Water Causes Release

By Cyndi Kay Green

While driving home from a doctor’s appointment one afternoon, I noticed a huge snapping turtle propped on top of a fence post. When I saw this creature, my mind raced back in time to the old saying about the huge and aggressive creatures. “Don’t mess with a snapping turtle, it won’t let go until it thunders.” I kind of chuckled to myself then I began to reflect on my spiritual walk with Christ.

I thought how much Satan is like a snapping turtle. Always trying to keep us caught up in the deceit of his world. The main purpose of the enemy is to steal, kill and destroy. We all know this scripture and we know that any time he gets a chance, the adversary will strike in order to shake our faith. Once he shakes our faith, he then believes that he can steal our joy and trust while he moves in to destroy our lives. Now a snapping turtle may not be intent on killing us, but the beak-like mouth will definitely cause some pain. The thing with the turtle is this; it will only be aggressive in response to agitation from you. Satan however, doesn’t wait for you to go to him, he will slowly slip in and cause you to believe the deceit. This deceit can sometimes lead you into places you wouldn’t normally venture. That is why we must always remember to follow Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) which says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” We all know that when it comes to snapping turtles, they can be dangerous. Because we know this, we automatically stay away from them, or we move out of their territory if we see we have invaded their home. This is not always the case with the adversary.

There are many schemes that Satan uses to keep people in bondage and covered in oppression. But all it takes to make Satan let go is to understand the power that we were given as a Christian. When Jesus came to live and then die on the cross, we were given the ability to break bondage from the enemy by the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” This lets us know that no matter what we may face, God has given us the strength to face it an overcome the situation. This can include lies about how you see yourself in the Kingdom as well as lies about how others see you. Both of these types of lies will usually keep you from pursuing the gifts and journey that God has designed for you. We get caught up in the what the world sets as standards and we forget what God has set for our standards. Another ploy of the enemy is coming between you and your spouse. He does this so we do not become united against him. He will also cause strife between parents and children. The world is always enticing our youth to have the trendiest clothes and gadgets. That is why it is important to always follow Proverbs 22:6 (NLT) which says, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Once we have our marriage and our children following the life that God has designed, we no longer have anything the enemy can hold onto.

There are also those times that we find ourselves in a place of bondage and we become ashamed. We pull away from people because we do not want them to see this bondage. We keep our distance because the enemy whispers lies to us that everyone knows and they do not want to be around us. This is just another link in the chain of bondage that the enemy speaks to us hoping to keep us from finding that power we have been given. The enemy thinks that if he can keep us isolated, then he will keep us from the glory of God. He grasps us through the use of lies and fear, hoping to hold us down and away from being the child of God that we are designed to be.

When he attacks you and gets you into bondage, he won’t let go. He wants to keep us away from God’s will and living the prosperous life that we are promised in God’s Word. We are told in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Although we can see the turtle and we can physically make him let go, fighting against principalities of darkness is a different way of battle. This is a battle of the spirit. We have to know how to be the thunder when we speak against the bondage of the enemy by knowing that we can come boldly before the throne and seek grace and mercy in a time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Why do we let Satan use bondage against us? Because we sometimes allow the flesh to try to fix the situation and not truly allow God to deliver us from evil. Once we really understand who we are in Christ, we can begin to understand what we have in our grasp. God promises us in His Word that there is nothing we will face that He won’t deliver us from, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And god is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more tat you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” I Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

So much like the snapping turtle, Satan doesn’t let go until you release the power of Christ you have as a child of God, and call upon Him to release you from any bondage that you may be facing. How do we get snapping turtles to let go? The best way is to immerse the turtle under water. What a wonderful thing! Just like immersing the turtle, we can immerse the grasp of satan under the life-giving water of Jesus. To do this, we simply state the Word boldly against the situation. Stand before the throne and ask with confidence for protection, deliverance and the strength to overcome. We need to be the water that is poured over the grasp of the enemy. When we become the water, the grip is weakened and we are no longer in bondage of the lies from the enemy. In John 7:3 (NLT) we are told “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

I encourage you today my lovely, when you feel like the turtle has a hold on you and you are caught in the pain, let the living water pour out upon it and watch it let go. Be strong in your faith and know that Jesus is the living water inside of you that will overcome any grasp of the enemy when you let His water fill your spirit.