Is the enemy wearing you out?
Editor’s Note: This devotion was written by Dianna Hobbs and used by permission from her ‘Your Daily Cup of Inspiration’ blog. To read more encouragement like this, visit YourDailyCupOfInspiration.com
There are seasons when we go through intense tests and trials, when it seems like God has allowed the enemy to unleash every weapon in his arsenal to wear us out. While these moments are unpleasant, they don’t last always.
If the enemy has been wearing you out lately, friend, God is sending you a message of assurance that a shift is coming. Rewards are coming. Blessings are coming. More favor is coming. It’s only a matter of time.
The day before yesterday, my husband Kenya came into our bedroom holding one of his most frequently worn dress shoes in his hand.
“Look at my shoe. It suddenly fell apart on me today,” he said, pointing to the sole that had completely detached from the black leather.
“Wow!” I replied, shocked to see that the shoe had essentially fallen apart on his foot. Though it’s an older work shoe that he wears all the time, neither of us thought it was old and tattered enough to wear out to that degree.
But we were clearly wrong.
After examining and marveling at the torn-up shoe, my brain did what it always does and tied the scenario to Scripture. I thought of Deuteronomy 29:5 KJV where God spoke to Israel through Moses saying, “I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.”
In other words, God said, by My grace and power, Israel, I stopped your clothes and shoes from wearing out for four whole decades.
Friend, there isn’t a shoe in the world that is well made enough to withstand daily wear and tear without wearing out for forty years—the equivalent of 14,610 days!
The miraculous power of God was clearly at work in this case, revealing Him as a preserver of His people. Isn’t it good to know that in every circumstance and situation, the keeper of Israel’s soles is also the keeper of our souls?
Psalm 121:7 promises that God will “preserve your soul.” That means He will protect you, keep you from harm, and keep you intact.
That’s such good news, because sometimes our souls get weary. I often say, life will life you, meaning circumstances will come to wear you out. Trouble will drain your energy. Issues will diminish your will to carry on. Without God, we are powerless to withstand the scorching heat of dry desert lands that leave us parched and weary.
But you don’t have to worry when you know that God will preserve your soul. That doesn’t mean you will never feel depleted or worn out. It does mean, however, that God will restore, replenish, and reposition you favorably in due season.
Earlier, I was reading about Daniel, the devoted Jewish young man taken into Babylonian captivity. In Daniel 7, he recounts a troubling prophetic vision that foreshadowed a time when corrupt kings and kingdoms would arise, oppose, and oppress God’s people.
In verse 25, a specific king is described in Daniel’s vision as one that would “speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High.”
That was bad news but not the end of the story. Verses 26-27 go on to say that this unnamed future king’s reign of terror would be temporary, and his dominion would be stripped and transferred to the saints.
Ah, that’s a good word!
God is speaking to somebody right now, in fact, and confirming that there is a transference coming in your life. He is about to transfer to you the same access, privileges, perks, rewards, and authority that once belonged to somebody else. There’s getting ready to be a shift in your destiny. A supernatural breakthrough is coming.
You’re about to get what you’ve never had, go where you’ve never been, and elevate to pinnacles you’ve never reached.
I know the enemy has been trying to wear you out, but it’s not over yet.
Consider Daniel for a moment. Now, he knows a thing or two about the enemy wearing out the saints! In Daniel 6—the chapter that comes just before the one containing this vision we’re discussing—Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den for praying to Almighty God, thus disobeying King Darius’s decree.
It’s safe to say that being thrown in a den of lions qualifies as a situation that would wear somebody out, right? Even so, throughout the duration of this terrifying trial, Daniel trusted in the Lord. Therefore, in response to Daniel’s faith, Jesus, the Lion of Judah, showed up in that treacherous circumstance and closed the mouths of the lions. Daniel was totally unscathed without so much as a scratch on his body.
Look at God!
After seeing this miracle, King Darius sent out a new decree in every part of his kingdom, commanding everyone to worship the God of Daniel—the only true and living God (vv. 26-27).
Oh, glory to His name.
Listen, the same Daniel whose vision predicted a season when the enemy would wear out the saints also received revelation that a shift, a transference of dominion would come. God, the keeper of our souls, said that He would strip the enemy of power and give it to the saints.
Considering this promise, you can trust that God won’t let the enemy wear you out forever. It’s just temporary. I believe that the Lord sent me to prophesy over you this day and tell you that you’re coming out of your wilderness season. He is preparing to flip things in your favor.
Your testimony will be, “He turned it!”
Although some things, people, and circumstances have been effectively wearing you out, a divine reversal is coming. God is restoring dominion back to you. He’s releasing you from captivity. He’s going to make your life a testimony of His miraculous power to restore and save from destruction and death.
Receive this word by faith and know that God is arising on your behalf. And my dear friend, when God arises, everything changes for the better.
Who is this word for today?
To confirm this truth, I’m stirring a sweetener into your cup of inspiration found in the first portion of Psalm 68:1 KJV which says, “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, prepare for a transference of power, an outpouring of favor, and showers of blessings. It’s all on the way.
Now, pray this prayer with me.
God, thank You for assuring me that these tiresome, worrying, difficult, taxing situations that have been wearing me out won’t last always. By faith, I receive a supernatural transference of all the blessings and benefits You have in store for me. Though it hasn’t taken place yet, I thank You in advance for my shift. I declare by faith that it will surely come! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dianna Hobbs is founder of EEW Magazine Online and CEO of Empowering Everyday Women Ministries — a 501c3 nonprofit organization that shares the gospel and provides humanitarian aid to the hurting. She is also the writer of Your Daily Cup of Inspiration and executive producer of the companion podcast. Follow Dianna on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. Sign up for her free ministry newsletter here.