THE WORD RELEASED WORKS

The Lord gives the word of power;
the women who bear and publish the news are a great host.
The kings of the enemies' armies, they flee, they flee!
She who tarries at home divides the spoil left behind.
Ps. 68:11 & 12

This is an updated version of my first post on this site March 21, 2006. It explains the circumstances that caused me to name this blog "Releasing the Word."

A SIGNIFICANT HOMEBODY?

The first time I read Ps 68:11 & 12 in the Amplified Bible I was in a season of my life where I was home full-time. And what I read surprised me. Was God really saying I could have a powerful life that impacted others even though I was a "homebody"? I didn't have to be a foreign missionary? Or president of the PTA, or march in the street, or head a corporation in order to be significant?

Yes, that's what it says -- a woman who "tarries at home" (vs. 12) can have a life of power that causes the enemy to flee. She can plunder from him and divide the spoils with those around her.

GOD GIVES THE WORD

The key is that God gives the word. The principle works for men and women, in any location. It's His word entrusted to us that provides the power. Publish here means to proclaim, to announce, to make known. As we bear (or carry) his word and release it, His power is released. In this way we partner with God in a unique and personal way. Through this partnership, victories are won -- victories that not only benefit the one carrying the word but others as well.

How do we get this empowering word? By fellowshipping with God, by submitting to Him in prayer, by making time with Him a priority. Some people call this "tarrying" with God. Whatever we call it, the life-changing word comes out of personal relationship with Him. And it is available to all who make time to draw near to him, not just homebodies. Sometime after I first got this principle, I learned desktop publishing and started a publishing services company. Now I'm in a new season and home-based again. Along the way I've learned that whatever the season -- it is still the time spent alone with Him that brings victory and power to my life.

GOD'S WORD RELEASED WORKS

I prayed about what would be appropriate to share here as a relevant example. This is the memory that came to me: My sister and I were traveling together in Arizona vacationing together on a "sister trip." We began to fellowship around Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our healer, and proclaim scriptures out loud such as "By His stripes I am healed" (Isaiah 53:5) and "He forgives all my sins; He heals all my diseases" (Psalm 103:3). We spent the third night of our journey in a tiny log cabin perched on the edge of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Sometime in the night I awoke when my sister cried out. She had gotten up to go to the bathroom and, in that moment, God had restored sight to her blind right eye.

Now back to Psalm 68:11 and 12 for a summary: God had given the word of power. We had carried His word with us and published it (proclaimed it, released it, shared it with each other.) The result was victory over darkness and disease. My sister literally "saw" the results! Later God healed her of MS, a healing verified by an MRI that showed the lesions noted by previous MRIs gone. She testified to that, prayed for others and saw more healing take place, in perfect demonstration of our scripture verse.

A year and a half since I first wrote this post, my sister has had another MRI that again verified she no longer has MS.