Pain is our enemy!! Pain is a distraction!! Pain is a destiny thief and a destiny robber; it tries to stop us from becoming who God called us to be!! God is not the author of pain!!
I want to stop a minute to interject something here: Yes, I know that pain can push us into our destiny but I am talking here about the plan of pain! Pain is not from God but God uses pain in the way He sees fit that comes in our lives; God takes what the devil meant for evil and turns it around for our good because we love Him and are the called according to HIS purpose (Romans 8:28 - link is for complete chapter)!! God has a purpose for us; He has a plan for our lives and NOTHING surprises Him when it happens to us!! What God does is whatever evil the enemy throws at us, God turns it around for our good as He did for Joseph in Genesis 50:20 - link is for complete chapter!! I like the way Max Lucado said it in his blog "What Was Meant for Evil, God Uses for Good:"
"God, the Master Weaver. He stretches the yarn and intertwines the colors, the ragged twine with the velvet strings, the pains with the pleasures. Nothing escapes his reach. Every king, despot, weather pattern, and molecule are at his command. He passes the shuttle back and forth across the generations, and as he does, a design emerges. Satan weaves; God reweaves."
Ha, ha, ha!! Glory!! "Satan weaves; God reweaves!!" WOW!! What a Mighty God we serve!! God is the "Master Weaver" and NOTHING gets pass Him!! He sees and knows it ALL!! Therefore, when bad things happen to us, God DOES NOT have to work to come up with a plan on how to get us out; God is NOT panicking!! God ALREADY HAS THE PLAN IN PLACE BECAUSE HE KNEW BEFORE WE WERE EVEN IN OUR MOTHER'S WOMB We WERE GOING TO NEED TO BE BAILED OUT!! GOD KNEW THE ENEMY WOULD LAUNCH THAT ATTACK ON US FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE AND HE ALREADY PLANNED A WAY TO BRING US OUT!! God does not miss a thing!! When the enemy attacks us, it is NOT about us, it is because we are naming the Name of Jesus and the devil hates God and all who name His Name!! It is about Jesus and not us!! So don't we discouraged, God has a way of escape for you out of EVERY situation/circumstance you will ever face!! God got us covered; we are in the palm of His hand and NOTHING will ever be able to pluck us out!! Ha, ha, ha!! God got us!! He is in TOTAL control!!
Now to continue: The purpose of ALL pain is to distract or hinder us in one way or another; to cause us to take our eyes off Jesus, to not believe God's Word, to not to believe His promises to us, to not to believe we have a purpose - but WE must make up in our minds that WE WILL NOT allow that to happen!!
Pain CANNOT accomplish its mission unless WE give in to it!! The Word tells us to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee; he must flee - there is no ifs, ands, or buts about it!! God is NOT a liar so His Word is truth and if the Word says when we submit to God and resist the devil he will flee, that is what will happen when we do our part; submit to God, resist the devil!! WE CANNOT GIVE IN TO PAIN; WE CANNOT ALLOW IT TO TAKE OUR EYES OFF OF JESUS - TO DISTRACT US FROM OUR PURPOSE!! WE JUST CAN'T!! WE MUST HOLD FAST UNTIL OUR HELP COMES!! WE MUST WAIT UPON THE LORD AND AS WE WAIT, GOD WILL RENEW OUR STRENGTH!! Father I WILL WAIT ON YOU!!!
Pain is a distraction because when we are in pain, nothing is on our mind but the pain we are in; it does not matter what kind of pain (physical, mental, emotional, heartbroken, grief stricken, etc.) - all pain takes something out of us, causing us to lose focus on what is really important!!
I know when I am in pain, I do not want to talk with anyone, or be around them because I can become grumpy at times:) and do not want the wrong thing to come flying out of my mouth; I just don't feel like being bothered with people!! That shows you right there, pain is not from God - it isolates us and causes us not to show the love of God!! I only focus on how bad I am hurting and I am sad because I am hurting; yes, I pray and have my Pastor and others pray with and for me but until I take charge of the pain, it will not leave - until I open my mouth and declare the Word of God over that pain, and keep declaring it, it will not budge!! We must declare God's Word over pain and every other persistent thing that tries to come and steal our destiny until it leaves; we must add faith to those declarations so the situation will hear the Word of God and go!! We must not faint, lose heart, and get tired of declaring the Word because the pain or whatever else that is trying to come against our purpose, is going to bow its knee to the Name of Jesus, Who is the Word and go!!
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT SEEN!! In the Amplified Bible this is what Hebrews 11:1 says:
"Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]" (biblegateway.com).
I don't care what your body says, your situation, your circumstance, the devil, man, woman, or whomever or whatever says, God's Word says that by Jesus' stripes you are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5) which means you are complete in Him (spirit, soul, and body - because in Christ dwells ALL the fullness of the Godhead - Colossians 2:9-10 but link is for complete chapter), Jesus, and we have His mind and we hold the thoughts which are the feelings and purposes of His heart (1 Corinthians 2:16) and ALL things are under our feet because ALL things are under Christ's feet and we are more than conquerors because of Him; NO WEAPON that is formed against us will prosper - it is NOT going to happen!! Therefore, do not allow the devil to bully you and tell you all his lies about this is happening to you because of blah, blah, blah - HE IS A LIAR - ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE!! Begin to OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND DECLARE WHAT GOD'S WORD SAYS OVER YOUR BODY, OVER YOUR SITUATION, OVER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES - begin to come against EVERY destiny thief and destiny robber in the Name of Jesus and watch the devil scatter - he has no other alternative but to flee!!
Right now, in the Name of Jesus, I come into agreement with you all, and I declare and decree over your lives that the enemy WILL NOT take you out before your time, he WILL NOT stop your ordained destiny by God, he WILL NOT stop your God given purpose, you will be who God has ordained you to be and do what God called you to do!! I come against EVERY pain, pain in your mind, pain in your heart, pain in your body, pain in your soul which is causing you physical, emotional, mental, and any other kind of pain, in the Name of Jesus and by the Power of His Blood and COMMAND it to go NOW and NEVER return!! I come against EVERY destiny thief and destiny robber of ANY OTHER KIND in the Name of Jesus and by the Power of His Blood and COMMAND YOU to go NOW and NEVER return!! I come against the spirits of doubt and unbelief in the Name of Jesus and by the Power of His Blood and COMMAND YOU to go NOW and NEVER return!!!
You are now free in Jesus because He has set you free!! Go!! Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!! Do not give place to the devil again!! When he tries to come back, do not allow him to come in; keep declaring the Word of God, God's promises over your life and your family's life!! Don't get tired, don't get discouraged because you think it is not happening fast enough or it does not work out like YOU think it should; KEEP TRUSTING GOD - submit to HIS will for your life and watch things turn around for you!!
Now that you a free from the junk that tried to stop your purpose, fill your heart up with Jesus - allow Jesus to replace all the bad He has delivered you from with all of Him!! Allow the Holy Spirit to come in and revive and restore you!!
When those thoughts come to tell you that you are not healed or this is happening because God does not love you or God is punishing you or God is trying to teach you something, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM and do not allow them to stay in your mind!! 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us exactly what to do when ANYTHING that is contrary to God's Word tries to invade our minds:
3 For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, 5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), (biblegateway.com - Amplified).
We cannot allow negative thoughts to stay in our minds; when they come we have to rebuke them at once - we cannot give NO place to the devil!! When things happen, let's not focus on the why, let's keep our eyes to the hills from whence cometh our help, our help comes from God; let's declare the Word over that thing and believe until it manifest in the nature!!
God does not cause evil things to come upon us or against us - those things come from the devil!! God DOES NOT put sickness on us either; I have heard Christians say that God puts sickness on us to teach us something!! Are you kidding me??? To teach us WHAT??? That is ludicrous!! Why in the world would God tell us in His Word that we are healed by Jesus' stripes, Jesus' finished work, which brought us back into fellowship with God, and God turn around and put sickness on us and cause us to die? Does that make ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER?? NO, it does NOT!! Jesus is OUR Healer and so much more!!! He is ALL we need!!! I don't know about you but I choose to believe the report of the Lord that I am healed by Jesus' stripes and I will die with my belief of God's Word!! NO devil in hell or anywhere else is going to make me doubt what God says!! I don't care how my body ache with pain or what tries to come against me, I stand on God's Word that I am more than a conqueror through Christ AND that greater is He Who is in me than he that is in the world!! Because I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that God for me is more than the world against me and if God be for me, NOTHING OR ANYBODY can stand against me and win; I am confident of this!!!!
Be encouraged today!! God has brought you this far by His grace and His grace will take you home when God says so!! You are about to embark on a new journey of freedom you have never experienced before; out with the old so you can embrace the new!! Decide NOW, TODAY, you will walk in God's peace, the peace Jesus left you in John 14:27; keep your minds stayed on Jesus so He can keep you in perfect peace - He is the ONLY One who gives peace - Jesus is our Source for peace!!
Take possession of your inheritance through Jesus; you are an heir to the Kingdom of God so walk in it!! Jesus died so YOU could live in Him; not apart from Him - you live, move, breathe, have your beings because He, Jesus, dwells in you!! Jesus died so YOU could have life - not a mediocre life but abundant life!! Stop looking at your past, at what you use to be or what you use to do; Jesus has taken care of all of that for you!! You are forgiven!! Your slate is wiped clean!! Your sins has been thrown by God into the sea of forgetfulness never to come before Him again!! When God looks at you, He DOES NOT see your past, He does not see you as a failure because His Son Jesus succeeded where you failed; God sees the righteousness of His Son Jesus that you are clothe in - YOU, yes YOU, are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!! Rejoice because Christ has made you righteous!! Halleluiah!!! Never allow ANYONE to devalue you and tell you what you use to be or what you use to do or that you are no good!! Tell them "You are wrong!! I am the righteousness of God in Christ!! My old life has passed away and now I am a new creature in Christ!!" then walk away with your head held high, thanking God for sending Jesus to redeem you from death and hell!!!
If you do not know Jesus as YOUR personal Lord and Savior, why not invite Him into your heart today; let Him be the Lord of YOUR life! You receive Jesus' gift of salvation by believing in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God who came to take away your sins, sickness, etc. (Isaiah 53) (know Jesus finished it all for you) and by confessing that Jesus is Lord with your mouth!! After that, allow God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to do what needs to be done in your life; surrender to Them!! It's our belief in Jesus, in His finished work that causes us to open our mouths when things come against us and declare and decree what the Word says; we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart the promises of God!!!
In closing, I would like to say Happy New Year's to you and your family!! I pray in the upcoming year that you would submit yourselves to God and allow Him to do whatever needs to be done in your lives; I know that is what I am planning to do!! I pray that God will continue to guard your hearts and minds and keep you in perfect peace as you keep your minds stayed on Him; not allowing ANYTHING or ANYBODY to cause you to lose your focus on God!!
In His Service,
Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks
