Master of Breakthrough
The Lord has many names. All of which reveal and describe His unique nature and matchless character. One of the most intimate parts of a relationship is how you address the person. The closer you are to someone, the more intimately you know them and their character which makes you more comfortable with addressing them outside of their name.
Developing intimacy with the Lord can be cultivated by addressing Him as you need in the moment. Be specific. When you are feeling lonely, call on Jehovah Shammah, “God is there”. If you need healing remember He is called Jehovah Rapha, “The God who heals”. If you’re in need, call on Jehovah Jireh and remember “The Lord will provide”. If you need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness call on Jehovah Emunah, “The Faithful God.” When you feel insignificant and forgotten call on Jehovah El Roi, “the God that sees me”. There are hundreds more…I encourage you to take time to get to know some of them.
Some time ago, during a discussion I was asked why Christians have so many names for God, my response was simple, “because He is all those things”. He IS a healer, He IS my Father, He IS my righteousness, He IS my Redeemer, He IS the one who fights for me. God is an amazingly complex being, who we will never fully understand. But every situation we find ourselves in is an opportunity to know Him in a different way. Getting to the different names of God, and using them makes this complex God, personal and relatable.
While reading the Bible recently, I came across a name for God, I’d never heard, Baal-Perazim, “Master of Breakthrough”. In 1 Chronicles 14: 8, the news that David had just been anointed king over Israel began to spread. When the Philistines heard this they went out to capture David, but when he learned the Philistines were after him he went down into a fortified fortress and asked the Lord if he should go attack the Philistines and if he would come out victorious. The Lord responds by telling David to go attack them and confirms He will hand the Philistines over to him. So, David goes out to attack Philistines and defeats them. In verse 11, David declared “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like the breakthrough of waters” and named the place “Baal- Perazmin”.
A breakthrough is a dramatic development, a sudden shift, a move beyond an obstacle. It’s the “Yes” you hear after a year hearing a chorus of “no’s”. It’s the answer to a prayer you have been praying consistently for the past 3 years.
Back in 2 Chronicles, The Philistines were pursuing David, they wanted his life. They had been after him since he defeated their leader Goliath as a young boy. David needed a breakthrough, his life depended on it. How many times have things in our lives been coming at us from every angle, feeling like our backs against the wall, feels like everything is against you, you just can’t seem to catch a break. You think to yourself, “I need some relief”, just one move of God to turn things around in my favor, a breakthrough past these obstacles.
Our God is Baal- Perazim. The Master of Breakthrough and He specializes in sudden shifts, He is the God of “just like that”.
When faced with the Philistines pursuing him the first thing David did was leave to inquire of the Lord and ask what he should do.
Have you inquired of the Lord about how you should handle the situation that you are facing? What instructions is the Lord giving you?
David was instructed to attack the Philistines, and he did. David was obedient to the instruction of the Lord. Our obedience is a prerequisite to our breakthrough. We must be obedient if we want to see that sudden shift we are praying for.
““The breaker [the Messiah, who opens the way] shall go up before them [liberating them]. They will break out, pass through the gate and go out; So their King goes on before them, The Lord at their head.” Micah 2:13”
In verse 13, after the first battle, the Philistines came after David again, and again David went back to the Lord to ask what he should do. This time the Lord directed David and his troops to circle the Philistines and wait until they heard the sound of marching coming from the top of trees, that sound will mean God had gone ahead of David to strike the Philistines. David waited for the sound, attacked and defeated the Philistines again.
David was obedient to the specific instructions each time. The Lord gave him new and specific instructions for the same situation with the same enemy. Even though years ago David had defeated Goliath, of the Philistines with a stone and a slingshot. He was victorious the first time, yet he went to the Lord to inquire each time. Don’t get familiar with the methods of God. He does not move the same way, every time in the same situations. You must go to God each time, in situations both familiar unfamiliar. Wait for specific instructions and act.
David inquired of the Lord and he was obedient. His reverence of God’s supremacy by inquiring and submitting his next move to God’s will, and his obedience to carry it out as instructed opened the door for God to move in and do the miraculous, giving him that breakthrough he needed.
When we face a situation our inquiring of the Lord and obedience is the permission the Lord needs to go before us and break through the obstacles to do what only He can do.When we acknowledge the Lord and look to Him in the midst of our challenges and are obedient to His direction in response, ” …the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon, To do His work, His unusual and incredible work, And to accomplish His work, His extraordinary work.” (Isaiah 28: 21)
I pray that as we face different challenges, we remember that no condition is permanent.Our God is able to turn things around at any moment. May we remember to go to the Lord first. May our spiritual eyes and ears be attentive to the instruction of the Lord, our heartsobedient to His direction, and expectant to see the wonderful work of our Lord in our lives.
The Master of Breakthrough. Remember his name and call on him. He has gone ahead of us breaking through situations that have held us down, making a way out of no way. Our King is before us, our God will lead us through any obstacles onto the pathways He has created for us.