Power in the Holes

 

As I speak and sing at women's events around the country, I am amazed at some of the practical lessons God continues to give me while teaching His Word. One such lesson happened to me while I was on stage. 

While teaching on the topic "Is There a Hole In Your Sole?" from my latest conference series, "If the Shoe Fits," I was reminding the women how we often get stuck in emotional holes, when suddenly, I was literally stuck -- in the hole of an electrical outlet. The door to an electrical outlet on the stage had been left open and the stiletto heel I was wearing was wedged in the opening. 

I tried to walk forward, but was unsuccessful. Determined to free myself, I rocked slowly back and forth. I later learned that some of the women thought that I was either having a seizure or feeling a tremendous move of the Spirit. Unable to free myself, I finally told the audience I was stuck, bent over and with a huge tug, removed my shoe from the opening.  As the women laughed hysterically, I smiled gracefully, slid the shoe back on my foot, and continued our lesson on holes. That episode turned out to be an unanticipated visual aid.

Have you ever been stuck in a hole?  Not like the one on the stage, but an emotional hole that won't seem to heal?  Maybe your hole is divorce, or the loss of a child, or abuse, or addiction, or depression.  Maybe Satan whispers the same lie to you that he did to Jesus as He hung on the cross: "You are defeated, and I am the winner."

There is nothing that can heal a hole in our soul except the Living God.  Psalms 40:1-3 is a powerful reminder of what God will do when we put our trust in Him to heal the holes in our life.  He will lift us from the pit, and give us a new song.  People, jobs, status, money, houses, and all of the other answers that the world offers are powerless to heal the deepest places in our soul.  The only One who holds the keys to the answers paid the ultimate price when He gave His life on the cross. 

As Jesus hung on the cross, He became well acquainted with holes.  Holes in his hands and his feet held Him to the cross. A hole in his side spewed blood. The holes in his head came from a crown that publicly mocked Him. The hole in his heart, however, was the hardest to bear, and the one that Satan believed was the final blow. 

The next hole, however, would change everything. 

When Jesus' body was placed in a borrowed "hole" for three days, the power of any hole that we will ever experience was overcome.  Satan was defeated when Jesus came bursting through on the third day after His death, and nothing will ever reverse that victory.  

Jesus longs for us to walk in the power of what He did for us on the cross.  He died so that we could have eternal life, but He also died so that we could walk in the freedom that came by His blood.  Because we are the beneficiaries of the inheritance of the cross, you and I can know overcoming power and victory on a daily basis when we put all of our trust in Him.

Remember, most holes do not disappear overnight.  It is a process.  So what can we do in the process to help heal the holes in our soul? 

First, Trust God and Him only. 

Secondly, cry out to God for healing.  Psalms 72:12 reminds us that "He will deliver the needy who cry out." 

And finally, press on.  When the father of lies whispers "you are finished," remind him of the everlasting promise that you received from the cross: "It is finished." 

March 25,2010

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Shannon Perry is a speaker/singer whose new If The Shoe Fits women's conferences combine her teaching prowess with her musical talent.  Perry's new music CD entitled The Real Thing (produced by Lifeway writer/producer Paul Marino) features songs specifically written to fit in with the theme of the conferences.  Perry wrote the bulk of the original presentation in hospital waiting rooms while her husband was undergoing cancer treatment.  Perry earned her Master's Degree in Education with an emphasis in counseling and taught in the public school system for over fourteen years before entering into full-time ministry.  She has previously-released music projects with both Daywind and Benson Records which garnered radio airplay on the national Christian charts.  She has performed with the Houston Symphony and has even appeared at Carnegie Hall.  She has been a featured soloist at the J&J Music Conferences in Houston, Texas, and led praise and worship at numerous women's conferences and for the national Lifeway conferences held annually in New Mexico and North Carolina. For more information, visit www.ShannonPerry.com