How to break the yoke of sorrow and receive joy?

During a prayer meeting the other day, the Lord showed me a vision. In the vision, I saw the power of darkness putting some kind of blanket over certain people and homes, even certain cities, towns, and countries. This power of darkness caused the sunlight to be hindered, and as a consequence, the spiritual atmosphere over that place or that home became stale, dull, and damp. Then, I saw joy, the joy of the Lord, being squeezed out from that place. I saw that blanket sent by the forces of darkness covered the people with sorrow. There's like a yoke and heavy burden of sorrows being wrapped over that place, or that family, or that person. 

The Lord then spoke to me to take authority and bind those yoke of sorrow. 

He spoke further: 

"There's a fresh release of My anointing to break and destroy every yoke of sorrow right now. Sorrow is being dissipated and dispersed. When the sorrow is gone, the joy that comes from Me, that comes from heaven, is going to take over. Receive this joy from heaven! Receive a fresh new lease of life from heaven!" 

Beloved of God, if you have been going through a situation when suddenly you are overwhelmed with sorrow for no reason, or suddenly you are overwhelmed with hopelessness and purposelessness in your life, this message is for you. 

Yes, right now, receive this anointing to break and destroy every sorrow in your life, and receive the joy of the Lord which is your strength!

Maybe recently some of you have heard of certain news that caused your heart to feel like your heart is dropping, or your heart feels like being crushed. Or you may have heard of something from someone or received news from someone that breaks your heart. Or maybe someone has told you certain matters that caused your heart to be sad. It may be a hurtful news. It may be a hurtful thing said and done by someone whom you care for, or whom you love, or someone who matters to you. Whatever it may be, whatever that causes you to be sorrowful, the Lord has a good news for you today. The Lord knows it, and the Lord knows how to put a stop to those sorrows in your life. 

Let's go to the Scripture now. 

Psalm 30:11-12 (NLT) says, 'You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!' 

The word 'joy' here is 'simkhaw' in Hebrew, which can mean 'gladness, rejoicing, celebration'. Yes beloved, always find reasons to celebrate in your life, no matter how small the reason may be. The Lord wants you to celebrate all of His goodness in your life. And of course, the Lord wants you to live a life of thanksgiving and gratefulness. Give thanks to Him in everything, yes, even in advance for the good things that are to come in your life! 

Jeremiah 31:13 (NLT) says, 'The young women will dance for joy - and the men old and young - will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.' 

Even though this verse is specifically for the people of Israel and the Lord's promise of restoration for Israel, but this can apply to you (God's beloved) too. The Lord is telling you there's hope for restoration in your life as well! 

This word 'joy' here is 'sawsone' in Hebrew, which can mean 'cheerful, welcoming, rejoicing'. Let me explain. Why the word 'welcoming' here? The joy of knowing you are always welcome into God's presence as you draw near to Him in worship, and the joy of knowing you are always welcome to partake in all the goodness that the Lord wants you to have and experience! Now, knowing this, your sorrow will be lifted away, and joy comes in your life! You see, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning!

You may have gone through a time of mourning and sorrow, or you are under certain bondage of sorrow, but the good news for you today is God has promised to turn all this into joy! The joy of knowing you are loved with an everlasting love of the Lord. The joy of knowing that God is here to restore you and repair you. The joy of knowing that there is hope and purpose in your life, no matter what had happened in your past. The joy of knowing that the Lord your God is greater than any form of sorrow that is being sent against you. Amen! That's what Jeremiah 31:13 mean here!

You see, you are living in the spiritual realm, the heavenly realm, even though you are on earth. Now, in the heavenly realm, there's no sorrow. In His presence is fullness of joy. So, walk in this presence. Walk in this heavenly realm. Walk in this joy of the Lord. Amen! 

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NLT) says, 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair...' 

You see here? The Lord wants to bless you with this joy, the joy that comes only from Him, the joy that comes from heaven. Not only that! Look here. 'Festive praise instead of despair'. Wow! That's celebration! Festive praise! And not just that! He is also turning your ashes into beauty. Now, what does 'ashes' symbolize here? 'Ashes' speaks of 'hopelessness'. 'Ashes' speaks of 'mourning'. When things turn into ashes, there's no way to restore it again and to make it whole. But that's how the world sees it and how the world thinks. But to God, even ashes can be restored into something beautiful again!

Indeed, this is the time for your vindication. This is the time for a turn around in your life. Yes, this is the time the Lord is turning things around for you! So, rejoice and be glad therefore! Give thanks to Him, for He is good and His mercy endures forever! Hallelujah! 

Isaiah 61:7 (NLT) says, 'Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.' 

Whatever trouble, shame, or dishonor sent by the enemy against you in your life, you are now receiving double share of honor. That's what the Scripture say! And look here. 'Everlasting joy will be yours'. Not a temporary joy that the world gives, but everlasting joy directly from heaven to you! Now, this joy cannot be destroyed by anything or anyone in this world. Because this joy is from God. Amen! 

Let's continue with Nehemiah 8:9-10 (NLT). "Don't mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God." And Nehemiah continued, "Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!" 

You see the words 'the joy of the Lord is your strength' here? It means the joy of the Lord is your strength to carry on and to look forward in life! Without this strength, it is not easy to carry on in life and to look forward. So you see, this joy from the Lord is the key. This joy of the Lord is the key to your strength, and with this strength, you can carry on, and you can move forward in your life. Hallelujah! 

Nehemiah 8:12 (NLT) says, 'So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God's words and understood them.' 

In that context, they were eating rich foods and drinking sweet drinks, literally. But it can also symbolize receiving spiritual food and spiritual drink. The Word of God. The Spirit of God. Word and Spirit. Spirit and Word. So, keep eating the rich from the Lord and drinking the sweet from the Lord! 

Last but not least, to take authority and to bind every stray thought. Now, this is a very important principle to kill off whatever sorrow and to receive joy. Never entertain even for a few seconds those thoughts that are sent by the enemy. Never let those thoughts grow and fester. Don't let what's in your past to linger in your mind. Because if you don't let go of your past, you cannot move ahead. Now, anything that is a joy-killer and joy-stealer, take authority against it! It means whatever that kills or steals your joy, you take authority! No one and nothing in this world can or should be able to take away and rob away God's joy in your life! 

So, take authority and bind all those stray thoughts and negative thoughts! Cast those down! Set your mind free! Receive this anointing from the Lord to set you free! And that's how you are free and you are free indeed! Set free from every bondage of sorrow, and walking in the joy of the Lord. Amen!

Prayer: 

"O Lord God, we receive this joy that comes directly from You. We receive a fresh release of Your anointing that breaks and destroys every yoke of sorrow in our lives right now. Yes, we see all these sorrows dissipated and dispersed. You have turned things around for our lives. You have turned our sorrows into joy, our mourning into dancing. We therefore now take authority and bind every stray thought or negative thought that's been sent by the enemy against us. In You, O Lord, we triumph! In You, O Lord, we receive Your joy which is our strength! In You, O Lord, we see our hope and restoration! In You, O Lord, we have our victory! In Jesus' name. Amen!"

Click here to watch the video in TiC YouTube Channel

A time of the visitation of the Lord and a time to welcome Him!

During a time of worship recently, I heard these words to be released to the people:
"This is a month of the visitation of the Lord! This is a time to welcome Him into every area of your life, even in every troubled area of your life, be it in your family, your health, your finance, or your vocation! And prepare Him a 'room'! Like the Shunammite woman welcoming Elisha those days!"

Let's go straight to the book of 2 Kings now.

2 Kings 4:8-10 says, 'Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, "Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there."'

Here, you can see this Shunammite woman showing great hospitality towards the man of God, Elisha. This speaks of her deep reverence and respect for Elisha, and of course, the God whom Elisha serve. No wonder (as you can see later) this family had a special place in Elisha's heart, and of course, in God's heart!
Note: 'Hospitality' is defined in Oxford Dictionary as 'friendly and generous reception of someone, especially in one's own home'.

Having written the above, I would also like to point out there's a greater prophetic meaning in this passage about Elisha and the Shunammite woman here.

The very name Elisha in Hebrew is a 'picture' of 'the Lord God who saves, helps, and sets free'! This name comes from two words, 'El' meaning 'God the Almighty, strong and powerful is He', and 'shuwa' meaning 'to save, to help, to set free', whereas this place named 'Shunem' literally means 'quiet, rest, peace' in Hebrew, from the word 'Shuwniy' meaning 'to be quiet, to rest, to be at peace'. This word therefore speaks of 'the sons and daughters of peace towards the Lord', i.e. 'those who accept and welcome the Lord in their lives', and 'those who learn to rest in Him and trust in Him, no matter what'.

Look now at the five 'items' that this woman (and her husband) had prepared for Elisha, who is a 'typology' of Jesus Himself:
1. Upper room = a place of worship/prayer.
2. Bed = a place to rest.
3. Table = a place to fellowship with.
4. Chair = a place to be seated.
5. Lampstand = a place of ministry.

And let's read what 2 Kings 4:10 says: "... so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there"! Indeed, this is a time to welcome the Lord and prepare a place for Him to 'turn in'! The truth is when He 'turns in', you are blessed beyond measure! And that's exactly what happened to the Shunammite woman and her household!

2 Kings 4:12-13 says, 'Then he (Elisha) said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite woman." When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him (the servant), "Say now to her, 'Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you?,,,'"'

The Lord is asking the same to those who welcome Him this day: "What can I do for you?"

You see, He is not a stingy God who keeps good things to Himself, but a God who wants to bless you, and goes all out to bless you! After all, He had even given His one and only begotten Son Jesus to die for you on the cross!

In 2 Kings 4:13, Elisha initially asked if she would want him to speak to the king (or the commander of the army) on her behalf, but she declined. Little did she know that one day, she would actually need him (through his servant) to speak to the king on her behalf! You can actually see that in 2 Kings 8:1-6 when this same woman needed to appeal to the king for her house and her land to be restored to her after a seven-year famine in the land! Well, that's how great the Lord our God is! He knows our future long before we know it!

Let's go back to 2 Kings 4 now. Elisha then found out from Gehazi his servant that this Shunammite woman had no son, and her husband was old (2 Kings 4:14). He then called her and said, "About this time next year you shall embrace a son." (2 Kings 4:16). His words of prophecy came to pass, and indeed, she bore a son, and the child grew (2 Kings 4:17-18).

However, later on, tragedy struck, and this very son died (2 Kings 4:19-20).

As you walk this journey of faith on earth, there can be times when you face challenges or 'storms' in life. But fear not! Because the Lord your God is not dead, but is very much alive in every situation you face. He is here to save you, help you, and set you free!

2 Kings 4:22-23 then says this woman ran to the man of God, Elisha, and in spite of the death of her son, she said "It is well!". Interestingly, 2 Kings 4:25 says she went to Elisha at Mount Carmel! There's a prophetic meaning here. You know what 'Carmel' means in Hebrew? It means 'fruitful, plentiful field; orchard, garden, vineyard', a 'picture' of 'the Lord your God who has all the resources to bless you, heal you, and restore you'! So, take heart!

This is also a time to boldly declare "It is well!" unto every area of trouble (or need) in your life at the moment! Keep declaring "It is well!", instead of speaking words that lead to death! As you declare words of life unto your situation, you are in effect declaring these words into being! The Word of God says, 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit' (Proverbs 18:21).

I'm not teaching you to escape from reality here. But I'm teaching you to look to the Word of God who is supernatural! This Shunammite woman ran to 'Elisha', a 'picture' of Jesus who is the Word of God! (John 1:1-3) Indeed, He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and this truth shall set you free (John 8:31-32). This truth shall also prevail over all the facts (i.e. all the challenges you face on earth). By the way, what is the difference between 'truth' and 'facts' here? One is supernatural, and the other is natural! The supernatural will always prevail over the natural! Jesus is your supernatural God who does great miracles on earth! And He is the same to you today as He was to the Shunammite woman those days!

For the record, Elisha then went on to do a miracle of restoring the woman's son back to life! 2 Kings 4:34-35 says, 'And he (Elisha) went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes'.

Therefore, people of God, no matter what your situation may be, and no matter how 'dead' it may be at the moment, keep running to the Lord your God (like the Shunammite woman), and keep resting in the assurance that He is here to save you, help you, and set you free!

Indeed, He is able, and He will do His part for sure! Believe that He is, and you'll receive. Amen!