RECOVERING WHAT WAS STOLEN

We are told in John 10:10 that the thief only comes so that he can steal, kill, and destroy, but that Jesus comes to give more abundant life.  As is evident with Eve in the Garden of Eden, Satan is a master at setting snares.  This is verified in II Timothy 2:26- “And that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”   The good news is that there is nothing the enemy steals from us that God cannot help us to recover.  An example of this is found in the story of King David at Ziklag.  David and his men had just suffered the theft of their wives, children, livestock, and goods by the Amalekites.  With God’s intervention and counsel, I Samuel 30:18-19 says, “So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away…..and nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great…..David recovered it all.” 

Here are some tips on dealing with our spiritual adversary, the devil…

•  Identify the spiritual strongman. 

Matthew 12:29-  “Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strongman?  And then he will plunder his house.”   The Greek word for “bind” means “to bind, to tie, forbid, to exercise power over.”  As believers, we have authority over every work of darkness through Jesus Christ.  We need to discern and identify the name of the thief and bind him in the name of Jesus.   This is why Jesus allowed Satan to approach Him and even speak to Him at the end of His forty-day fast in the wilderness.  Jesus successfully bound the strong man, Satan, by using scriptures as He was being tempted.  After this victory, He spent three and a half years ministering on earth under an open heaven.  Even though the devil thought that his biggest victory would be the cross, it ended up being his biggest defeat. 

• Start the battle with peace in your heart. 

Romans 16:20-  “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.”    Time and again when examples are given in the Bible of Jesus winning major battles, you see Him waiting for peace before He acts.   As He and the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee a strong wind and storm appears.  Their boat is about to sink, and Jesus is asleep.  After awakening Him, the first thing Jesus does is command the winds to cease and it says, “The sea grew calm”.  After peace was restored, they came to the Gadarenes, cast the legion of demons out of the man and the entire town heard about Jesus.  In Matthew 9 Jesus is directed to go and pray for a girl who has died.  When He arrived, flute players and others were making a commotion.  Jesus orders that they leave the premises and He initiates an atmosphere of peace.  It is then that He prays for the girl and she is raised from the dead.  These are two examples of how God operates in the atmosphere of peace when it comes to engaging the thief.

Some of the things you might consider recovering are:

•  Relationships that have been destroyed by the enemy. 

• Prophetic words and promises.

• The gift of faith.

• Lost healings, miracles, and deliverance.

• Lost finances or prosperity.

• The joy of the Lord.

• Wasted years. 

Anything that has caused you to lose your peace can be recovered.  Remember that God will start with peace as you exercise your faith.  It is time that we stand up against the powers of darkness and aggressively take back what he has stolen. 

If God be for us, who can be against us?