Into a season of breakthrough

I think it’s about time. Enough is enough; it’s time for a new day.

Someone said to me the other day that it was time for us to step out of the season we have been in and time for us to step into a season of breakthrough.

Over the last 12 months we have stepped out in faith like never before, putting ourselves in a place of trust and obedience to God’s call on our lives.  To say it has been a challenge is an understatement and we certainly feel that throughout the year we have attracted the attention of the enemy.

God absolutely leads us through different seasons: seasons of plenty, seasons of need, seasons of peace, seasons full of stress and challenges, seasons of growth, seasons of release and many more. 

But I also believe that there comes a time for you to declare that enough is enough; a time for you to take a purposeful step from the season you’re in, into a season of breakthrough. 

A season of breakthrough is a season of significance: it’s in this season that you flourish; it’s when the Holy Spirit works in and through you to impact the lives of those around you; it’s a season that is full of blessing and fruit.

Now, because of the nature of a season of breakthrough, it is often preceded by a season of attack and oppression by the enemy.  The devil doesn’t ever want us to be in a season of breakthrough, so he does everything he can to keep you out of it.  He wants to keep our mind elsewhere, distracted and unfocused.  He wants to fill us with temptations and oppression.

Therefore, it’s crucial that we recognise the attack of the enemy in our lives and when we are being suppressed in a particular season by the works and schemes of the enemy.  This is when we need to take action, when we need to take a stand, declare the victory and step into breakthrough.

It says in 1 Peter 5:8-9:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5:8-9

We sometimes get so consumed by the season we are in that our guard goes down and we become blind to the works of the enemy.  It’s crucial that somehow we remain alert and of sober mind, so that we can clearly see the presence of the enemy.

When we find him, there is no need for a long drawn out battle.  The battle was already won by Jesus on the cross on our behalf, so we just need to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil’s works and stand firm in our faith and then he will flee.  

James 4:7 adds to the advice in 1 Peter 5, giving us a clear strategy to enable us to win the battle.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7

The victory is in Jesus and we are on the winning side.  

So back to where I find myself right now.  It’s time for a new day; enough is enough; it’s time for breakthrough.  I’m claiming the new season that is starting right now; I’m stepping into the promises that God has for me, the blessing, the fruit and the breakthrough.

written by Richard Evans