He Brings Out Those Who Are Bound Into Prosperity

He Brings Those Who Are Bound Into Prosperity

The title is word for word extracted from Psalm 68:6 and it forms a clear picture of the delivering power of God. Let me elaborate:

I see a corral, a fenced in area. Within the confines of that space there is very little grass, and what little is left has been eaten down to the nubs. One can see the whiteness of the grass root structure; it has been chewed so low. The ground around the grass is a sandy, reddish brown in color, and is very dry. There are many bare areas where there is only hard, dry, bare dirt.

On this side of the fenced in area is much distress. There is heartache, brokenness, many physical ailments and disease. I sense them though I do not see them. Maybe it is because it is what I am experiencing. Financial distress is there too, and along with it, painful marriages. It is a place of impending doom, a kind of anteroom to Satan’s palace of pain and suffering for humankind.

My eyes move across this scene, my mouth becoming dry itself as if in sympathy for the baked soil. As my gaze looks up I notice the fence itself, a thick wire type, with interwoven rectangles which provide the strength to keep victims in and saviors out. It is high and straight. It cannot be climbed.

Beyond the fence, I am startled by the contrast to the land in front me. The land beyond the fence seems to be never ending fields of the deepest, richest green grass I have ever seen. The blades are very high too, perhaps between 8 and twelve inches long, and they are thick, thick, thick. I cannot get over how very dark and green the grass blades are. They are moving slowly, rhythmically with the gentle breeze that must be present. I watch them gently bend one direction and the next as the breeze wafts through them. It is beautiful.

At the same moment, I catch the aroma of lilacs, many of them and as my eyes turn to the right I se a bank of them, tall and majestic. Their light purple flowers gently move back in forth as the breeze bends them, causing their wonderful scent to be released afresh each time. If only I could get over there.

I struggle in my mind to find a way over the fence. I look and look, but it is well built in all directions. I am frustrated, since I cannot seem to extricate myself, and it seems I have been here so very long. Parts of me no longer have hope of ever escaping the dry land, but that land beyond the fence, if only I could get there.

Then I pray once again. I praise the Lord in spite of my circumstance. I thank Him for His love for me. I speak and pray His word over my situation. Then after many minutes of this, I resume my gaze back over the fence to that beautiful land, until I turn and go back to my daily grind within the corral.

Many days later, after constant repetitions of the cycle, I hear a voice. It is not my voice. It is not loud, yet I hear it everywhere within my being. It permeates my mind, my heart, and my soul, all at the same time. The voice is incredible, otherworldly in tone. It says majestically,

“He brings those who are bound into prosperity.”

I hear it again; “He brings those who are bound into prosperity.”

And again; “He brings those who are bound into prosperity.”

I begin to say it too. I repeat the words while hearing the voice in the background. This continued for a while then the voice stopped. With the echoes remaining in my ears, I stand very still, stunned and energized. I know who said it. I know whose voice I had heard.

It was the Lord.

The very next thing I did was to look straight ahead from where I was, out, farther and farther to the edge of the corral up to the area where the fence would be. It was then I noticed it.

The fence was bent over. It was flush with the ground. Someone had toppled it over and with great strength, bent it down to the ground.

I could walk over it. I could leave the corral. I could go to that beautiful land on the other side. I begin to walk towards it, my mind taking it all in. I approach the fence. It is definitely able to be crossed by me. I gingerly take my steps, measuring each one. I cross it. I continue to walk into the beautiful land. Its expanse is endless. I see no other fence, nor do I see any other hindrance anywhere. Gaining confidence, I begin to run, and as I do I feel lighter as if a burden has left my shoulders. In my running I get giddy so that I begin to skip and jump. I cannot believe how liberating all of this feels and how energized my body is. I look back, way back to the point in the fence where I crossed over. The fence is upright again, solid looking, stable, confining. For the first time I noticed there were others there as well. They are still behind the fence, caged in, the captives of the tyrant, downtrodden. I call out to them, “Hey over here! Hey, over here! Didn’t you hear the voice? Why didn’t you come over too? Hey! Hey there!” But no one responds. No one even looks my way, though I was sure they should have heard me.

Thinking of them makes me sad, so I continue to walk and take in the beauty of the place. My thoughts change as I look up and notice the sky. It too is beautiful, a deep blue with puffy white clouds slowing traversing the horizon. I stop and lay down looking up. I savor the moment. So peaceful, so fulfilling, so welcoming. My hands instinctively raise up as if to try and touch them, but more so that I may give honor and praise to the voice that caused the fence to fall, and led me here to the beautiful land. Lying on the ground, I notice the soil. It is pregnant with seed. The soil is rich, dark, and moist. Anything will grow here I think. And the soil is pregnant with seed. What caused them to be put here like this? All the elements necessary for an enormous harvest are here. I ponder that for a moment. As I do, I hear the sounds of other people. I see them, and how they are dressed and how they are acting. I see abundance, I see joy. I see and sense much love. I feel the peace, as it is palpable. There is a gentleness to the entire area. I go towards them.

I peer far off one last time to the barren land of captivity. I can see the bare ground and visualize the nubs in my mind. I am no longer there. The greater one has set me free. And I am grateful that I no am longer captive in that place.