Worthy Devotions – Daily Christian Devotion » Breakthrough

Exodus 5:18-23 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

The story of the Exodus is a story of miracles – yet in the beginning when Moses first appeared before Pharaoh to deliver the children of Israel from 400 years of slavery, the Israelites were severely tempted and became angry because of the initial hardships that were laid upon them.

They leveled their anger at Moses because suddenly they were told that they would have to gather their own straw for making bricks. They were concerned about offending their slave-masters, fearing that they would slay them.

The Israelites were so accustomed to their slavery that they didn’t want their lives disrupted despite the fact that freedom was at hand. Resigned to this miserable life, they utterly failed to apprehend or appreciate the freedom that was soon approaching. Yes, there was a temporary price: increased hardship and great pressure would set the stage for their final deliverance.

The same can happen to us. It has often been said “The darkest night is just before the dawn”…

Perhaps the enemy senses his impending defeat and pulls out all the stops to prevent it. Perhaps the Lord loves a good story with a really dramatic and climactic ending and great glory for His Name…in any case –

Don’t let yourself remain accustomed to any form of bondage – seek and believe for the freedom that God has given us through His Son. Expect a life of great victory over sin and demonic oppression – Why? Because that is His promise to us!

Ephesians 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

For over 10 years we’ve been covering Christian Persecution, and whenever I come across an amazing story of how a saint endured such hardships, it encourages me.  I remember reading about Watchman Nee and his imprisonment. The Chinese government would change the guards at his cell daily for fear that Nee would lead them to the Lord. Their fears were justified—many of those guards did come to faith! Apparently Watchman Nee had learned a powerful lesson from the Apostle Paul.

In Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus, observe how he describes himself – an ambassador in chains.  Locked away in a prison, Paul adamantly refuses to allow his circumstances to dictate or alter his identity. He may be in chains, but he remains the Lord’s ambassador.

Can you imagine Paul chained up in that dungeon, throwing up his hands saying, “That’s it; it’s over; I’m finished!?

Not on your life! Instead the apostle grows bolder as an ambassador; not intimidated or ashamed, because Paul isn’t chained in his Spirit, he’s only bound in the flesh. Remember how he concludes his letter to the Philippian Church declaring, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Don’t allow yourself to be defined by your past, or “chained” by your current circumstances. God has also called you to be an ambassador for Him.  With so much work to be done, we ought to be growing even bolder, right in the midst of our trials and tribulations!

1 Chron. 20:4-8 And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam. And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant. But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him. These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

When Saul was king of Israel, there were no giant slayers in their midst; so when Goliath stood against the armies of Israel, the Israelites trembled! There was, however, a young shepherd, whose intimate knowledge of His God inspired and empowered him to fight the evil giant, and defeat him.

David’s victory over Goliath paved the way for those after him to slay the giant’s offspring, who were also giants. So when those giants arose to fight, they already had knowledge that they could be defeated. David’s breakthrough had set a powerful precedent for all of Israel’s “mighty men”.

All around us there are “Goliaths”, evil giants…but none of them are “undefeatable”. In fact, we have an entire Bible full of examples of saints who stood their ground and routed their enemies. Let’s follow their example, and set new precedents fighting the giants of our day. We too can leave a legacy of victory, inspiring our children and grandchildren to victory over the “sons of Goliath”!

Php 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

This morning, as we’ve been preparing to set up the new Worthy News site, one of our servers went down! Hackers hit the server with a DoS attack (Denial of Service).

Isn’t it the way it is sometimes? As soon as you make that leap and take on a responsibility that stretches your faith, the enemy comes and tries to find a way to hinder you from going forward with it!

But we have NO intention of allowing him to squelch our plans! We are pressing forward toward the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus!”

You don’t let him either! Has God been calling you to do something specific? Has He laid something on your heart to do and you keep being sidetracked with other things? Go do it! Don’t let anything stop you! There is FAR too much work to be done!!

Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Since 2003, we’ve added thousands of new subscribers to our daily brief, so many of you are unaware of the trials and tribulations that we’ve faced as a family here in Israel. In 2003 our first child, Elianna, was born with an extremely rare eye condition, which in effect caused her to be blind. As newly inaugurated parents, we were completely shell shocked on receiving the news from the doctors. However we soon responded to this challenge by contacting as many people as possible to pray for our daughter’s condition, and of course, started praying and fasting ourselves. After days of prayer and fasting, we had a breakthrough. On that day, as I was holding Elianna in my arms, I smiled at her. Suddenly, she smiled back. I couldn’t believe my eyes, was she really responding to my smile?! I moved my head to the left… Elianna followed it to the left! I moved to the right… she followed again! I knew God was beginning to heal her.

Throughout the years following, we continued to pray daily, believing the Lord for 20/20 vision. Each and every time we went to see her eye specialists, they would give a fantastic report. Her eyes kept improving.

Yesterday, we went to the specialist to have her examined yet again. I am delighted to report another incredible testimony. In one eye, the doctor informed us yesterday, the astigmatism has dramatically improved. In the other, the astigmatism has completely disappeared!!!!! In this eye, she has 20/20 vision! All this, with no intervention other than God’s own hand. HALLELUJAH!!

Have you been crying out to God for a miracle? Be encouraged! God is STILL in the miracle working business! He has a plan bigger than we could ever ask or think. Thank Him, praise Him, trust Him!

Luke 19:12-13 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

During the American Civil War in the 1860’s, a fierce battle took place at Altoona Pass. It was a key supply point for the Union Army, so the Confederate Army led by General Hood sought to take Altoona Pass which held over a million and a half rations. When Union General Sherman realized Hood’s plans, he dispatched General Corse along with 1,500 men to hold the city.

As the battle ensued, General Corse and his forces were forced into a small fort on a crest of a hill. The Northern army was being overwhelmed, with nearly half the men either killed or wounded in the battle. Things were looking extremely bleak, when in the distance from a mountain top twenty miles away a while flag was being waved, and those in the fort knew the message being sent, “Hold the fort; I am coming. W.T. Sherman.”

This sign gave the beleaguered army renewed strength to continue fighting the battle for another three hours until reinforcements finally arrived.

From this battle, a famous Christian song was written and its chorus is so eloquent for us today, “Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus signals still; Wave the answer back to heaven, By thy grace we will!”

In the midst of spiritual battles we can often feel besieged on every side – but HOLD THE FORT! Get some rest this weekend and renew your strength in the Lord for the victory is already won – we just need to continue fighting because He is coming!

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Every time I turn on the news it seems the new buzzword is – CHANGE! So how can we just shift gears and change? Let’s learn a lesson about basic automotive mechanics. Generally a car has between 4 and 5 gears. The first gear maximizes power in exchange for speed. As you move through the gears, you can continue to go faster, yet without using any more power, and before you know it – you have to look at the speedometer – cause nobody wants a speeding ticket!

So what can we learn from this? Do you want a breakthrough? Do you want a new direction? Then you need to take that first step! You need to put all your focus – all your energy into that first initial gear! Yes, it takes all your strength, and yet it seems like you’re moving sooo slow — but be encouraged, because once you start moving, you’ll be able to shift gears — and before you know it –- you’ll be sailing along, and even need to check to see if you’re speeding!

The first step is always the hardest — but it’s necessary for change! You can breakthrough with the power of God empowering you, so GO FOR IT! Put everything you’ve got into that first start. And just like driving, it’ll get easier; and before you know it — we might even have to issue you a speeding citation, just to slow you down a bit..! With so much work to be done, let’s not stay in neutral — let’s get in gear, and start shifting!