Where R Your Chains?

“Now I will break the yoke of bondage from your neck and tear off the chains of … oppression.”(Nahum 1:13, NLT) As I was preparing for a message from the Lord a few years ago, I came across a powerful quote regarding spiritual bondage penned by Pastor Damian Phillips of Camp Ground Baptist in which he wrote, “An elephant is a huge and powerful animal but he will obey his trainer and stay right where the trainer places him and not move. You see, early in his training the trainer will place a chain on the elephant’s foot, and no matter how hard the elephant tries to pull away he can’t budge himself. The elephant soon stops trying to pull away because he has learned where the chain will stop him and he becomes tired of trying. Later the trainer can take the chain off and the elephant will not go past the distance where he was normally stopped by the chain. Satan wants to keep us chained right where we are, not being able to experience God’s blessings. He wants us to think that it’s better to give up and quit trying rather than be disappointed. Many of us have not been able to break free of our bitter lives and venture into new territory in God’s Promised Land because we have not tasted and seen that the Lord is good. We haven’t tasted any good grass to motivate us to cross that fence and wind up on the other side because we haven’t dared to try.” Remember the Biblical story of Joshua and Caleb and the 12 spies and their different perspective of the Promised Land of Cannan? (Numbers 13) Ten of the twelve spies, their perspective of the Promise Land was one based in FEAR! They reported that the land was filled with giants that were so big it made them look like grasshoppers in their eyes (vv. 31-33) They feared stepping out on faith because their perspective was one made at ground (i.e. human) level based in fear and not at a level based in His FAITH! Such ungodly fear always issues false reports/assessments of life’s battlefields that lie before us and ahead of us along the trail of life. Yet two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, held confidence in the promise of God to give them this land and decried in their report, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (vv. 30) The ten spies were much like that of the story of the elephant - they held the same power for victory which God had promised them, yet remained chained to a life devoid of divine power and purpose because they lived out life’s journey by sight, not by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). When you assess your faith walk with Christ in this new year, which are you most like—the ten spies (elephant) or Joshua and Caleb? Are their areas in your life that you continue to allow the enemy to keep you fearfully chained from doing that which God has promised for you to do? If so, confess them before God and ask Him by faith to honor His promise to “...break the chains that bind His people…” (Isaiah 9:4, NLT) It’s time God’s people move forward by faith—we’ve been listening to too many false reports about too many giants in the land of God’s promises! And in case we need reminding, there was another ‘little’ story in the Bible about giants … one in partucular named Goliath (1 Samuel 17)! …Selah!
Today's Spirit-led CCM video by Stephen Curtis Chapman can be viewed by clicking on the song title, "Remember Your Chains" - G3 for sharing His power-filled words through so many CCM songs today!