[Judges 6:1-16 KJV] “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.”
“And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.”
“For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.”
“And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites, that the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;”
“and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; and I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.”
“And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”
“And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
“And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.“
The account of how Israel became impoverished because of the oppression of Midian is a clear case of how unhealthy patterns and demonic oppression have affected the rise and prosperity of many of God’s precious children.
I have come across many families and individuals with great potential yet not a single person has been able to rise above the status quo. Many are languishing in failure and pain. Many have failed woefully to their surprise because of the oppression of darkness.
It is time to arise and break the yoke of darkness from off your neck and rise to become all that God destined you to be. You can become all that God destined you to be. You can break the influence and operation of the wicked. This is the time and now is the season. To be able to break unhealthy patterns, you must do these five things.
You can deal with unhealthy patterns when you;
- Do an effective spiritual mapping; Until you discern that something isn’t right, you are likely to accept things as how they have always been. There are times when you endure injustice and oppression for so long that you are tempted to think it is normal. May the Lord open your eyes to see what is wrong!
- Stop hiding behind excuses and intellectual dishonesty; Like Gideon, many of us do nothing about social injustice and evils of nepotism because we seem to have some marginal breakthrough. Gideon did nothing about the situation because, at least, he could thresh wheat at the winepress. He was hiding and had become a pervert. The winepress is for making wine, not for threshing wheat. Some of you care less about dealing with the real problem because, at least, we have found a perverted opening of escape.
- Engage the forces of prayer; You can break unhealthy patterns when you engage the force of prayer to deal with the power and spirit behind the oppressor. The goods of a strongman armed are at peace as long as he has not been disarmed and overpowered. This is the time to disarm and overpower the spirits of darkness.
- Believe the Lord and believe His prophets; Sure this is true. Every deliverance begins with a word. We must believe in God and His prophets. The realms of the spirit answer to faith and who is behind you. May your faith in God and His servants yield freedom and increase.
- Rally round leadership to wage war against protagonist; Together we stand, divided we fall. We shall win but by the sword of the Lord and the sword of Gideon. This is the time and season to follow leaders who have heard from God and are obeying Him. Receive power to conquer in the name of Jesus!
Stay blessed
