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Defying
Darkness
I woke up one February morning crying. The warm tears flowed like
blood from my bleeding soul. The weight of
hopelessness bore on my chest like a menacing paper
weight on a feeble piece of paper. I whimper, "My
God where are You?...why are You so far?...why can't
I hear You?..." My pillow is stained with the blood
of agony. A homicide has been committed--death has
murdered my dreams. Death has stolen my joy. Death
has stolen my energy. Death has stolen my passion.
I sigh, "God, where are You?" His reply, "...."
Fellow Dreamers, I spent much of the first half of 2008 hiding an
illness. An illness of darkness that began to
manifest itself in my health, relationships, and
dreams. I had experienced a plague of darkness much
like that described in Exodus 10:21, "Then
the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand
toward the sky so that darkness will spread over
Egypt—darkness that can be felt." Picture
that for a moment--darkness that can be felt.
Imagine night falling on you and attaching itself to
every inch of your body. Imagine the agony that
Spiderman felt when the alien venom symbiote parasitically adjoined
to him.
Have you ever felt such darkness? Are you experiencing darkness
right now? What is this counter life form
darkness? Those are some questions I will address
today.
Darkness is a simple concept; it is the absence of light. However,
when you experience darkness, simple is not a word
you would use to describe how it feels, nor the
process of how to escape it. Let me be blunt;
darkness is a byproduct of Satan's dominion over the
systems of this world (Ephesians
6:12).
When you are infected by the system, through choice
or God's sovereignty, it is the ultimate challenge
to your destiny. If you endeavor to fulfill your
purpose, you have to defy darkness.
When God allows you to be infected with darkness, He does it for
three reasons: to
deliver,
direct,
and
disseminate.
God sent the plague of darkness to
deliver the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt.
There are offenses in your past that have plagued
your mind, especially those from your developmental
years. Just as God has a plan for your life, Satan
has a plan to delay and derail God's plan. In my
darkness, I discovered offenses from both
preadolescent and adolescent years that were causing
bad fruit to be produced in my life. It is amazing
how the human coping mechanism creates a concept of
normalcy that is delinquent. However, when
God shows you how your thinking has been contrary
to His word, it will rattle your faith. Thank God
for his faithfulness to de-liver
you. God gives you new
liver
during this process because the old one is
obsolete. Allow me explain further.
In the human body, the liver is the largest organ in the body. We
cannot live 24 hours without our liver. Its primary
function is to detoxify the blood stream. Hence,
when God de-livers you, He is in the process of
detoxifying things in your blood stream. There are
generational curses and habits that He is destroying
right now. The price thereof is forgiveness. You
have to forgive offenders and yourself. You will
get angry. You will want revenge. Resist the
temptation to take matters into your own hands and
express those feelings to God, maybe a counselor,
and move forward.
Secondly, God will direct
you. He will specifically direct you to a
wilderness. Exodus 5:3 records,
"Then they said, 'The God of the Hebrews has met
with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into
the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God,
or he may strike us with plagues or with the
sword.'" The wilderness does not sound like a fun
place, but it is the training ground of all
champions, Jesus being the ultimate example. The
threefold purpose of the wilderness is to purify
your heart, test and confirm your identity, and to
prepare anointing for the Promised Land. The key is
the heart. When your liver is not working properly,
toxins get into your blood stream. Within 30
minutes, your heart is exposed to those toxins.
Hence, your heart is infected with darkness. Your
passions then become polluted. Eventually, you are
led astray. Note Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else,
guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of
life." That is why God must first de-liver you,
then direct you to the wilderness to purify your
heart.
Thirdly, God will
disseminate anointing in and through your life. When we
destroy an illness in our body, antibodies are
released. Likewise, when God has delivered you and
processed you in the wilderness, an anointing to
fight for your dream like never before is released.
You will have a renewed passion for living and have
discovered new passions and giftings. Further, you
will have a healing power (antibodies) to help
others whom have experienced darkness. This is the
most fulfilling part of this process. Truly it is
better to give than receive.
J. Chris Ford
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Books
"The Shape of Mercy"
Susan Meissner
“UnChristian”
David Kinnaman
“Churched"
Matthew Turner
“Start your new life today"
Joyce Meyer
“Moral Tension: God and our decisions"
Richard Harries
Music
Turning Point
Days Ahead
Divine Purpose
Brian Hurst
The Ultimate Weekend Brent
Jones & TP Mobb
Destined to Worship
Bonafide Praisers
WOW
Gospel 2008
Various Artists
Movies
Tyler
Perry's
The Family
that Preys
click
here to preview
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