Dear Friends, There are so many wonderful prophetic words concerning the amazing glory and vindication the Body of Christ is beginning to experience. My heart is stirred with faith and expectancy to see God continue to empower His Body in greater ways and with the fullness of His Spirit! At the same time, there is even greater resistance from the enemy, who continues to do everything in his power to stop the advance of God’s army. Today, I want to share with you a powerful vision the Lord gave me to show us how to overcome this resistance! For several weeks recently, I was feeling an intense struggle against some unnamed demonic resistance. This spiritual resistance was meant to stop all progress and rob the Body of Christ of trust in God’s GOOD plan for the future. This resistance feels like a “wrestling” within you that seems to have no source or explanation. It defies logic and brings you to a place of deep contention in the Spirit. You know that the struggle is not against sin, yet it seems to bring confusion and condemnation. Praying in tongues or worshiping may bring a temporary breakthrough at times, but that unidentified resistance returns and settles around you once again. After a few days of seeking the Lord about this, I was given a vision from the Lord which revealed how to receive breakthrough from this demonic resistance once and for all. The vision contained four essential truths we can use right now. A VISION OF A WALLThe Lord Jesus stood in front of me, opening up a vision of a wall. The wall stood between the promises of God and the children of God. In order to move fully and victoriously into the next spiritual season, this wall would have to come down. Yet the wall was made of thick cement, standing roughly two feet deep and eight feet high; too thick to break and too high to leap over. The wall represented a “siege work” of the enemy to confine, discourage, and limit believers. Beyond the wall was an open field: land ready to be taken by force and possessed. Yet breakthroughs against this unusual resistance had so far been impossible. The Lord then showed me someone like a teenaged graffiti artist who came and spray painted four letters on the wall: F-E-A-R. Immediately I understood that a spirit of FEAR had been unleashed on God’s people like never before. A man dressed in black - Satan himself - was “painting” our world with unparalleled levels of fear; toxic panic and terror was eroding believers’ commitments to move forward in God. Yet in the Lord’s eyes, this lawless creature was nothing more than a rebellious teenager trying to make a statement! In response to the enemy's defiant act, the Lord brought an angel to my left side. The angel gave me a bow and four arrows contained in a small leather pouch. Three of these arrows were of standard size; the fourth was a tiny arrow, as if made for a very small child. THE FIRST ARROWThe Lord said that the only way to demolish this wall was through a four-part strategy. I was told to take one of the arrows and shoot the first letter: ‘F.’ When I shot the first arrow, the Lord announced: “F is for FAITH; Faith and faithfulness will be required in the end times to overcome the enemy’s attempts to erode trust!” I saw that the “wrestling,” for many people, had been about whether they could trust the Lord with their future. Fear of the unknown was robbing them; faithfulness to stay in the Word and believe what God said about Himself and His promises would help them overcome. The arrow punctured and weakened the wall, producing a twelve-inch wide shattering of cement around the letter ‘F.’ Yet the arrow did not penetrate the wall’s thickness; its damage was only on the surface. Secretly, I didn’t think these arrows were going to be enough to produce a breakthrough! THE SECOND ARROWI took the second arrow and shot it at the spray-painted letter ‘E.’ This time, I heard the Lord decree: “E is for ENCOURAGEMENT.” Scripture after scripture began coming to mind concerning the power of encouragement to protect believers from deceit’s hardness of heart; produce sustained hope; and remind us of the “strong encouragement” God has given through two unchangeable oaths concerning our promised inheritance (See Hebrews 3:13; 6:18). A study of the word encouragement revealed more than 14 different types of people who need encouragement, along with approximately 14 biblical ways encouragement is released. (You can view/download my full notes here, in this accompanying Scripture resource.) Two of them, of course, included the Lord Himself and His angels! The end times, the Lord reminded, would be characterized by people running to and fro in search of knowledge, yet missing the knowledge of Him. He posed this ‘riddle’ for believers to consider:
Spiritually effective ENCOURAGEMENT, Jesus continued, has no source but God. Mankind can offer practical help or sympathy, but believers who desire to see breakthrough against fear’s resistance must know how to enter the Holy of Holies themselves, just as Jesus did. These will receive specific words of encouragement that are perfect for every situation and which strengthen the Body at large. THE THIRD ARROWI took the third arrow and set it in my bow. As the arrow struck the wall, I heard the Lord proclaim: “Apple of My Eye!” He showed me that the knowledge of His love and the awareness that we are seen and heard is what will empower the Body to persevere in persecution. Like Hagar the slave who fled to the wilderness from her abusive mistress; so those who develop an awareness of the Lord’s care, concern, and sovereignty will be given grace to remain in even the most difficult or hostile circumstances. They will honor the Lord through their obedience and submission. THE FOURTH ARROWFinally, I was given a fourth arrow. This one was the tiniest of all. The first three had only punctured the wall in places; not broken through. I had little hope that a child-sized arrow would do much damage to this thick wall! The arrow did not fit in my large bow. A second angel came - this time to my right side - handing me a smaller bow that was a better fit. When I shot the final arrow, it punctured the fourth letter on the wall just like the other three. This time, though, the Lord ROARED like a lion, proclaiming: “RESTORATION !!!!!” The sound of His voice so shook the atmosphere that the entire wall of FEAR crumbled, falling flat on the ground. The demolition of the wall had nothing to do with the size of my arrow, nor with my obedience to the first three words given by the Lord. It was the Lord Himself who brought down this wall, and I heard Him command that His children RUN over the flattened wall to take hold of their inheritances! I felt such joy and excitement as this wall fell; such hope to see the Body of Christ break through demonic resistance! Fear has NO POWER to barricade God’s people anymore; it is the SOUND of HIS VOICE that deals a death blow to that which is meant to defeat you! The Lord said: “While FAITH, ENCOURAGEMENT, and KNOWING YOU ARE THE APPLE OF MY EYE will help you persevere, it is those who have a heart for RESTORATION who will run into their promises and see FEAR’s resistance flattened! These are the ones who have hearts of mercy, patience, and love, not judgment.” The Lord is raising up RESTORERS who are ready to rebuild and reform society according to His blueprints. As in Hezekiah's day, a reformation anointing will be released globally as fear is demolished corporately. (2 Chronicles 30:22-31:1) A CONFIRMING SCRIPTUREAs the vision closed, the Lord gave me a final, four-part scripture as a key for our times: “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14, NASB)
I pray you are encouraged by this vision of His heart for your freedom and restoration. God wants to set you free from the confining spirit of fear today as you trust in Him! May you target every attack of the enemy with the arrows God has given you in His Word, and may the Lion of Judah help you demolish every form of resistance as you respond to the sound of His voice! In Christ, Deborah |
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Deborah Perkins 
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August 2023
AuthorA severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice. A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
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