FROM THE END TO THE BEGINNING
God is way ahead of the times, seeing and declaring the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10 From the beginning I told you what would happen in the end.???A long time ago I told you things that have not yet happened. When I plan something, it happens. What I want to do, I will do.). He is the only individual who doesn't start at the beginning. God starts at the end, backs up to the beginning, and implements His plan. This means He is never caught by surprise or off guard. It also means He knows how He will solve problems...before they even manifest!
God is not taken back by the failures of people and nations, knowing they would occur beforehand. When He calls a person (or a nation) to a purpose, God realizes He will have to navigate through their mess-ups, just as He did with Abraham and the nation of Israel. According to Hebrews 11:3, God has already decreed the aligning and realigning of the ages. The correct translation (paraphrased) is, "Through faith, we understand that the ages were aligned by the word [declarations] of God..."
Before Adam's fall, Jesus was the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). That means the incarnation, the Cross, and Christ's resurrection were planned before Adam's fall ever occurred.
A Plan for our Turnaround - as in the Days of Esther
I share this to assure you that?God has a plan for a turnaround.?He knew the failures and sins beforehand. ?He has also declared our turnaround. Satan's reactionary plans and schemes are no match for God's omniscience and foreknowledge.
This foreknowledge also means God is moving on many fronts, of course. While He is implementing His preplanned works , He is doing it in nations, in the Church, and in individuals, preparing them for His plan. When all is ready, He will shift everything into a phase of convergence: ripe harvest fields; nations positioned; the Church equipped; angels assigned.
This is all seen in the book of Esther. The Jews' very existence was threatened when wicked Haman, one of King Ahasuerus' trusted officials, manipulated the king into issuing a decree for the annihilation of the Jews. Upon learning of Haman's decree, Esther, a Jewish woman chosen by King Ahasuerus to be his queen, exposed Haman's plan. She broke protocol to appeal to the king in a courageous attempt to protect her people. The king granted Esther's request and, instead of the Jews, Haman was executed. The day after Haman's decree was reversed, the Feast of Purim was inaugurated.
The Hebrew word for?turnaround?is "haphak," meaning "overturn," "overthrow," "transform" and "be reversed." The following verses from Esther 9 include this word:
"...when the king's command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them." (v. 1)
"...because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing...." (v. 22)
"But when it came to the king's attention, he commanded by letter that his wicked scheme, which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows." (v. 25)
In other words "But when Queen Esther intervened with the king, he gave written orders that the evil scheme that Haman had worked out should boomerang back on his own head..."
God had planned ahead. Before Haman ever conceived his evil plan to destroy the Jews, God aligned people, events, and time. You will find that God orchestrated events, timing, the choosing of a queen, sleep patterns, favor to individuals, the uncovering of evil plans, rescues, and more. The result was the saving of the nation and the furthering of God's plans on Earth.
?This is a year of great turnaround, when God intervenes powerfully on behalf of His people, and the enemy is overthrown as his plans boomerang back on his own head!
Of course, the Hebrew word "haphak" is not only found in the book of Esther, but throughout the Scriptures. Deuteronomy 23:5 uses the word to describe the turning of Balaam's curse over the Jewish people into a blessing. Jeremiah 31:13 and Isaiah 61:3 use the word in reference to turning mourning into joy.
This season's turnaround will occur for individuals, families, regions, and nations. Unrest will certainly continue, and the Scriptures assure us that evil will as well.?But great harvest will also occur, and areas of unrest will give way to righteousness – even in the darkest regions. There will be awakening and revivals in places where they have never existed.
We must recognize, however, that?the Lord is inviting us to partner with Him in releasing these supernatural boomerangs into the earth.
The Invitation: Release Your Supernatural Boomerangs!
When King Ahasuerus extended his scepter over Esther's life and favor was released, he invited her to write her own decree of victory. The decree was to be written in his name and sealed with his seal so that it could never be reversed. Likewise, the Lord has extended His scepter of grace and favor over us.?He is inviting us to exercise His authority by making reversal decrees concerning the very things satan has decreed over our lives in past seasons.?Be it sickness, poverty, the pain of divorce, depression, or any other form of oppression, our decrees will reverse them! His Word tells us:
"You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways." (Job 22:28)
"...'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.'" (Jeremiah 1:9-10)
The Lord is inviting us to shift from merely petitioning Him to also making decrees (official orders, edicts, or decisions), declarations (announcements or formal statements), and proclamations (the process of binding and loosing), as we are inspired by Holy Spirit to do so. The power of God's decreed word is extraordinary! It releases His creativity, His salvation and, yes, His judgments!?He rules through His words, and so must we.
From a Place of Victory, Celebration, and Rest
As the Lord causes the strategies of the enemy to be overthrown, He will also bring us into a season of victory, celebration, and rest. This rest does not imply the ceasing of activity, but a peaceful and joyful trust in the Lord. It is the place from which we derive renewed strength to move forward.
This scriptural passage comes to mind:
"He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." (Isaiah 40:29-31)
These past two years have been years of great turmoil for many individuals, families, businesses, communities, ministries, and nations. As a result, hopelessness has set in, vision has been clouded, strategies have been wanting, and forward movement has been delayed. Yet, I concur with the prophets –?this is a turnaround year!?Regardless of how great was your hardship, betrayal, sickness or loss, I declare that this is your year of breakthrough!
You will see a reversal of the enemy's decrees and strategies enacted against you. Stand confidently upon the Lord's promise of divine intervention; He has been working all things together for your good (Romans 8:28)! This year, God will cause light to break forth from darkness, turning curses into blessings and mourning into joy.
Through the adversity of the past, the Lord has been preparing you for the fulfillment of His promises over your life! And from a new place of celebration, victory, and rest, the Lord desires that you partner with Him to help facilitate a righteous turnaround in this nation.
You were born for such a time as this!