Don’t Miss the Point!
Having been intimidated and oppressed for the better part of my life, it was a revelation to me when I realized that I didn’t have to take that from anyone and that the Lord actually had a purpose for me! He has a purpose for you, too.
You may be thinking that being oppressed and controlled is a way of life. Not just with family, but with friends and those around you in various positions. However, when the Lord steps in and says, “You don’t have to live that way,” it sets off a chain of events that your oppressors don’t, and won’t understand. They may take a very bold step to try to keep you from progress. This is very dangerous ground for them.
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” ~Proverbs 16:18
Living under the control of people who only continue to put you down, whose words and actions keep you from living, actually prevents you from having the life that God intended for you to have. It also makes you physically, mentally, and emotionally sick. It can lead to having to take medication for anxiety, depression, stomach problems, high blood pressure, acid reflux, pills to help you sleep, or to wake up. I have been on many of them.
Even though I had accepted Jesus. Like many… I missed the point. The “point” is that Jesus can, will, and wants to heal you from that. Missing the point for years and years, I suffered clinical mental depression, I suffered panic and anxiety disorder. I also suffered migraine headaches. My weight fluctuated; I would lose a lot of weight, get thin and begin to feel better physically, but I worried that I was still fat, worried about what others thought of me, and initially would gain the weight back, plus more. At present, I’m heavy. I take medication for a hiatal hernia, to prevent having acid reflux. All of this stemming from a life of oppression and intimidation. Stress causes many health problems and I lived in stress for the better part of my 47 years.
Well, why not pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and move on?! For those who do not understand, or have never suffered under the heavy hand of intimidation, it’s not that easy. There is fear, there is anxiety, there are questions such as, “What do I do?” Having been controlled, having people in my life who still try to do that, is a daily challenge. Though I don’t speak to those people every day, their words linger. Their actions linger. These are the people who for one reason or another see someone like me as someone they need to “keep tabs on” so that they can manipulate and control. Sort of like the Pharisees.
In John chapter 21, John the Baptist was preaching and teaching, baptizing people and telling them about Jesus. The Pharisees, (the religious leaders) were the intimidators, the oppressors. They asked him questions, trying to intimidate.
John answered the Pharisees with prophesy out of Isaiah,
“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord…” (John 21: 23; Isaiah 40:3)
But the Pharisees totally missed the point.
John went on to say,
“I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” (John 21:26-27)
They wanted to know who John was. What right he had to be saying what he was saying… but John told them who Jesus was! And they missed the point.
Just like many will miss my point. I am not worthy to be writing what I write. But… I also know that I have been healed of oppression and intimidation I suffered. And the Lord has given me this venue to write what I do in order to help many of you who have suffered the same things. Like John, I am now the voice of one crying in the wilderness!
I’m here to tell you that Jesus is here for you. He wants to heal you. He wants to give you a fresh start. You do not have to suffer anymore. Believe He will heal you, and He will! But whatever you do… don’t miss the point.
