Genesis 49:19 (NKJV)
Luke 8: 26-36
26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[a] which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. 30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.
Psalms 142:7
Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
Isaiah 49:24-25
Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives be rescued from the fierce[a]? 25 But this is what the Lord says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.
2 Kings 2: 2, 4, 6
2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel. 4 Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho. 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
Worship Song: God Only Knows by For King and Country
Happy Thirtieth Day of Thanks Everyone!
Today I give thanks for deeper understanding. (Warning: this, as all the thirtieth days of thanks, will probably be a long one.) When we started this journey six years ago, I had no idea where it would lead. I had no idea that God would use this journey to align me with His purpose for my life. I had no idea that I would keep telling y’all all my business and get even more vulnerable to share the absolutely chaotic and most painful moments of my and Delilah’s healing and deliverance journey. But, yet, here we are. I have learned so much in these last six years, things that I was completely oblivious to then. I got more revelation and a deeper understanding in some things that I already knew. If you didn't think it was possible, I’ve become even more of a Jesus fanatic, reading and studying the word more, praying and spending a greater measure of time with the Lord, and really focusing on living a holy and righteous life before Him. It hasn’t been easy at all but my desire to be a frontline soldier for God continues to draw me deeper and closer.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to even start this reflection because there is so much to say and so many things flowing through my mind. I guess I’ll start by interweaving the many themes within this year’s journey so that my thanks for deeper understanding makes more sense. We spoke about covenants in another reflection and how lasting they are. I want to draw a parallel of a lasting covenant and prophetic word from the Bible that God honored with a covenant and prophetic experience Delilah and I have witnessed the Lord honor in our lives. For this purpose, I'll draw the parallel from the story of the demon-possessed Gadarene man in Luke 8 because this was the very first scripture in which the Lord used to teach me that Delilah was oppressed by Legion spirits. If you all remember, I revealed a long while ago that God told me that Lilah’s mental condition, particularly the autism, was spiritually caused by three legion spirits: Bitterness, Rebellion, and Rejection. God also mentioned that we needed to destroy these legions in order for Delilah to experience complete healing and deliverance in her life. I also start with the story in Luke 8 because we can trace back to the original prophetic word and covenant that was spoken in the book of Genesis.
In Genesis when Israel (Jacob) was on his death bed, he began to declare prophetic words and covenants over his twelve children. In the nineteenth verse of chapter forty-nine of the book of Genesis, Israel tells his son Gad that a troop will trample over him but that he will eventually triumph over that troop. I imagine that Gad heard that prophecy at that moment and thought that a literal army was going to attack and destroy his tribe in the very near future. I’m sure he had no idea the prophetic word would occur thousands of years later and that the “troop” that would attack him (his descendant) would be a troop of legions spirits that would possess his descendant, causing him to be mentally bound, homeless, living in tombs, naked, cutting and hurting himself, and with suicidal ideation and tendencies. We don’t know how this man came to be possessed but we do know that Jesus had a divine appointment in His kairos calendar to set this captive (the Gaderene man) free. He told his disciples beforehand that he was going to the other side of the lake of Galilee. The bible tells us that as soon as the Gadarene man sees Jesus, the impure spirits began to cry out and asked not to be tortured or cast in the abyss or out of the region. We know the intention of the impure spirits were to eventually kill this demon-possessed man, like they did the pigs. But, Jesus, delivers and heals the Gadarene man by commanding the spirits out of him and allowing them to go into the pigs. The bible then goes on to say that they found this man in his right mind and with his clothes on. The Gadarene man’s deliverance is the first part of his triumph over the “troops” of legions that attacked/possessed him. As we continue to study, this same Gadarene man, who Jesus tells to stay in his own home country, evangelizes the entire Decopolis, winning souls throughout these ten cities for Christ. That is the ultimate triumph. Not only was this man healed and delivered but he would go on to heal and deliver so many other people and win them to the kingdom of light.
Now, I'll parallel the Gadarene man’s story with Lilah’s story, although Lilah’s story is still in progress. While we are actively waiting for the complete triumph over every attacking spirit, God has already declared repeatedly, since Delilah got her diagnosis of autism at almost four years old, that her complete healing is going to happen and is written in God's kairos calendar. Like Gad, she has been attacked by a “troop” of legion spirits that has resulted in her autism and epilepsy, which have bound her mentally and physically. But, also like in Gad’s situation, the prophetic which has gone forth will accomplish what has been said and Delilah will conquer and triumph over those troops. Until that kairos moment, we actively contend for the prophesy and travel the journey set before us by God to get there.
As I mentioned before, when Delilah was in my womb, the Lord prophesied that she would be a minstrel for the kingdom of God. Knowing that information, I exposed her to music and used it as a tool to eventually develop her speech. This year and last year, I received more revelation and a deeper understanding about sound and Delilah’s voice. Delilah is a minstrel and worshipper like King David. Last year, when God told Lilah and me that she had the keys to the kingdom and could say yes and no to things on earth that would resound as the same response in heaven, I got another revelation that the key of David was also a musical note or chord. Whenever David tapped into that musical note/chord, it ushered in the presence of God so greatly that it drove away all the evil spirits that were dwelling in Saul. Similar things happen when Lilah sings certain musical notes/chords. Interestingly enough, as I discovered that the key of David was a musical note or chord that could drive out evil spirits, the spirits influencing Delilah would always say to her, “Delilah don’t play your piano” or muzzle her mouth when she would try to sing worship. Isn’t it quite interesting that the one thing that could aid Delilah in deliverance was the very thing these spirits intentionally stopped her from doing. I now understood how powerfully effective Delilah’s voice and sound really are and why the dream of her singing that one note in a crowded stadium caused all of hell to crumble.
This year, Delilah and I discovered that there were four “General-ranking” spirits or “principalities” undergirding the legion of rejection that we must destroy. Delilah calls these spirits “Seraphim,” “Mr. Noodle,” “Clown,” and “Grandma.” These spirits are depression/anxiety, deaf/dumbness/muteness, insanity, and Jezebel respectively and are ranked from lowest to highest power. Of the principalities we would have to encounter, Jezebel not only represented the characteristic behaviors of manipulation, control, and domineering, she also represented sexual perversion (i.e. lust, abuse, rape, molestation). Each time we have a level of breakthrough and release a fragment of Lilah’s soul from a prison, Jezebel (“Grandma”) sends insanity (“Clown”) to violently and aggressively attack in order to shield Jezebel. Just as Jezebel muzzled the mouths of men, making them into eunuchs within her court, she also tried to silence the voice of the prophet, as she threatened to kill Elijah. That voice that tried to silence the prophet’s voice was similarly trying to silence Lilah’s voice by telling her not to worship and stopping her from singing.
We learned that the highest ranking spirit was Jezebel because Delilah drew one of her gate, lock, and key drawings. This particular time, she drew it in the color purple. God directed us to research the biblical meaning of the color purple and all the places in the Bible where it showed up in scripture. We had to research the physical locations in the Bible where purple dye or cloth existed and was sold and then research the prophetic words given to those places. The color purple signifies royalty. A key place the Bible mentions purple cloth being sold was Tyre and Sidon. The were so many strong prophetic rebukes against these cities in the book of Ezekiel in the Bible. We also discovered that Jezebel was the princess of Tyre and Sidon (present day Lebanon). Shortly after, we went to the book of Revelations to study what the Lord said to the church of Thyratira, who “tolerated” the false teacher, Jezebel, and was on a “bed of suffering” with her. As God was showing us that Jezebel represented sexual perversion and depravity, he was revealing that there was some iniquities of a sexual nature in my and Delilah’s bloodline that needed to be repented for and renounced.
Once I got the revelation that Jezebel was the spirit over the new territory we were to conquer, I decide to confirm the revelation by praying against the spirit of Jezebel, that was trying to choke Delilah’s throat and voice box. Not to my surprise, Delilah became really aggressive with me as I poked that bear. I began to immediately pray for the strategy that we would need to destroy that spirit. We have been weakening her grip off of Delilah’s voice by the word of God, the blood and name of Jesus, and are continually praying for the purification of Lilah’s ears so that no voice other than God’s voice will influence Delilah’s mind, emotions and behavior.
As Lilah drew new gates, locks, and keys of different varieties, we entered into new territories and new regions within territories, and continued to seek God’s face and strategy for victory over each spirit. Praying the word of God and washing Delilah’s mind constantly with the word of God, fasting, and constantly seeking the Lord have been so critical in this process. The level of revelation and understanding that has been coming has been invaluable and immeasurable. For the first time the Lord, through a testimony by someone who was sexually abused, allowed me to finally understand what had taken place with Delilah’s soul. Spirits stole and fragmented Delilah’s soul as a baby and locked it into different prisons. Each “prison” door of Lilah’s mind was represented by a new lock and key. It was my task to get strategy to find where those prisons were to get the pieces/fragments of her soul out of them. Continuously, we pray verse 7 of the 142nd book of Psalms, “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name Lord” among other foundational scriptures that God gave us to pray.
Last year, when God told me to read chapter two of the 2nd book of Kings, He explained that Elijah and Elisha’s journey to Bethel, Jericho and the Jordan River would be similar to my and Delilah’s journey for her healing and deliverance. Delilah and I had to unlock the portals within each location to ultimately unleash the glory of God for miraculous signs and wonders of healing and deliverance in Lilah’s and other people’s life. Delilah began to draw lock and keys in specific colors and declare things that would announce our progression to the next portal location. It was at the end of last year that Delilah started drawing a pool, a space ship, which means “acceleration” and speed, along with another lock and key signifying that we had entered into the Jordan River portal. In this third portal phase, Delilah asked to be physically baptized. During this phase of her drawings, everything has some reference to water; she constantly draws pools with the bottom silhouette appearing to be a mini-scale rendition of the outer, inner, and Holy of Holies of King David’s temple. Delilah most recently drew the water windmill, which also looked like a waterway connected to a river, to reveal the words of Ezekiel chapter 47. Each time the “ancient gates” are lifted by the King of Glory (or whoever he has given the key of David to), the living water (Jesus) would inundate and overtake the “dead” things and cause a resurrection of their life, as seen in the Nile River at the end of Ezekiel 47. As the battles and challenges keep coming, we stay steadfast in the instructions of the Lord. No matter how tired or fatigued, I pray for our strength to endure because we are so close to complete healing. Every prophetic “mystery” Lilah presents in her drawings, gets us closer and closer to unlocking that last portal (The Jordan River) to unleash the glory of God and get her mind back.
Today as I give thanks for deeper understanding, I thank God for entrusting me with Lilah’s journey of healing and deliverance, for giving me the wisdom and strength to seek His strategies and blueprints for what to do, and for getting us closer and closer to the fulfillment of that triumphant prophetic word. I invite you to donate to Upbeat NYC, www.upbeatnyc.org, a local music school that teaches South Bronx children/youth to play musical instruments for free.
This year’s journey has mainly been done as the first journeys, almost entirely “in secret,” between me and the Lord. I posted them on the blog but I didn’t share them as widely as I have done in the past five years. Not only has it been a very rough and vulnerable year for me, but God and I needed to have some of these sacred moments because my faith has been stretched and tested in ways that I never thought it would be. Everything in my world was shaken and only the things of God remained. God and I had to really be sure that I could be trusted with His glory and whether I would still be sold out to Him and serve Him, in spite of my hurt and disappointment. I really wished this 30th day of thanks could have shared a story of complete victory in healing and deliverance for Delilah but God knows the exact, divine timing that He has placed in His Kairos calendar. I keep the faith, believing that we will see Lilah’s healing and deliverance sooner than later and knowing that God does not lie. He can be trusted. He does what He says He will do. And This battle is as light as a feather for Him.
P.S. I am planning to eventually share the journey far and wide at another time so that you all can fully participate with me. Until then,
Love Ya,
Have a Great Day of Thanks!
