I enjoy a variety of sports. Whether it’s in rugby, or soccer or cricket, when a commentator notes that the players on one team have dropped their heads, we all know that they are losing.
Just pause for a while and watch people walking along the street. So often it seems that people have their heads down, moving along, lost in their own problems, hurts and difficulties.
Sadly it also appears in the Body of Christ. I recall being involved in the music group in my local church, playing and singing the lively song ‘We are a people of power, we are a people of praise’. But when I looked at the posture of the congregation, (singing with shoulders slumped and heads lowered), I thought to myself, ‘Really? It doesn’t look like it’.
In our ministry centre, we see many Christians coming to us for healing retreats with their heads down – slumped over with fears, emotional pain and the heaviness of bondages to the enemy.
However, we have the great privilege and joy of seeing those same people leave the retreat with new levels of hope, joy and freedom. What effects the change? The answer is actually about Who effects the change. It’s through His Son, Jesus Christ, that God the Father brings about the lifting of our heads. It’s Jesus who has broken the bars of the yokes of bondage. It’s He who has come to bind up the broken-hearted, bring freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners. It’s Christ Jesus who has destroyed the works of the evil one. As we apply the finished work of Jesus on the cross to our lives, we receive new life, new freedom, and a whole new posture.
We can walk with heads held high!
Prayer: Father I thank You for rescuing me from the bars of my yoke – the yoke of sin, the world and the devil. By Your Holy Spirit I pray that You would reveal to me any areas of bondage that are still in my life, and that I might be open to the healing and releasing power of Jesus to receive new levels of freedom. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high”.
Leviticus 26:13, NIV
Living as Children of the Father - Teaching CD
Paul Watson was for 15 years an Anglican Minister in Sydney, Australia before joining Ellel Ministries full time in 2004. Together with his wife Diane he was involved in establishing the first Australian Ellel Ministries centre “Gilbulla” near Sydney. Currently they are leading the work in Western Australia, based at ‘Springhill’ near Perth. Paul, a member of the Ellel Ministries International Executive, serves as Regional Director for Australia & the Pacific as well as Regional Director for the Indian sub-continent. Paul & Diane have 4 adult children and 4 grandchildren.