Are you believing God for a breakthrough in your life? I think it’s safe to say that most people are. The Lord put on our hearts that for Hope City, 2022 is “Your Year of Breakthrough!”
“19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?’ And the Lord said to David, ‘Go up for I have doubtless delivered the Philistines into your hand.’ 20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, ‘The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.’ Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.” – 2 SAMUEL 5:19-21 (NKJV)
This is the core scripture we’re using for the month.
Some background here. When the Philistines heard that David was anointed as king, the Bible tells us that they gathered in force against him.
Anytime you get a revelation from God and you start to declare it, the enemy (or enemies) will try to gather forces against you because the enemy doesn’t want you to be successful. They do not want the will of God to comes to pass in your life.
We see from this scripture that David went to Baal Perazim and defeated the Philistines. And he said that the Lord broke through his enemies before him, like a breakthrough of water. (Note: Baal Perazim means, “the God of the Breakthrough.”
I believe God has set up the breakthrough for your life. But you’ll never experience the breakthrough unless you follow the process God has to experience that breakthrough. So what was one of the first things King David did to experience breakthrough in his life? He inquired of the Lord!
David Inquired of the Lord
David inquired of the Lord…and we need to as well. We may not like that because it implies effort on our part. We may not like having to deal with the process of doing these things…we want “instant potatoes.”
I HATE instant potatoes. I want real potatoes boiled and mashed. I don’t like instant coffee…in fact, I don’t care for anything instant. It’s just not the same texture or flavor as the real. Things are better when it’s properly prepared.
Sometimes we treat heaven like it’s a drive-up window. We think we can just order something off the menu and then we complain if someone doesn’t take our order within 30 seconds. And then we don’t know the menu well so that takes time. Look at your Bible! Get to know it! That’s your menu!
To experience breakthrough, you need to get into God’s Word and realize what it says…learn the process! If David hadn’t approached God, he wouldn’t have had the confidence to move forward. He wouldn’t have do it in his own strength and power, desire and will. But when he found out how God wanted things done, he gained the breakthrough.
Then, notice, afterwards, David praised God! The paths of the Lord drip abundance!
How do we Embrace the Process?
How do we embrace the process? James 4 gives us a clue:
“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit Who dwells in us yearns jealously’? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” – JAMES 4:1-6
Embracing the process isn’t some kind of five-step program. It’s an attitude on how we handle things so we can experience the breakthrough God already has for us.
The first four verses are a roadmap for what NOT to do… but verse 6 tells us God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. We need to have a humble – submitting – relationship with God. Where He leads, we need to follow.
When our desires come into conflict with God’s desires, humility says, “it’s YOUR way, God, not mine.”
Who has more wisdom? Who has more strength? Who has more ability? Follow the ULTIMATE authority and you get to operate under His authority. You want ultimate breakthrough? Embrace GOD’S process!
To view the full Jan. 2, 2022 message on which this post is made, CLICK HERE.
