Total Deliverance

How often do you feel oppressed by the enemy? If you’re like me, you probably hate to admit that you feel that way all too often, especially when you consider that we should know better than that. The enemy has no authority or power over those who are in Christ, but, it’s still easy to fall into that trap. So, what can we do to avoid oppression? Become true disciples of Jesus until we think as He thinks, walk as He walks, speak as He speaks, and do as He does. Consider the Word of God from Judges 4.

The Israelites were being oppressed by a ruthless king. They cried out to the Lord and in His faithfulness He delivered them, though they didn’t deserve it (I can relate to that.) In this story from Judges 4, there was a day, a single point in time, when the Lord delivered Israel from the captain of the army who had oppressed them so cruelly. But, total deliverance from the king came as Israel grew stronger. There was a process in place to get from the point of victory to the point of total deliverance.

This story can serve as a metaphor of the victory and total deliverance we have in Christ. There was a day, a single point in time, when Jesus said, “it is finished.” On that day, the victory over Satan was complete. We can’t share in that victory, though, until we come to the cross of Christ and freely receive what He has done for us. On the day we receive Christ, we have the victory over all things that oppress us. But, just like total deliverance came as Israel grew stronger, so does our total deliverance come as we grow stronger in the Lord. This happens as we move past the cross, through the empty tomb, and become a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we study His Word, get to know Him, and enter into an intimate relationship with Him, we become stronger through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we do so, Satan becomes weaker. When we have become so strong so as to be like Jesus, Satan has no choice but to leave us alone. Think of Jesus in the wilderness. God had already publicly declared Jesus to be His Son, but Satan came to tempt Him, anyway. As Jesus continued to resist and, some might say, grow stronger, the devil had no choice but to leave Him alone.

If you have already received Christ, then I rejoice with the angels in Heaven over you. But, I urge you to not stop at the cross. There’s so much more the Lord has for you. I encourage you to take the time to develop an intimate relationship with Jesus. You can do it by reading His Word, spending time in prayer, praising and worshiping Him daily, and just talking with Him. As we become true disciples of Christ, our deliverance becomes more complete until we are with Him in Heaven. We must be careful, though, not to confuse religion with relationship. It’s not about being religious in the activities of reading His Word, praying, and worshiping Him. It’s all about the relationship we have with Jesus as a result of reading, praying, and worshiping Him.