The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of His grace—
a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies
Isaiah 61:1-2
Often there is a lot of preaching to quell the woes of the oppressed, but rarely to stop the arm of the oppressor. Lecrae
The above statement was written by Lecrae, a Christian hip hop artist, and it struck a chord deep within me. Although it is usually with good intentions, I know that Christians often tell the ones that are going through temptations, trials and testings to “hold on;” “stand;” “trust;” “believe.” All of those things are good to say and to do; however, we have seen them faint – literally give up, or become overwhelmed and overtaken in the battle while we were encouraging them with those very words. We even give scriptures to them to “declare” and “hold onto;” yet, we have seen them become weary and lose hope. Proverbs 18:14 states, “A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?” The oppressed cannot fight for him or herself which is why they seek out someone whom they think has a “healthy spirit” that can lend a hand.
The question that resonated within me was who then “stops the arm of the oppressor?” Romans 15:1 states, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” The Message version of this scripture reads: “Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, ‘How can I help?’” The answer then to my question is I do. We do. We fight for those that the enemy has oppressed. If we can tell someone to hold on; stand; trust; believe; then we can fight for them. We should not stand idly by “feeling sorry” for them or “conveniently” giving them a Word; when we have the strength and power to do just as Isaiah 61:1-2 states. We, as sons of God with the Spirit of Christ in us, are to do just as Christ did – destroy the works of the devil. (For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8).
Whatever the issue whether it’s flesh, fear, finances, sickness, depression; Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy and He has anointed us to do the same. So the next time you’re tempted to give a Word to your sister or brother that is in a fight, roll up your sleeves, step in front and be a shield for them and tell the enemy of their souls – if you fight against them, I am going to fight against you and I know how to fight. I am anointed to fight and win!
I 
Timely word! As believers we can sometimes forget that we are the ones charged with taking on “the fight” whatever or wherever it may be.
Amen Sister Kathy!
I like Strength is for service, not status. Great word of encouragement. Keep up the work of encouraging. It is much needed in the body. V Sullivan
I liked that version of the scripture too Teacher. I appreciate you always being on the ready with a word of encouragement. Continued blessings.
Hello,
Good post and well written.
For the most part, I agree with you. The abolitionists and the Civil Rights Movement come to mind. No amount of words could have replaced action.
However, I’d like to say that we can’t diminish the value of encouragement, sympathy and motivation. Thinking about Jesus…when he came, the nation of Israel was under Roman rule. He didn’t take up that cause to free them, instead he freed them from a tyranny that they were not even aware of…the internal.
In many circumstances of life that people struggle with, we’d be right to address the situation, which is external but nothing can supercede the internal state of the man. And this is what ‘words’ address.
Flesh, fear and finances and oppressors are issues we all have to face from time to time, but no oppressor is more powerful than a subdued human spirit. So I believe that our duty is first to address the man, by taking him to He who alone can fix men. Only then can we then look around to see what else we can do.
Just my thoughts.
Thanks for sharing the post.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. As you can see from my Blog, my handle is Dear Encourager and my “theme” scripture is, “Make your words count” taken from Ephesians 4:29; therefore, you’re pretty much “preaching to the choir” when you’re talking about the need to encourage with the Word or words. My point, however, is that it is necessary to discern and be sensitive to not only what others are going through, but also “how” they are going through it. If the enemy is taking them down, then it’s time to do more than talk – it’s time to fight!
A very powerful word and oh so true. Taken from one of my favorite passages of scripture. God bless you and keep up the good work.
Thank you Apostle! I appreciate your support.
An on time and anointed Word from the Lord. Thank you JESUS for using this young lady to encourage me and so many others.
Keep writing and keep encouraging. Your gift is making room for you.
Thank you Janice. I appreciate your encouraging words. I pray all is well!