“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt–darkness that can be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they live.”
Exodus 10:21-23
Egyptians had loved darkness so much that God let them live through three days of complete darkness so they would know what it really meant. In this way God showed them in advance what eternity is like when they are far away from Him. The whole nation was paralyzed. Beyond the physical oppression that this caused, the judgment came primarily against the spirit of occultism that reigned over Egypt. The Apostle John says that on the last days Satan will descend to Earth and will desperately try to confuse as many people as possible with all kinds of deception, because he already knows he has very little time. Due to this we can see a big increase in movies that exalt occultism, immorality and evil. The enemy wants to be sure he is in control over the majority of people across the world.
The Apostle Paul warns us about surrendering to what is shameful and getting entangled in the occult. On the contrary, he encourages us to speak truth to one another. Solomon said, “An undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim” (Proverbs 26:2b NLT). We must understand that everything has a negative side. As good exists, so does evil. As God exists, so does the devil. God has an angelical hierarchy made up of angels, archangels, cherubs and seraphim. The adversary has a government made up of rulers, authorities, powers and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. God wants to draw His children through love; while the enemy controls people through hatred and violence. God gave us Jesus Christ as a gift of salvation; but the devil only comes to steal, kill and destroy. God desires His children to know their rights and enjoy every one of the privileges laid out for them; the adversary works to keep believers in ignorance of the blessings that God prepared beforehand for them to enjoy. In Deuteronomy 28 the Lord speaks to the people of Israel through Moses about blessings and curses. A blessing has the power to build up and edify. A curse has the power to destroy, annihilate and break. We must identify which side we are on. One of the warnings God gives to the people of Israel while they are entering the Promised Land was, “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so” (Deuteronomy 18:10-14). Finally, as the voice of God states, we are promised that all darkness has been banished by the light of Jesus. “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“When we realized my wife was pregnant with our first daughter we were very happy. But during our first appointment with the doctor he said the baby would detach due to low progesterone levels. When we heard the news we felt as if all the forces of darkness were coming against us. To the Egyptians the plague of darkness lasted only three days, but for us darkness lasted several months. My wife and I prayed by cancelling every word that the doctor had said regarding our baby, and we entered into a battle that lasted for nine months. During the third month of pregnancy we went back to the doctor for an appointment and he was surprised to discover that the baby had not yet detached. Once again, we prayed, cancelling every negative word and we continued praying during the whole pregnancy. At the fifth month we went to the hospital for a checkup and an examination showed that the baby was likely to have Down Syndrome. They suggested we have another examination and after this they advised an abortion. Once again we rejected those words and refused to sign any paper for this examination. We cancelled the words and prophesied life over our baby. It the ninth month my wife suffered preeclampsia, which is very rare. Due to this the doctor said the baby was likely to die in the womb. Once again we took hold of the Word that God had given us for our baby and we declared it: “Our children will possess the gates of their enemies. In the delivery room, due to a medical mistake, our babies heart stopped beating twice. But we continued to pray, declaring that our help came from God. Despite the medical diagnosis our daughter, Manuela was born healthy, and at the age of nine is still perfectly well” (Richard and Claudia Vargas).
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“Jesus came into my heart, illuminated my life and dispelled all darkness.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Three.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
