Word of Faith || Get Your Free Magazine

Print

'Devil, You Can't Fence Me In'

Brenda Thomas, guest speaker at Kindle the FlameKindle the Flame Women's Conference Speaker Highlight

//Brenda Thomas

Our attitude when we are facing difficult situations determines our altitude. If we're whining, complaining, and murmuring, it won't get us very far. Just ask the children of Israel—that was what got them into trouble. But rejoicing always brings God on the scene.

We can learn a valuable lesson from a guy in the Bible who was going through a really tough time. Talk about various trials! Just read what this man was experiencing. "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls . . ." (Hab. 3:17 NKJV).

That sounds like bad news, doesn't it? That sounds like a terrible day. There are trials with the fig trees and trials with the flock. There are trials in the fields. Every area of Habakkuk's livelihood is being attacked.

What did he do? Look at verses 18 and 19: "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills" (NKJV).

What was he doing? First of all, he made the decision to rejoice. And how did he rejoice? He began to magnify the Lord. He began to declare some things. He said, "The Lord is my strength. The Lord will make my feet like hinds' feet" (v. 19 KJV).

The hind is a red-tailed deer, and I'm told that you can hardly fence these animals in. They can leap high fences. So what was Habakkuk saying? "Devil, you can't fence me in! There might be a test here, a trial there, some trouble here, and some lack there. But my God is coming upon me. He's anointing my feet, and I'm going to leap right out of this mess." That's what he was saying. There is always a way out with God.

The Bible Kind of Joy

In Habakkuk 3:18, the word joy is not some kind of quiet, inner strength. According to Strong's Hebrew Dictionary it means to be glad, to be joyful, and it suggests dancing and leaping for joy. The verb originally meant to spin around with intense emotion.*

This is contrary to the idea that the biblical concept of joy is only an inner sense of well-being. That's well and good, but there comes a time when you have to act upon the Word of God. There comes a time when you have to lift your hands. You have to shout unto the Lord. You may even need to dance or spin around. You have to do whatever it takes to release the joy of the Lord on the inside of you and shake off depression and oppression.

Joy will restore and it will make things better than before. God doesn't just give back what the enemy stole. He gives all of that back plus even more, added and multiplied unto you. You can't beat a joyful believer!

Fear Not, Be Glad, Rejoice!

What are our instructions for receiving restoration? Look at what Joel 2:21 says: " 'FEAR NOT, O land; BE GLAD and REJOICE, for the Lord has done marvelous things!' " (NKJV).

The first thing we have to do is fear not. Fear connects us to the things that we don't desire. But we have been given the ability to resist fear and put it out of our lives.

We need to be "Teflon Christians." That means nothing sticks to us. Whatever the enemy tries to bring against us—thoughts of fear, lack, and destruction—none of them sticks to us because we are rejoicing.

Second, if we want to walk in restoration, we have to make a decision to be glad, not sad. The Bible says that God has made us glad (Ps. 92:4)! Knowing Jesus and being assured of His love and how much He cares for us should be enough to keep our gladness level high.

Third, we are instructed to rejoice. When we do that, we're going to step into the overflow. We're going to step into restoration.

Refuse to fear. Refuse to be moved by the various trials that show up. Stand firm on the Word, rejoice, and watch God do great things. The best is yet to come for you!
_____________
*Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, #1523 guwl.
[Editor's Note: This article was adapted from Brenda Thomas' book Making the Most of Your Meltdowns.]