There is great comfort in only taking godly instruction from television ministries. The televangelist has nothing invested in the viewer directly and s/he can encourage, encourage, encourage without ever calling a person to accountability. Words of encouragement can help us to feel better about our current situation, but encouragement is meant to help us press-on in our pursuit of Jesus. Deliverance from oppression and enemy attack can only be alleviated by applying the Word of God to our lives; while encouragement is helpful, it is not enough to secure victory in daily living. The Bible outlines specific requirements for continual victory in our walk with God; one of which is holiness. Some people are grabbing onto numerous ‘words of encouragement’ hoping those words will propel them from lack, chaos, or bondage into prosperity, peace and freedom; but they’re still stuck in a rut and they’re asking God why?
Phil Robertson, founder of the Duck Commander Company, now famously known by the television show that launched he and his family into fame, “Duck Dynasty” said in a recent interview on Joni Table Talk that before he came to know the Lord, he chose to live immorally. He wanted freedom, freedom to live as he wanted to unencumbered by restriction. He noted that after multiple conversations with many people on the issue of surrendering to Jesus according to God’s Word, the one common theme in these conversations was that people rejected God’s way of doing things so they could live a life free from restraint.
There are many circumstances that require some form of restraint: wearing a seat belt while traveling in a car to keep from being thrown from a vehicle if involved in a crash, following the directions written on a medicine bottle in order to prevent death by accidental overdose, and holding back words during an altercation that could cause the loss of a job or the loss of a dear friendship. Life presents us with situations requiring restraint and embracing godly restraint can keep us from being an open target for the enemy.
Most of us who are stuck in a rut are stuck because we’re still making decisions in life that God cannot bless; and in many cases, people fail to remove themselves from situations they know are not God’s best for them because they do want to be restrained. Whether they resist restraint because they are fearful their needs will not be met or they resist restraint because they are just rebellious and self-serving, ignoring restraint will cause the blessings in those lives to hit a ceiling. In the case of rebellion for example, refusing to choose right living will not only hinder blessings, it can leave a person without certain protections and no child of God wants to be without the protection of God.
It is incumbent upon every believer to walk out their salvation with awe and reverence (Philippians 2:12) and to pursue holy living. Yes, if you’re shacking up with a partner you can still talk to God, but until you make the decision to do right by God through His Word (be joined in matrimony or separate entirely), the blessings in your life will have a ceiling. Remember what the Bible says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap. For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7, AMP).
God cannot bless wrong living. Our access to abundant living can only go as far as our commitment to God’s Word. If we want to have real and lasting change for the better then we have to do life His way. If we want Him to make moves for us, then we have to make some moves for Him. We must make a choice. We must be willing to let Him make changes to our situation so we can be positioned for victory.
Decide this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15): you and your way or the Lord and His way. Jesus allowed God to crucify Him so you and I can have salvation and abundant life, but in order to manifest everything God has for us to be victorious, we have to give up those things and situations we know deep within our hearts are not God’s best for us. In order to break through the ceiling we must choose to live life rightly.