G.A.P. Ministries/N.J.

Stevenson Ministries
P.O. Box 764114* Dallas, TX 75376
(972) 697-5318
www.positioning4purpose.org
www.gapmin.org
email: positioning4purpose@yahoo.com

A Way of Escape From Truth

On any given day there are 1001 things we could and should pray for but
recently, I was both broken and humbled when a colleague informed me that her
husband attempted suicide by taking a saw and cutting though his wrist. After
years of counseling and a regimen of medications, suicide was his way of
escape. What's yours? Believe it or not, all of us have escape mechanisms.
Some healthy, some not so healthy.

Psychological counseling can bring a degree of healing to the hurting and

medications can be a short-term method of 'managing' ones circumstances but
my experiences over the years have demonstrated that they just don't bring life
long resolution to our issues; especially if the treatments are not Christ
centered. Unfortunately, they just don't provide true deliverance. And by the way
everybody has issues and everybody needs deliverance in one area or another.
.
As a Certified Anger Resolution Therapist (CART) I am becoming more and
more aware of the enemies tactic of escapism. His goal is to numb the believer to
truth, making truth something that we need to escape from instead of face with
the help of the Holy Spirit. What is truth? God's word is truth but for many their
perceptions have become their truth.
I have heard the cliché that "a person's perception is their truth" and this has
proven true in the world and in the Body of Christ.
But we know that we are growing and maturing in Christ when God's word
becomes our truth rather than our perceptions. We also know that we are
growing when we endure hardness as good soldiers (2 Tim 2:3-4), allowing
ourselves to come face to face with truth.

What happens when we face truth and let it do its thing? We get transformed by
the renewing of our minds. What we perceive, how we view things, how we view
ourselves and God changes and we are strengthened to go forward.

There are many ways to escape truth; things like occupying all your time with
other things so you don't have to face it. Pacifying yourself with food, drugs
and/or alcohol, excessive spending or other compulsive behaviors and
distractions. Or numbing the pain associated with truth with medication,
 G.A.P. Ministries/N.J. Stevenson Ministries
spirituality, busy work on church committees and programs and a facade so
perfected even you can't see through it. You name it the devil's got it! And he'll be
happy to give it to you.

Prophetically Speaking:

We are in a season of shifting and great transition. Demonic activity

has been heightened to new levels and the enemy is strategic in his
warfare. Are we? During this season God is calling for repentance
and repositioning but some are looking for a way of escape. Some
are attempting to escape the responsibility of being an accountable
believer, trying to escape growing up by not allowing God to deal with
their 'perceptions', escape being positioned for God's purpose And
continuing to use excuses not to step out in and walk
by faith.
Beloved, here is the truth spoken in love;
escapes lead to destruction.

My colleagues’ husband will have to go through a year of extensive physical

therapy and several surgeries because he tried to escape truth. Although he is a
consistent church goer, truth has been pushed aside by escapism and that's
exactly what the enemy desires.

What is escapism? It is a mental diversion from reality. In layman’s terms we can

say that escapism is when we create our own reality because we don’t like the
reality we live in.
We escape truth or at least we try to escape it, but it always seems to find us.
Escapism is making a decision not to deal with life and its pain, trials,
disappointments as it is, not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all
truth; that’s escapism. John 16:13

It’s easy to see this in others but if you were to examine your own life do you find
that you sometimes escape truth, playing a dangerous game of hide and seek?
Running from reality? Operating out of perceptions rather than God’s Word?
Occupying yourself with “things to do” rather than spending quality time with God
because you fear that he might show you yourself. Busying yourself with
auxiliaries, programs, commitments so you won’t have to be alone with reality.
Do you have escapism?

In today’s world and church world we have developed a thought process which
generates from an ‘unrenewed mind’ that makes us want to run as fast as we can
from the truth of our trials. Beloved examine your life, are you running?
Escaping?
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The Challenge:
Don't run from truth.
Embrace it.
Will it be painful? Yes.
Will you want to escape it? Yes.
Will you grow and prosper from embracing it? YES!

During this season of repentance, God is going to give us revelation and

strategies in ways we have not known. But it will come with a price. The
believer that wants to move with the flow of God for this season must accept
that there are no mark downs with God, no knock-offs, no price-slashes or price
rollbacks, no short-cuts and NO ESCAPES so get ready to embrace truth!
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