Shouts of Deliverance

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl name Little Princess. This girl had everything she could ever ask for. Her father was the King of all the land and they loved each other dearly. He was always there for Little Princess, through the good times and the bad. They talked everyday and were full of joy. Little Princess was loved and cherished, cared for and protected.

Then one day Little Princess was walking through the grounds of the castle when a strange figure started to walk towards her. The figure was dark and as it neared Little Princess she felt shivers down her spine. Suddenly she became cold and felt her joy slipping away.

"You shouldn't be here," she sheepishly told the hooded figure. "The castle is protected and intruders are forbidden." The figure hovered before her and did not seem to hear her timid pleas for him to leave.

Darkness grew upon them and before she knew it Little Princess was feeling sick. Her heart grew heavy and she started to feel shortness of breath. Then a strange thing started to happen. The frightening figure started to place it's hand on her shoulder. The weight of his hand on her was nearly unbearable.

Just as Little Princess began to question if this figure knew how to speak he startled her with icy, stinging words. "You are no longer a princess. You are worthless." Little Princess gasped. "No, that's not true!" she exclaimed, though in heart she started to believe him. "You are a failure, just look at yourself. Do you know how ugly you are?" he replied with no hesitation.

Little Princess felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart. There had been times in the past where she questioned her beauty and struggled to believe that she was not ugly. "Not to mention that you are a terrible girl. Do you remember when you ditched your best friend at school last year so you could go talk to Jake?" Of course Little Princess remembered, she had felt horrible for hurting her friend. "But I realized I was wrong and I asked for forgiveness. Why are you bringing that up?" she said with a trembling voice. "You are not good enough for forgiveness, how could you even think such a stupid thing?!" he said with a growing anger in his voice.

Before she could answer, the figure grabbed her by the neck and started choking her. "I haven't even mentioned the really horrible things you have done...you could never be forgiven for those things could you?" he said slyly as Little Princess struggled for any trace of air. He released her and threw her to the ground shouting, "Answer me! You could never be forgiven! They are so evil I can't even repeat them." Tears streamed down Little Princess' face and she knew what he was talking about. She had done terrible things, things she never wanted anyone to ever know. How did he know? Slowly she believed him, she knew she could not be forgiven. The figure started to laugh, a heavy dark laugh that lead her to cry heavily in desperation.

Suddenly a bone chilling shriek pierced her ears and she quickly darted her eyes towards the torturing perpetrator. There was a bright figure standing behind her enemy. The person was engulfed in so much light that she could not make out the face of the mysterious addition to the group. He walked towards Little Princess and picked her up from the ground, brushing the dirt off of her knees.

Before she knew it the dark hooded figure was back by her side, pulling her away from the man who appeared to be her protector. Again the icy voice glided into her ears with more words to tear her apart. Weakness fell upon her once more and her knees started to buckle.

At once she felt her right arm grasped and wrapped around a warm neck. She started to raise above the cold hard ground and realized her protector was firmly placing her within his arms. The icy and deafening words began to reach her mind again, but were quickly crushed when her protector's words chased them away. "You are my Little Princess," the words were spoken in sincerity. The words drew a small, but growing hope in the heart of Little Princess.

"You are of worth to Me. You have a purpose. You have not failed Me and you are not a failure. You are beautiful. You are My treasure. You have been forgiven. You will always be forgiven." Little Princess felt warmth and joy begin to return to her heart. She was experiencing healing and truth.

Time began to pass and the longer Little Princess looked to her protector she began to see his face. It was the face of her Father! "How could I not recognize the face of my own Father?" He looked at her with gentleness and understanding. "My child, why did you walk away from Me and believe the lies of the enemy...the lies of Shame? Shame has been attacking many in the kingdom because they forget what I have done for them. My Little Princess, do not listen to Shame's lies anymore. No longer are you to experience that bondage."

At that moment Little Princess was humbled and realized that the longer she allowed Shame to be in her presence, the further she was pushing her Father away. "Thank you for saving me Father," she graciously replied. "I love you with an everlasting love My Child and I will never let anything separate you from Me."

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?"

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:35 & 37-39

That is a detailed list, and as if the dozen ways we will not be separated from Christ were not enough, Paul thought he should end by emphasizing his point that nothing in all creation will ever separate you from the love of God. NOTHING.

It doesn't matter what you have done or ever will do - NOTHING will separate you from the LOVE OF GOD.

"that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

Romans 8:21

God doesn't want you to live in bondage to shame. You are His child and He wants you to experience the FREEDOM that only comes through life in Him.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Romans 8:1

"You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin."

Psalm 85:2

"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is not deceit.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to You at a time when You may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance."

Psalm 32:1-7