Break Every Chain

I've had the song on repeat for about a month now.  Break Every Chain.  I love don't care whether the version is by Tasha Cobbs, The Digital Age, or Jesus Culture.  It is my go-to song right now when my soul can't form the words to pray.  The first line of the song wells up great emotion out of the depths every single time.  There is power in the name of Jesus.

Power in His name.  That is what I need to know right now when circumstances in the world shout otherwise.  There is power to break the curse of cancer, power to create a beautiful and good government, power to plunge pornography and abuse to the deepest hell, power to breathe life into barren spaces, power to keep custody of children, power to discern evil, power to watch loved ones waste away on their death beds, power to grieve those you still ache for, power to reverse difficult relationships, and power to simply put one foot in front of the other.

Jesus.  In that one single name, we have all the resurrection power we could ever need.

{Just close your eyes and whisper His name. Give yourself the grace to take a big breath and then breathe out grace. This is not all about you or me or them.  Jesus.  All for Him and from Him and through Him.  Jesus. Breathe Him in.}

I can't get the illusion of chains out of my head.  One line of the song says, "There's an army rising up.  To break every chain."  I think about the thick and heavy chains that Satan places on our wrists and minds and thought patterns and child-like souls.  I think about how there is power in the name of Jesus and how that power is all that is needed to break every single link of bondage.  And then I glory at God's ways of inviting His children into the process of ushering freedom into people's weary lives. 

There's an army rising up.  God wants to use us!  He doesn't have to but He invites us into the story of freedom and unconditional love.  He wants us to grace others as He has graced us.  He longs for us to be down on our knees with snotty faces, interceding for those who are slaves to Satan's ways. We don't have to pray for everyone or everything. All we have to do is be faithful to the one or few that the Holy Spirit places on our hearts. We choose to enter the battle on behalf of those who wear chains.  We do it because they are worth the battle. Jesus bled out because they (and you. and me.) are worth the battle.

There is nothing more endearing to me than when someone chooses to enter into my hard story.  When my sister died, I had complete strangers bring me food.  These people, six years later, have become very sweet friends.  I had a friend who would remember every single 13th of the month.  For years, she would swing by or call or bring a small gift or card.  She would sit on my couch and let me be in whatever phase of grief I was in, never rushing me.  Countless people chose to enter into my grief with me until they slowly saw all the chains fall off.  They were Jesus to me in those heart wrenching years of anguish.  I am forever grateful to God for all of them.

I keep going back to what our pastor said Sunday.  "Your personal Savior is the King of a Kingdom.  That Kingdom is invading.  That means war." 

We are at war.  We will be at war until that beautiful King sets up His beautiful reign.

Will you enter the battle?  Chains are ready to fall...