Walk this way

What is it I have shown you, what is it you see?

Walking freely and without restriction on the land of fire, intensely bright like the sun… Walking up the garden path, peering through the bushes to see a vast clearing before me.

For I have shown him the door…

Yes I have shown him the door…

It is my way or the highway.

Seriously, it is my way or the highway.

For I am the way.

Say to them “No way”.

For without me there can be no way.

For I have made this way, I have prepared this way, I have walked this way.

Say to them “walk this way”, say to yourself “walk this way”.

Walk in the way that I walk, walk like I walk.

For I am not shy about it, I am not hesitant, I walk as one who has all dominion and authority, when I walk the way is made in advance for me.

It is like when the king comes to down, the security detail prepares in advance the route, the path is predetermined.

Yet for me I need no security, I need no protection, for my enemy flees at the sound of my footsteps.

I make my own way, I need no path, I need no entrance, I need no road, I need no route, I need no GPS, for I know where I am going.

Let’s go for a walk together…

Seriously let’s go for a walk together.

For I have told them “he is with me”…

For I have ordered these steps

“You are not not far away, you are here to stay, you are Immanuel, you meet us on the ground…. This is what it is to be children”

I have commanded these steps, I have decreed these steps, your steps have the same authority as my steps.

Have I not said from the beginning that wherever you put the sole of your feet, it will be yours?!

I am the Lord your God, I go before you now, I stand beside you, I am all around, though you I’m far away, I am closer than your breath, I am with you, more than you know… I am with you always… I am the Lord your peace, no evil will conquer you, steady now your heart and mind, and come into my rest, and let your faith arise, lift up your weary head, I am with you wherever you go… I am your anchor, in the wind and the waves, I am your steadfast, so don’t be afraid, If your heart and flesh fail you, I am your faithful friend, I am with you wherever you go. You are my strength…

Walk not as one who is bound, walk as one who is bound, walk as one who carries the boundary.

For you are not defined by constraint, by restraint, by the boundary of another.

Did I not say that I am extending the boundary?

As you walk the boundary, walks with you.

Am I not the one who defines the limit?

There is no limit for you Lord…

For each step, for each movement, is there not a new boundary set?

For this is uncharted territory, you know not where the boundary ends, yet you know the one that possesses the boundary.

You look to the terrain to determine your next step, just walk with me, for there is no mountain we cannot climb, there is no valley we cannot walk, there is no sea that confines us.

For the enemy seeks to determine your course of action, to place you in a corner, to place your back against the wall.

Yet what is it you see?

Immense strength, your power made perfect in my weakness. The shattering of the pillars that supports the temple of darkness. The ruins of a great and mighty explosion.

Brought into a place of confinement, to break the chains, to cause the place of captivity to crumble, the breaking of the yoke of oppression.

For the enemy shall place your hands into position, into a place of rest, for they assume you have no strength to fight.

Yet in a moment, in an instant their whole world comes crumbing down.

Is this not your baptism of fire?

Look it up for you have heard this before….

“any initiating ordeal or experience”

Their expectation is that this is a new experience for you, that you have no experience of this before, they describe it as an ordeal, one they have initiated it.

They presume control, they think they have prepared this for you, and that they know the outcome.

Yet they no know not who it is, you walk with…

For they blow smoke, and yet my fire burns within you. They get all fired up, and yet my fire burns within you, rests upon you. One is consumed by fire, the other walks with safety amidst the fire. One is killed by fire, the other goes in bound, walks in freedom, without restraint and comes out free.

Daniel 3:8-30 8 Therefore at that time certain men of Chaldean descent came near and brought malicious accusations against the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer or bagpipe, and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image, 11 And that whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed and set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and these men were brought before the king. 14 Then Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer or bagpipe, and every kind of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, very good. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast at once into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that god who can deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, it is not necessary for us to answer you on this point. 17 If our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up! 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury and his facial expression was changed to antagonism against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded the strongest men in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these three men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics or undergarments, their turbans, and their other clothing, and they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame and sparks from the fire killed those men who handled Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king saw and was astounded, and he jumped up and said to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered, True, O king. 25 He answered, Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt! And the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods! 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, the deputies, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered around together and saw these men—that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed; neither were their garments scorched or changed in color or condition, nor had even the smell of smoke clung to them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who believed in, trusted in, and relied on Him! And they set aside the king’s command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, and language that speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses be made a dunghill, for there is no other God who can deliver in this way! 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

For from the place of confinement, freedom bursts forth.

You feel like I am taking you up the garden path, through the dense forest, yet in an instant, in a moment there shall be a great clearing, a great clarity, for all shall become clear.