What has the enemy taken from you? Has he taken your ability to dream? I mean straight up stolen the things you used to get excited about for your future!

Has the enemy taken your energy and left you dreading the day and wishing away the hours until you can go back to bed?

Has the enemy taken your joy? There was once a sparkle in your eye and a pep in your step, now you’re only half way present and mostly checked-out.

Has the enemy taken your confidence? You’re a shell of who you once were, now you question if you can ever get back who you used to be.

Has the enemy taken your peace? You’re all stirred up, filled with worry and anxiety, hiding in dark corners where your thoughts hold you captive.

Has the enemy taken your marriage? Your child? Your family? Your health? Your purpose?

Girl, it’s time to boldly march to the gates of Hell, and with the power of God inside of you, demand back what the enemy has taken from you! This is the year YOU TAKE IT BACK!

I have a song and a story to awaken the fight within you. Which do you want first?

Okay, the story. The story of showing up with the power of God and taking back what the enemy stole.

1 Samuel 30: 1-20, “When David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into Ziklag and they had crushed and burned it to the ground. They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.
When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

They found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. David got back everything the Amalekites had taken. Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. “This plunder belongs to David!” they said.”

You’ve been crying long enough over what the enemy has stolen from you. Now, find your strength in the Lord! I challenge you to ask God, just as David did. “Lord, should I chase after the enemy who has stolen from me and take it back?” Ask God about your joy. Ask God about your passion. Ask God about your energy. Ask God about your dreams. Ask God about your relationships. Ask God about your future. God, should I just let the enemy take it, or should I fight to get it back?

And the Lord says, “Yes, go after it! You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

David hunted down the enemy and fought. He didn’t get back just some of what had been taken from him. No, he got back ALL of what had been taken. All of it. Every great thing and every small thing. Every son, every daughter, every cow, every tool, every weapon. It was all there and he took it all back.

But not only that, he took the enemy’s flocks and herds as well.

Will you be the girl that not only fights to get back what the enemy has stolen from you, but will you fight to rescue what the enemy has stolen from others as well? I want you to know, as I fight to get back the fullness of my passion and my dreams the enemy has taken from me, I’m going to see if I can grab some of your dreams and rescue them for you too. I want you to know as I fight for my children, I’m fighting for yours too! I want you to know that if I see something that belongs to you while I’m fighting the enemy, I’m grabbing it for you!

This is our year to take it back!

Now, notice this. It wasn’t fair for the Amalekites to take from David and the Philistines. But this unfairness was not remedied by David continuing to cry over it. He had himself a good cry. In fact, it says they wept until they could weep no more. But do you know what happens when you weep from this kind of brokenness? Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

Oh that’s exactly what God did for David. He came in close to David and he rescued his crushed spirit. It says, “David found his strength in God.”

As you’ve been weeping, as you’ve been hurting, as you’ve been broken, God has been coming in close to you. He’s strengthening you. He’s preparing to rescue you!

But here’s the mistake we make. We assume God is going to magically plop everything that has been taken from us on our doorstep one morning, so we sit and wait for THAT morning. Welp, it wasn’t THIS morning. I still don’t have the energy. It wasn’t THIS morning, I’m still not happy. It’s not THIS morning, my family is still broken. It’s not THIS morning, I still don’t like me. Maybe it will be tomorrow morning. So we wait. And we wait. And as we wait, we settle.

We settle for believing this is all there is. We settle for the struggle. We settle for the loss. Girl, stop settling! If the enemy stole something from you, God wants to strengthen you to go take it back!

God, should I just let the enemy take it, or should I fight to get it back?

And the Lord says, “Yes, go after it! You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”

BUT YOU ARE THE ONE TO GO AFTER IT! Don’t sit there and wait for it to magically show up. That’s not the way this battle is fought.

As a 19 year old newlywed, I had a massive stroke. A blood clot was lodged in my brain stem for 8 hours, causing me to lose my balance, my speech, my coordination, and a massive chunk of my memories. I was left unable to walk or talk. That was the enemy’s plan for my life. He didn’t want this girl to be able to walk into your life! He didn’t want this girl to be able to speak into your life! So, he took it away from me.

To get it back, I had to fight. I had to learn how to hold a fork again. I had to learn how to write again. I had to learn how to walk again without my left leg dragging. I had to work so ridiculously hard to speak again without a slur. If I wouldn’t have worked for it, I would likely still be laying in a bed. I didn’t magically receive my healing one magical morning. No, I received my healing showing up to fight for it! And while I’m there, taking back what the enemy stole from me, I’ve found a few of your dreams. I’ve found a pile of your confidence. I’ve found the joy you used to have. The enemy stole that from you! I’m here to help you get it back, my sister!

Let’s lock arms as the daughters of God. Let’s go marching in together and take back what the enemy has taken from us!

Now, as promised, a song. And I’m just warning you, the first time I heard this song, it turned into playing it on repeat for a full hour, learning every word, singing, shouting and praying the lyrics. It’s one of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard. It’s the theme of our most powerful goals for this year. It’s the theme of the New Year Retreats I’m hosting this month. It can be your theme for what’s been taken from you. Set this as your morning alarm!

“Take It Back” by Tauren Wells and We the Kingdom

Fear’s got me living with the lights out
Chained down like a prisoner in my own house
Shame cycles like a daily medication
I try, but I can’t change my situation

‘Cause the liar comes to rob my joy
Yeah, I’m bruised, but I’m not destroyed
I’m rising like an army, and you’re gonna hear the sound

I’m calling the angels down
I’m storming the gates of hell
Tell the devil he don’t own my soul
I’m taking back what the enemy stole
I’m raising the battle cry
I’m holding the banner high
With the power of the Holy Ghost
I’m taking back what the enemy stole

You can’t speak your lies over my family, no
You can’t break the promises that are standing, no
Ain’t gotta flex to put you back in your place now
One name is all I gotta say, Jesus

Taking my peace back
Taking my joy back
Take it all back, take it all back
I’m taking back what the enemy stole

Hey enemy, it if it isn’t clear, God’s girls want EVERYTHING you took from us! We’re coming in the name that makes the demons flee. JESUS!

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