Ep 40 | From Burdens to Breakthroughs: Activating Your Faith

Have you been struggling in your prayer life, feeling like you're not seeing any changes? What if this struggle is actually an invitation from the Lord to deepen your trust in Him and His Word so you can confidently speak it out? Join me, Jemese LaChel Drewery, LCSW, as we explore the inspiring biblical account of Ezekiel and the valley of dry bones.

This episode is a heartfelt call to the woman who seems strong on the outside but you secretly long for healing and fulfillment. Let's explore the significance of speaking life into our circumstances, just as God instructed Ezekiel, and how unwavering faith in His promises can bring about profound transformation.

✨NEW HERE? ✨ Meet Jemese LaChel Drewery, LCSW, CCTP - Spirit-filled trauma expert and host of A New Creation Podcast. Through Christ-centered conversations and inspiring testimonies, Jemese guides women to healing, deeper faith, and freedom in Jesus Christ. 

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Transcript

A Message of Encouragement and Freedom

Speaker 1 0:00

I'm talking to you. I'm talking to the woman who has been praying for healing. Maybe there's a cancer diagnosis, maybe there is illness, sickness, disease. I'm talking to you. I'm talking to the woman who has a promise that she's been waiting on, but you haven't seen it yet. Well, hey there, this is a new creation podcast where we are pointing women towards victory in christ, one jesus story at a time. My name is jamise. I'm a christian trauma therapist. I'm also your host. Let's dive right into today's episode.

Speaker 1 0:40

Well, this week I'm here with a message that should really encourage you if you have been in a season of silent despair. And what do I mean by that? I mean, you know, as women, we often carry just so many secrets on the inside. We are so put together on the outside. Nobody would know that we are going through it in our secret time in our secret place, right? Nobody knows that. Maybe you're struggling with raising your kids, or maybe you're worried about a prodigal son, maybe you are concerned about your marriage. We all have something that deeply, deeply concerns us, that we have been praying for. And have you ever had something that we have been praying for? And have you ever had something that you've been praying for and it just didn't seem to turn, even though you seem to be doing everything right. I want to encourage you.

Speaker 1 1:33

So, as I sat down to ask the Lord what encouragement I could offer you today, he said I need to speak to you about freedom, about the freedom that comes in christ and, interestingly, um, he brought me to ezekiel, the prophet ezekiel. So, going to ezekiel, chapter 37, I'm using the new king james version and I'm not going to read all of this, but I am going to read maybe the first little part, starting with verse one. He says the hand of the lord came upon me and brought me out and the spirit of the lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. And so I want you to just imagine this. Okay, can you imagine this deep valley of dry, brittle bones? And God brought him there? Verse two. Then he caused me to pass by them all around. That means he's walking around. These bones are everywhere.

Speaker 1 2:32

Continuing, it says and behold, there were very many in the open valley and indeed they were very dry. So it's so interesting to me the emphasis that he's putting on how dry these bones were. These bones had been there a long time, they had dried out. Um, I'm just getting the image of like cooking a uh, a turkey or something right, or getting a rotisserie chicken. You know, those bones aren't exactly like dry. At first, you gotta got to let them dry out for a long time. And so here Ezekiel is saying these bones were very dry, they have been there for some time.

Speaker 1 3:10

Verse three and he said to me the Lord said, son of man, can these bones live? So he answered oh, lord, god, you know. Again he said to me prophesy to these bones and say to them oh dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, god to these bones Surely I will cause you to, surely I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live. I will put sinews, sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin. And so you know I'm not going to. You can read this for yourself. Basically, the Lord is saying what is going to happen to these bones. He wants Ezekiel to speak to the bones, that these bones are going to come to life with flesh and breath and all of that. And he ends by saying then you shall know that I am the Lord, verse seven.

Speaker 1 3:55

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them and the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them. Now go back to what was said previously. The lord said that he was going to put breath into these bones. So ezekiel did what the Lord told him to do. He prophesied as he was commanded, but there was no breath. So that's interesting, right, let's continue. He said to me prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath thus says the Lord come from the four winds, oh, breath and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded, and breath came into them and they lived and stood upon their feet. An exceedingly great army.

Speaker 1 4:52

So you may wonder, okay, why did I read all that scripture? What does this have to do with freedom? Where do we get that here? And here's the message it has occurred to me, as I've set in the scripture why didn't the bones respond the first time? Ezekiel is a prophet of God, so when he prophesied the Lord even being with him and that is so important because in these days that we're in, there are so many who are mouthpieces for the Lord, claiming to be a prophet and they are false prophets the Lord is not with them.

Speaker 1 5:31

The Lord was with Ezekiel. He gave him the blueprint and the instructions and he said this is what I need you to do. I need you to prophesy to these bones and tell them to come alive. And so he did that. On the very first time. There was a noise, there was a rattling, the bones came together, but there was no breath. It didn't look like what God had told him. It was supposed to look like right. And so the beautiful thing is that the Lord stayed with him. He said I want you to speak to the breath. Then okay. And then, once he did that, there was breath. And now this exceedingly great army stood, and so you can go and read that chapter out for yourself. The whole book is excellent.

Speaker 1 6:11

So I'm all about helping you apply the word in your life. I'm all about helping you apply what is the Lord saying, as we have. You know, our problems in life, our struggles in life, our dry bones in life, right, the things that seem like they are dead, the things that seem like it's impossible. I want you to notice Ezekiel's heart posture. The Lord asked him a question in the beginning. He said can these bones live, ezekiel? He said, I don't know. Only you know Lord. That's the wisest answer that he could have given. Only you know Lord. That's the, that's the wisest answer that he could have given. You know the answer to this, lord. Your ways are higher than mine, and so I want to encourage you first thing, whatever it is that you're feeling challenged about, if you're feeling challenged about a prayer that you have requested, that you have have sent up again and again and again and you are not seeing change.

Speaker 1 7:05

I'm talking about the woman who is praying for her marriage. She's praying for her husband. She's praying that he comes into the faith. She's praying that things turn, but it hasn't happened yet and maybe you're even getting a little bit weary about that. I'm talking to you. I'm talking to the woman who has been praying for healing. Maybe there's a cancer diagnosis, maybe there is illness, sickness, disease. I'm talking to you. I'm talking to the woman who has a promise that she's been waiting on, but you haven't seen it yet. You are in the middle of your race. You haven't seen it yet.

Speaker 1 7:41

Notice what Ezekiel did. The very first thing he did he acknowledged the sovereignty of the Lord. He acknowledged the all-knowing power of God. He acknowledged that it is the Lord who knows. And so I think one of the tactics of the enemy is to get us caught up in, like psychoanalyzing our circumstances. So we know we're supposed to be walking by faith and not by sight, but what the enemy will try to do is manipulate our thought life to cause you to. You know, start looking at your circumstances and saying well, let me lead on my understanding, because this doesn't look like it's. You know, if my husband was going to turn, then you know he would come to church with me, and when he comes to church with me, he wouldn't be scrolling on his phone, he would be doing it how I want him to do. We start doing this thing in our brain, but the reality is that the Lord knows what that's supposed to look like. We need to toss that back over to the Lord.

Speaker 1 8:46

First, peter, chapter five, verse 7, I believe, tells us about casting all of our cares and anxieties on him because he cares for us. That word cast literally means to throw, so we are supposed to throw our concern to the Lord and let him take the responsibility of holding and bearing that thing. That's the first thing that I want you to lay a claim on, like to stake your claim on to grab hold of that. What Ezekiel did was he acknowledged the Lord. He said only you know, lord, that is truth, that's the belt of truth. Right, speak the truth. And then what did he do? He went ahead and he followed the instructions that the Lord gave him. The Lord said prophesy. He heard the noise and it seemed like it was coming together, but something wasn't quite right.

Speaker 1 9:31

Can you relate to this? Have you ever prayed over a thing, tarried over a thing, and it kind of seems better than it was? If you compare it to, you know, a few weeks ago, a few months ago, a few years ago, it kind of seems better but it's not quite right. Like you know that a few weeks ago, a few months ago, a few years ago, it kind of seems better but it's not quite right. Like you know that something's missing, you can tell in your spirit that something's just not quite right about the scenario. This is where so many of us fail, this is where so many of us, in our race that we are running, we lose endurance, we fall into despair, doubt. We kind of fall right into where the enemy wants us by letting discouragement set in. You start to wonder why is this taking so long? Is there something wrong with me? And this is the big thing people do, and I'll raise my hand and admit that I have done this. I'll be the first to admit that I have.

Speaker 1 10:26

You start questioning your own self. You start questioning your own faith. You start trying to pick you apart, as though the faith or as though, as though the grace of Jesus wasn't sufficient. You start to see how, like you know, examine your deficiencies. Maybe I should have prayed longer, maybe I didn't pray right. Oh, maybe I should compare myself to Sally over there who, oh, she says such nice, wonderful prayers in church. And then you know it's all just a demonic tactic to fill your brain with a bunch of nonsense, which is vain imagination, to keep you from stepping into the glory that God has for you in that specific situation. Glory that God has for you in that specific situation, what you have got to determine to do, what you have got to just get it in your heart, just set it in your heart that you are going to do. You got to tell yourself I am not giving up on my Lord, I am not giving up on Jesus. If you know that he gave you a promise, then you stand in that promise, even if it doesn't look anything like you think it should.

Speaker 1 11:35

I am reminded immediately, as I'm speaking, of Habakkuk, which I don't know if I'm saying that right. I've heard scholars say that that's not how you pronounce it, but you all know what I'm talking about. Habakkuk, chapter 3, verse 17, is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite pieces of scripture to stand on whenever I feel like, you know, things aren't turning the way that they should. It says, though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vine, so that the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord, god, is my strength. He will make my feet like deer's feet, he will make me walk on my high hills. You have to encourage yourself. That's a prayer of faith, even if it doesn't look anything like I think it's supposed to.

Speaker 1 12:39

Okay, the Lord said that I'm more than a conqueror. So I'm out here trying to be more than a conqueror. It doesn't feel like like anything's turning. I still feel, you know, like I don't know. You may be saying you still feel depressed. You may be saying you still feel um, despair, discouragement. Guess what? Your feelings are probably lying to you. Nowhere in scripture does it tell us that we are supposed to be building our life up around our feelings. I am not demonizing feelings, as some, may you know, try to do. There are some in this field who kind of demonize feelings as though they are just irrelevant things. I don't think that's true. The Lord had feelings. Jesus wept. Okay. I think that's very unwise, to act as though our heart and our feelings don't have any validity whatsoever. But the reality is that our feelings do not speak a higher word than the word of God. And so, if you know that your word tells you that you are victorious, if your word tells you things like the Lord delights in you, if your word tells you things like you are a friend of God. If your word tells you things like you know whatever it is that you're believing the Lord for, then guess what the word is truth. Your feelings are alive.

Speaker 1 13:59

Going back to Ezekiel and this whole idea of how frequently women will just toss in the towel because they've contended for a thing and it's not turning. I want you to notice what Ezekiel did. He stayed with God and God spoke. He said speak again. Prophesy again this time, speak to the breath. The Lord had Ezekiel speak directly to the problem, right? So scripture tells us all these wonderful things. I'll speak to the mountain. And what happens when you speak? And it doesn't. It doesn't shift, it doesn't change.

Speaker 1 14:41

Are you going to give up on God? Are you going to give up believing? Are you going to get calloused and start saying oh well, you know, that's just some charismatic stuff and I just, you know, I don't know what we should actually. Maybe we're not supposed to do that. You know, maybe I'll just sit around and I'll just wait on the Lord and come on. Now I'm here to encourage you that the Lord is calling daughters to stand up. Come on, rise up.

Speaker 1 15:13

He gave you a brain. He gave you your breath, he gave you a heart, he gave you a purpose. He has given you things to do with your hands and he has called you to steward those things, has given you things to do with your hands and he has called you to steward those things. And we are so blessed because he has also given us his revealed word. I don't know if you heard my little girl in the background, but, um, where was I? Yes, he has given us his revealed word. We have the word of god. None of us has an excuse for sitting here like we don't, like we have no power, like we have no, um, no wisdom. When we have the word of god, open it up, start speaking that thing, start speaking it out loud, speak it, say it. He told us to speak to the mountain. He told us to do that.

Speaker 1 16:12

So often we are hindered under a, a guise or a veil of like religiosity, if that's a word. We want the lord to do all of the work. Oh, he finished the work. He said it's finished, and that's true, but don't, um, how do I want to say this? Don't misconstrue that word. Yes, it is finished. Yes, jesus finished it all. Oh, yes, he made a mockery of the devil. Yes, he did a public spectacle. Yes, he did, he did. It is finished. It is done. Okay, we have victory.

Speaker 1 16:57

One of my favorite songs, worship songs that I found it says it says he who sits in heaven laughs and those who sit in heaven laugh. I sit in heaven, so I laugh, god laughs. Okay, that is our place. We are seated in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places. That's where we are seated and from that place we reign. He has made us kings and priests on the earth. That doesn't just happen once we get home to glory in heaven. We are to be walking in that right now. Do not wait for death. My pastor says this. He says that when we wait for death, then we're looking to death to be our savior. Jesus Christ is our savior right now. Come on, now I want you to stand up and embrace the freedom that Jesus Christ has given you. And this is how you do it. You believe the word of God foremost, you believe that he is who he says he is and you begin to speak to that thing. And if you don't know about, you know the prophetic, that's fine. Let the Holy Spirit teach you. That's maybe another podcast episode for another day, but I want you to know that he has given us power.

Speaker 1 18:13

Go read Luke.

Speaker 1 18:15

Is it chapter 1910? Or is it 1019? Nope, I had it backwards. It's Luke, chapter 10, verse 19. I've given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. That is the NIV translation. King James says behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Walk in that. Walk in it. I didn't say that. The Lord said it. This is his word. It's the word of God about who you are. So why are we walking around as though we are some powerless little creatures? It is not arrogance to step into the identity in Christ that he gave you. What is arrogant in Christ? That he gave you? What is arrogant, what is prideful, is for you to continue to look at his word and say that doesn't apply to me. No, I'm just a worm. No, I can't open up my mouth and speak to this thing.

Speaker 1 19:22

You may feel like if it's your marriage and you have a very difficult spouse or you're in a very tough situation when you are actually experiencing real persecution. I'm not talking about oh, they don't like me. I'm talking about real persecution. You may feel like, okay, I'm not in a place that I can. You know. I don't feel like I have heavenly hosts with me. I don't feel like I have all the strength and power. I don't feel like the Holy One is within me. I feel very small and weak, and I acknowledge that. And that's where he told us that when we're weak he's strong. When we wear Jesus as our righteousness, when we put him on as our garment right, when we're weak we're strong. The power of Christ comes on us. That's the word.

Speaker 1 20:14

And so we got to have a shift in our mindset. Here you are not left an orphan. You are not someone out here Like the world. The unbelievers, that's the ones who's out there they feel the pain of not knowing a way out, not knowing what to do. But we, as the believer, we should never be feeling like that. We have the Holy One on the inside of us. Come on the most valuable gift, the gift of salvation. And then, if that wasn't enough, he even sent his Holy Spirit to live in us that we would never be alone. He has made us the Holy of Holies, that he comes and lives in us. Come on, he lives in us, he abides in us. How powerful is that?

Speaker 1 20:56

And so I want you to declare out of your own mouth that you are walking in freedom now. You walk in your freedom by faith. It is not by sight, and so you may not feel like your situation has turned, but you speak to it. Use wisdom. I'm not telling you to go speak to your husband and tell him he can go to so-and-so. You know, let the Holy Spirit guide your ways and the conversations you're supposed to have with others, but in the realm of the Spirit between you and your Holy Father, you speak, you get alone with God and you speak the word to your problem. You speak the word to your problem. You speak the word to your circumstance. This is not manifestation. Come on, now we have got to stop believing this lie perpetuated by the enemy who has come and stolen so much from the believer. It is not new age to open your mouth and speak the word of God to that thing he said it's not my word like a hammer that breaketh the rock into pieces. Come on, that means you have to speak the word again and again and again and again and again. Speak it.

Speaker 1 22:02

I don't care if people think that you're crazy, because one day I guarantee you something is going to shift, something is going to turn. Guarantee you something is going to shift, something is going to turn, and the beautiful thing is when that shift and that turn, it's the presence of God in your life. It's something that he's done in you, it's something that he's done in your mindset. You're seeing with Christ-like eyes. Now You're getting more sanctified and more holy. Maybe the problems that you have, they just ain't problems, no more, they don't bother you the same way, because you have spoken that word that brings life. I don't know who this is for, but I definitely know it's for somebody, because we didn't start this message with prayer. Let's pray and then we'll, you know. Hang out again the next time.

Speaker 1 23:01

Heavenly Father, lord Jesus, I just bless your holy name. I thank you that you love us. Hang out again the next time that there are those who listen. They don't know you. God, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, lord, that you would make yourself known to them, that you would just cultivate an atmosphere where they can come to you, lord Jesus, and experience you and know you for themselves and receive salvation.

Speaker 1 23:22

Father, I pray over my listener today, lord God, that you would just lift them, that you would bless them and that you would keep them, that you would give them strength, lord God, and that you would show them exactly where they are not walking in freedom and give them, by the power of your Holy Spirit, scripture to begin to speak. Bring it to remembrance, lord God, and let it be a beautiful, beautiful encouragement to them that they know that you are with them and that you hear them and that you love them. Lord God, we bless you, we thank you and we just praise your holy name so much. We honor you. It is in Jesus name. We pray Amen, okay, so, um, yeah, thank you so much for tuning into another episode.

Speaker 1 24:08

If you have something that you would like me to speak on, why don't you DM me at Janice Lachelle on Instagram? That's the best place to reach me. You can also just go to the website, which you can find on those links and the show notes and description and stuff. Anyway, I love you guys. May the Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again.