And you shall decree a thing
Job 22 : 21 - 30, KJV
“Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from His mouth, and lay up His words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and He shall save the humble person. He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.”
We often quote this scripture, citing the words “and thou shalt decree a thing and it shall be established.“ Our belief as we do so is that we are walking in our full authority as daughters of the one true living God. We have the confidence that when we approach the divine throne of grace our Father will hear us. We are certain that what God cannot do, solve or fix does not exist. But even as we decree a thing, what should be the posture of our hearts so that the very thing shall be established?
Job 22 gives us an amazing level of insight. It’s a funny thing isn’t it, how humans will chop and change the word to suit their particular circumstances. The living word of God is a two edged sword and for it to be fully effective, it must be taken in context and with understanding. Only the Holy Spirit gives us understanding as we navigate the pages of scripture.
To put things into perspective, what picture does Job 22 paint? The passage tells us that we must first recognise that we can do nothing to help God. Not even a wise person can be helpful to Him. It challenges us that even as we seek to walk in authority, we must be cheerful givers and helpers. We should be involved in philanthropic initiatives, works of helps - feed the hungry, help the widows, orphans, needy people. Then shall we escape the tremble from certain fears, then shall we not be surrounded by traps and we shall see through the darkness.
Before we start blurting out decrees in the prayer closet, daughters of Zion, and expecting them to take root, the posture of our hearts must be one of purity and submission. Total and complete submission and surrender to God. The NLT version of Job 22 : 21 to 30 reads : “Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you. Listen to His instructions, and store them in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored— so clean up your life. If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver!
Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfil your vows to Him. You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’ God will save them. Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”
Before we attempt to place any demand on our decrees therefore, we must understand that God first places a demand on us for purity. Psalms 24 : 3 to 5 asks, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
The bottom line dear sisters is captured in the very essence of Lamentations 3 : 37. Who speaks a thing and it comes to pass unless the Lord has commanded it? Life is governed by principles. As long as we fulfil our end of the bargain, we can be certain that God our Father will fulfil His.
Have a blessed day, you are already loved, you are already chosen.