he could find to destroy us. But God has sent His Son to die for us, so that we may have life. The meaning of the original Greek word for life is; the state of one who is possessed of vitality, life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.
The Word of God tells us in John 3:15-18, “15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
This is the truth of God. It is His Word. Numbers 23:19 says “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good”
This is the truth that will bring us out of darkness and expose the lies of the devil. Through the abuse, Satan taught me that God did not have the power to help me or to stop the abuse. Also, that God did not love me or care. As long as I believed this, I was kept in bondage. Even though God brought me physically out, I was still in darkness. He tried to teach me the truth I’m trying to tell you right now, but for many years I did not understand it.
I was used to the lies of Satan. I was comfortable in my cage, even if I didn’t like the abuse. Even if I wanted out of the abuse, I still didn’t want out of that cage the devil had put me in. I was blinded and deceived. My vision, my thinking was distorted and perverted. The veil put between me and God seemed so real. Impenetrable. There seemed no way around it, through it, over or under it. But I also didn’t understand that I was believing lies from Satan, from the pits of hell.
The way out of that darkness is by believing the Word of God. Not just the parts we want to believe. We can’t pick and choose, and we cannot change what we do not like. If what we are believing does not agree with what the Bible tells us, then it is a lie. Period. No way around it, through it, over or under it. We have to obey what the Word says. Believing it helps us to be able to obey the Word, but whether we believe or not, we must obey it.
It saddens me that it took me so long to understand such a simple truth. I’ve gone through many years in order to heal, simply because I did not “get” this truth. But I pray that God uses what I’ve gone through to help others to understand and be set free. This is what Ezekiel Heart of Flesh is based on, the abuse I’ve endured, the journey God has taken me on as He tried to show me truth, and how He has made me free. Coming out of the abuse physically was one part of the journey. Another part was being healed and set free mentally and emotionally. Learning how to enjoy life and not have to fight to survive it, is another part of this journey.
It boggles my mind to think that someone would have to learn to enjoy life, but through the abuse I endured, I understand that some people have to learn to enjoy the life that Jesus came to give us, but that was destroyed through the works of the devil. Jesus has taken away a heart of stone that was afraid to love and to be honest, stopped believing in love. Jesus removed all the darts and arrows of the enemy, and He has applied His love to those wounds, making me able to be compassionate towards others who are hurting. If you need prayer or would like to talk, please email me at Barbara@ehfm.org. May God’s blessings cover you and change you and give you life more abundantly. In Jesus Name!
Caged or Free in Christ?
