The Biblical meaning of oppression is “to exercise power over; to tire down with toil; exhaust with labor; afflict”, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary. When Israel was in Egypt and being cruelly treated, Scripture declares that God saw their oppression and heard their cry for help.
For those of you who are oppressed, I have great news. God has a promise especially for you in Psalm 9:9, which reads: “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” The Lord also promises to arise on your behalf. Listen to me; you may indeed be under a tremendous load today. That load may be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual. What Jesus did on earth, He is still doing today.
Allow me to encourage you today to take some time to get alone with the Lord. Speak to Him in prayer. Pour out your heart to Him. He really cares about you. Spend some time reading the Word. His Word brings healing, joy and rejoicing.
When the devil sinks his venom of oppression into you there is a tendency to either humanly try to fight your way out, or fall flat on your face and give up. Either response is in the flesh. You must tap into those “heavenly weapons” that are guaranteed by God to shoot down every one of Satan’s scud missiles. Oppression is spiritual, not chemical. If it weren’t, Jesus would have built a pharmacy and not a church. (Please understand, I’m not knocking medicine; I’m just placing Scripture in its right place!)
Oppressive thoughts such as, “There’s no way out for me”, “This is impossible”, etc., are the product of “carnal thinking” feeding on devilish philosophy. I don’t mean that in a condemning way. We all know what it’s like to “go through the ringer” so to speak. Do not accept that your condition is permanent. Do not believe the “greener pastures” myth. By all means, do not allow the seeds of oppression to give birth to self-pity.
There IS help in Jesus Christ today. For whatever is oppressing you today, find a corresponding passage of Scripture and when that dart comes, quote that verse out loud and let God’s Word assure you that everything will be okay. Don’t put God on a time schedule. He doesn’t wear a watch!
Seeds of oppression grow into weeds of mental anguish. Let Jesus pull out those weeds of doubt and oppression, and replace them with the flower of hope; that is, “the Rose of Sharon”.
WOW!! I needed this!! Blessings be on you, Saint Raymond!!
This morning’s devotional triggered many thoughts for me (as they always do).
The word opression is constantly used by communist and socialist regimes as their reason for existence. Ironically, true relief from opression only comes from Jesus, not from atheist political systems that more often than not increase opression to achieve control.
Given these politically charged times, there is much debate from both sides of the fence about who oppresses whom. Having grown up under totalitarian communism, I am unfortunately all too familiar with political systems that claim to solve opression by “sharing wealth” and making people “equal” through mandates and force. Their view of God is not surprising. The government is god and worship of the true God is considered idolatry. What a messed up world we live in.
True relief from opression does not come from a political system or government. A government that supports God certainly facilitates our lives, allowing us to go to church, to say the name of Jesus without facing persecution, jail time, torture, or death. Great country we live in, that is why my family came here. But let us remember Paul’s heart while in prison. My greatgrandfather living in Spain was often in jail since his passion was establishing reformed churches, something the papacy tried their best to prevent. Thank God for this country and our constitution.
But… it is GOD we must thank for freedom from opression. Good or bad, governments are not god (sorry Fidel, Kim Jong Un). Jesus is the only path to salvation- thein lies our relief from opression.
As always, these devotionals are a blessing. Most importantly, in GOD we trust.
Blessings,
JoseM