Oppressed, but Conquerors

Is anyone claustrophobic?  Like when you feel like something is closing in on you, you can’t help but lash out until you have enough room to breathe.  Or like when your husband is hugging you too tight and is unaware that your mouth is covered up by his shoulder and you can’t breathe, so you flail your arms for freedom? Yea, me neither.

I hate the feeling of being boxed in. Awhile ago I was feeling a bit weighed down. I couldn’t shake the feeling of claustrophobia.  Like something was sitting on my chest and I couldn’t take a deep breath.

Whether it be a circumstance or overwhelming feelings, sometimes life can leave us feeling weighed down.  Even defeated.

It’s easy to feel a little beat up by life.  Not everything is smooth sailing, and at times it seems the storms are more normal than the calm.  And after awhile we start seeing ourselves as a victim. We feel knocked down enough times that we convince ourselves that we weren’t designed to stand.

Not only do we feel the effects of the external world, but we can internally inflict the same kind of blows as the outside world.  Our feelings and internal struggles can leave us just as exhausted as anything the world can throw at us.

My attention was brought to the Israelites.  They were granted a safe haven in Egypt under Jacob.  But once Jacob was gone and forgotten, the Egyptians easily forgot the motivation to live alongside the Israelites.  By sheer numbers, the Israelites were powerful. Not to mention that they were a promised nation, protected by God. So what did the Egyptians do to this powerful nation?  Put them into a position of weakness and vulnerability. He made them slaves. Oppressed them and took away their rights, and any sort of power they appeared to have. They were physically and mentally restrained.  I am sure they felt defeated. I am sure that it was easy for them to forget who they were and take on the identity of a slave and prisoner.

Their circumstances were oppressing.  The Egyptians were enslaving them. It would be easy for them to believe their situation was hopeless.  That they had no options. That they had no power.

But Exodus says that the Egyptians were fearful of the Israelites.  What?? How could a empire be fearful of lowly slaves? Well, because in reality they were fearful SO they made them into slaves.  They became the oppressor before they could be oppressed. The Israelites were not enslaved because they were weak, but because they were strong.

The Israelites lost sight of their power.  They let themselves be defined by their situation. But they should have looked to the heavens for their definition.  They were the chosen ones. The children of the most High God. They had access to all power and strength. They were royalty.  

The sad part is that the Egyptians knew it.  The Israelites did not. The disconnect from their identity allowed the Israelites to sink into their circumstances.  God allowed them to be in captivity for His divine purposes, but the Israelites let it become their identity.

The freeing, empower, life giving perspective?  We are children of the One Almighty God. He is watching over us, sustaining us in the season so that His glory may be seen when He delivers us in power to our rightful inheritance.

The wrong, but very tempting perspective.  We are lowly slaves who have been forsaken by a limited and fickle God.  There is no need to hope because we are forgotten.

Do you relate?

When life starts throwing punches, what do you believe?

That you are worthless and weak.  That you are forgotten. That you have no value.

But the reality is that those who believe in Christ are strong.  They are royalty, children of the most high God. And that is a threat to the enemy.  

So when we don’t fully understand our identity, when we wander from the protective refuge of the Truth of God, the enemy likes to take cheap shots.  To throw things your way that will make you believe that you are weak. You are broken. You are forgotten.

When the world feels like it is closing around you, do you feel like a slave to your circumstances?  And when you circumstances aren’t looking good, does your inner dialogue begin to agree? This is the biggest victory for our enemy.  To get us to forget whose we are. To distract us from tapping in to the strength, hope, and peace that we have been freely given by the Lord.

When we respond in worry, anxiety, control, anger, and hopelessness, we have taken our eyes off the One who gives us unending strength.  The one who has saved us and promised us eternal victory.

And the enemy is winning.  Because in those moments of unbelief, we are telling the world that God is not strong.  That we are easily forgotten and conquered. That He does not have a plan.

Thank God that in our unbelief and moments of weakness, He still calls us sons and daughters.  He does not revoke His strength because we let the world drag us down. He offers us endless grace and endless opportunities to renew our hearts and minds in Him.  To embrace our identity once more. And when we are too weak, He picks us up anyway. He never removes His victory from us. And where we miss it here on earth, we will see it fully on the other side of Heaven.

So when you feel defeated and conquered, remember that the enemy is already defeated, and He is just buying time.  And His time is running out. Because soon we will be in the promised land.