Stay focused and maintain your authority in Christ
By Holly Watson
The enemy has many tactics to prevent us from stepping into our destiny. One of those tactics is distraction. Distraction can be a hindering spirit sent to draw us away from our God-given assignment and is a decoy sent to interrupt the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Distraction can be described as mental distress, a diversion sent to lead us off course, or something dividing our loyalties away from the will of God. Distraction is a ploy by the enemy to delay the fulfillment of our prophetic promises. A spirit of distraction has one main intent: to hinder! An oppressive spirit is always sent to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10).
Nehemiah's Distraction
In Nehemiah Chapter 6, Nehemiah had all but finished the wall of Jerusalem, except for installing the doors to the gates of the city. When the enemies of Judah realized that Nehemiah had completed the restoration process, they plotted against Nehemiah to stop his progress. Judah's enemies – Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem – devised evil schemes to hinder Nehemiah through distraction, conspiracy and physical threats.
A great and effective door had opened to Nehemiah to re-establish the city of Jerusalem; however, it wasn't without opposition. Sometimes, when a door of breakthrough is before us, the enemy threatens to comes in behind us, to draw us off course. The Word of God instructs us to be wise as serpents yet harmless as doves because the threat of wolves lives among us (Matthew 10:16).
Spiritual warfare is a part of our New Testament Christian walk. However, we've been given powerful tools to overcome and defeat the forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:10-18, Luke 10:19). When Nehemiah faced opposition from his adversaries, he discerned the strategy of the enemy and avoided being drawn into the snare of verbal discourse and distraction.
Nehemiah chose his battles by recognizing distraction as the main attraction sent by the enemy to halt and hinder his progress! Nehemiah didn't engage in a verbal dispute with his enemies because he believed that if God was for him, who then could stand against him (Romans 8:31)? Nehemiah used wisdom and undistracted focus to defeat the foe before him. Even when Tobiah and Geshem (which represents carnal thinking and the ways of the world) rose up as adversarial cohorts, Nehemiah didn't fall prey to the stress and pressure to perform to their demands.
As I read through the story of Nehemiah in chapter six, I did notice one breach that led to the open door of distraction. In the second half of verse one, Scripture says that the doors to the gates of the city had not yet been installed. There was an entrance left open for the enemies of Judah to pass through and enter the city. The walls were erected as a fortress to protect them from outside opposition, yet there was still an opening through the doors to the city that left them vulnerable to an attack.
When we leave an open door for our adversary to enter in wherever he pleases, he is more than willing to oblige us by occupying our unguarded territory with his presence. One of the keys to closing off unwanted spiritual warfare is to check the gates of our city! When access to the enemy is denied, there's no room for him to wreak havoc. Be sure to protect your ear gate, eye gate, heart gate, and mouth gate…and do not give the devil an opportunity (Ephesians 4:27).
2018 Possessing the Gates of our Enemies
One Word the Lord gave me for 2018 was that this would be a year of “possessing the gates of our enemies” (Genesis 22:17). When Abraham believed by faith that God would provide a sacrifice to lay on the altar in place of his son Isaac, God blessed Abraham through his act of obedience by promising Abraham's descendants would possess the gates of their enemies (Genesis 22). We are descendants of Abraham!
Galatians 3:29 says, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.” To possess the gates of a city represents power. In the Word of God, business was established at the gates. Prophets stood at the gates of the city to make declarations from God (Jeremiah 7:2; 17:19). Kings sat at the city gates to dispense justice (2 Samuel 19:8).
To possess the gates of our enemies means to conquer and defeat our adversaries by the power of the Holy Spirit. The word “possess” is the Hebrew word yaras which means to drive out previous tenants, cast out, succeed, to expel, and to utterly dispossess. God has given us all power and authority over the enemy, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against us (the Church) (Matthew 16:18-19).
2018 is a year where justice is coming to the House of the Lord and all who have suffered injury and harm are being restored double for their trouble (Isaiah 61:7)! God is turning weeping into rejoicing. He is bringing honor to those who have suffered shame and dishonor. The Lord is tipping the scales of justice in our favor. Where the enemy came in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord is raising up a standard against him. The accuser of the brethren has lost his foothold over the Saints of God!
We occupy a place of authority over our enemies to oppose them! In 2018, our enemies are being captured at the gate! We are making declarations of breakthrough, casting out the works of darkness wrecking havoc upon the earth, and disarming the enemy at the gate! God is bringing turning points into the Body of Christ with His signature all over them. The Spirit of the Lord is saying, “No more delay!” This is the year to claim your inheritance and possess the gates of your enemies. Blessing and multiplication is your portion. Double for your trouble is your lot for this year! What the enemy meant for evil, God is turning around for His good.
Holly and her husband Frank co-founded KRGO Ministries as a result of the prophetic Word reaching the Nations through their website. Holly is a Prophetic Voice and revivalist throughout the Body of Christ. Her passion is to share the Heart of the Father with today’s Church and to equip this generation to be Kingdom-minded and end-time prepared. Holly’s desire is to see every person walk in liberty and freedom in Christ and to awaken the gifts, calling, and assignments the Father has for each of His Children at this hour.
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