Breaking the Barrier of Oppression
by Graham Cooke
2018 Vol. 04
Editor’s Note: I was in a battle to get free from fear most of my life. I had endured multiple traumas, including abuse, an abduction and living in a war–torn country where bombs and evacuations were deemed “normal.” The fear that grew from those events defined my battle and journey to freedom from fear. This journey was a healing journey that took time and brought with it an intimacy with the Lord that I would never have if I hadn’t been in that original broken place. Once I had the majority of healing from these events, I found the oppression of the enemy pounding on my door to make me think the healing hadn’t occurred. The enemy always wants to put us back in that pit where we feel stuck. Graham Cooke, in this article below, describes well the “territory” or “fear–conquered” place I had come upon, just like the Promised Land for the Israelites. For me, this “piece of land” that Graham refers to is a “new place” where inordinate fear does not control my choices and behaviors. Once I was no longer having the symptoms of PTSD, I experienced such a place of peace that I thought I had “arrived” at healing. But I found that the Lord wanted more. My life experiences had built up so many defenses and walls, I soon learned that I often operated with fear as a foundation. Ultimately, the process of this journey brought me into intimacy with the Lord. In 2012 I went through a cancer diagnosis (chemo, multiple surgeries, reconstruction, etc.) and had no fear. I would not trade the closeness I found with God in the process for anything! I feel so blessed to spend time now encouraging people who have fear and anxiety from their past and helping them on their journey toward peace and intimacy with Him. God wants our freedom — and He desires an intimate relationship with us in the process. Read Graham’s article below describing this battle.
— Kathi Smith, Editor
God has a huge desire in His heart to see you set free in everything and gain your own piece of land in Him. What is the piece of territory that has your name on it and how are you going to take possession of it?
Freedom and Territory
A battle is always about freedom and territory. God has huge desire in His heart to see you set free in everything — compulsions, addictions, bad habits, and ungodly mindsets. I firmly believe there is a piece of territory out there in the realm of freedom that has your name on it. God wants you to have it, to take possession of it, occupy it, and own it, in Jesus’ name. It could be in your place of work or in your business. It could be in your relationship with God or in your neighborhood, or in your ministry.
Two Battles
How many of us know people who won the battle to get free but lost the battle to stay free and six or twelve months down the line they are right back where they were? It is one battle to break out and it is another battle to break in. Israel, in bondage in Egypt, was facing a battle to break out of oppression and to break into the land of promise that God wanted for them.
Process
Those battles can be hard, but they are magnificent. They are magnificent in the process and they are magnificent in the outcome. Sometimes we don’t understand that it is the process that makes us rich, not necessarily the outcome. We are so geared toward outcome, because what we want is to get from point A to point B without any pain, without any process, and without any trouble. That is not supernatural, that is magical. God doesn’t do magic. God likes to walk you step by step out of something and into a new place. Walking through that process is where you get to know Him. It is where you get to hear His heart, you get to see Him, you get to understand Him, you get to walk with Him, and you get to hear His voice. It is the process that makes you rich, ALWAYS. Battles are hard, but they are also magnificent in terms of process and outcome.
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Graham Cook is an author, founder of Brilliant Book House and Brilliant Perspectives. |
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