Walls
represent protection. We all have a tendency to build our own walls in an
attempt to protect ourselves against being hurt. As I have mentioned several
times, although I have a .very kind and wonderful husband, there are times when
he hurts me. I finally realized that whenever my husband caused me emotional
pain, I erected a wall-I am speaking spiritually-behind which I could hide and
keep him from hurting me again. But the Holy Spirit showed me that when I put
up walls to keep others out, I also wall myself into a solitary place of
confinement.
Many people live isolated lives because they have erected self-made
walls to protect themselves. However, those walls become prisons, and they are
trapped in bitterness and loneliness. They erect protective walls to prevent
themselves from experiencing emotional pain, but they are unable to love and be
loved unless they are willing to be hurt.
Spending your lifetime trying to avoid pain is more
painful than living normally and dealing with each issue as it arises.
Jesus is the Healer and will always be available to minister comfort to
you in hurtful situations. I believe the Lord wants me to encourage you right
now to take a step of faith and tear down your self-made walls. The thought
will probably be frightening, especially if you have been living behind them
for a long time. God can bring down those emotional walls that separate you
from others, just as He crumbled the walls of Jericho (see Joshua 2:1-21;
6:1-27). The King James Version of Hebrews 11:30 states that "by
faith" the walls came down.
I have to take a step of faith each time Jesus shows me that I have
erected walls to keep others out. I must choose to put my faith in Him as my
Protector, rather than attempting to protect myself.
There are
several scriptures in the Bible that promise God's protection. Isaiah 60:18 is
one that ministers to me: "Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
nor devastation or destruction within your borders, but you shall call your
walls Salvation and your gates Praise."
What this verse says to me is that salvation through Jesus Christ is a
wall of protection about me. From the moment I become His, He takes upon
Himself the job of protecting me. However, in order to activate the blessings
in my life, I must believe that He is watching over me. As long as I continue
to reject the Lord's protection, trying to take care of myself, I will continue
to live in bondage and misery.
Another wonderful scripture on the subject of God's protection is Isaiah
30:18: "And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and
longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may
have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of
justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly]
wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor,
His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!"Careful
study of this verse reveals God as One Who is literally waiting for an
opportunity to be good to us, to bring justice into our situations. However, He
can do that only for those who are expecting and waiting for Him to do so. Give
up the labor of "self-protection" and start allowing and expecting
God to protect you.
Let God be God.
As you enter this new realm, by faith, I cannot promise that you will
never be hurt, but I can promise that God is "a God of justice,"
which means that He will eventually bring balance and will reward you for
choosing His way.
Any
person who chooses God's way to handle his problems and hurtful situations is
destined for great things: "Even as it is written ... we are regarded and
counted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet amid all these things we are more than
conquerors and gain a
How can
we be more than conquerors, and at the same time look like sheep being led to
the slaughter? The answer is simple: While it may appear we are being taken
advantage of, while it may seem that the Lord is not going to rescue us, we are
more than conquerors because in "the midst of the mess," we have a
knowing inside that our God will never leave us nor forsake us and that, at
exactly the right moment, our deliverance and reward will come.
Building Bridges
One day while I was praying, the Holy Spirit showed me that my life had
become a bridge for others to pass over and find their place in God. For many
years, I erected only walls in my life, but now where there were walls there
are bridges instead. All the difficult and unfair things that have happened to
me have been turned into highways over which others can pass to find the same
liberty that I have found. I have learned to build bridges instead of walls.
As I
stated in the fifth chapter of this book, God is no respecter of persons (see
Acts 10:34). What He does for one, He will do for another, as long as His
precepts are followed. If you will follow the precepts that have been outlined
in these pages, you will discover the same freedom that I have found. Then you
can become a bridge for others to pass over,
In
Hebrews 5:9 Jesus is referred to as "the Author and Source of eternal
salvation." He pioneered a pathway to God for us. He became a highway for
us to pass over. It is as though He faced a giant forest and went in ahead of
us so that when we came along we could drive right through it without having to
fight all the elements and the density of the forest. He sacrificed Himself for
us, and now that we are benefiting from His sacrifice, He is giving us a chance
to sacrifice for others so they can reap the same benefits we enjoy.
Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus endured the cross for the joy of obtaining
the prize that was set before Him. I like to remind myself of that fact when
the way seems hard. I tell myself, "Keep pressing on, Joyce; there is joy
ahead."
Make a decision to tear down your walls and build bridges. There are
many, many people who are lost in their messes and need someone to go before
them and show them the way. Why not be that person for them?
Walls or bridges? The choice is
yours.
Beauty for Ashes
Not only does the Lord want to turn your walls into bridges, but as He
promises in His Word, He also
the
spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified
me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor,and afflicted; He
has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
[physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes
to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year
of His favor] . . . To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn (in Zion)
... to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead
of a heavy, burdened,and failing spirit. (Isaiah 61:1, 2, 3)
These promises in Isaiah 61 are rich and plentiful. Read them and make a
decision not to miss out on a single one. I will be in agreement with you as I
pray that every person who reads this book will inherit the promises.
God has done His part by giving us Jesus. I have done my part by acting
on the Word of God and obtaining freedom, then writing this book to help you do
the same. Now, you must do your part by making a quality decision that you will
never give up until you have allowed Him to:
bind up
your wounds; heal your broken heart;
give you joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a
heavy, burdened and failing spirit;and beauty instead of ashes.
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