Guarded, contained, restricted, and restrained. The space these well-fortified strongholds have in our lives do not allow any room to commune, breathe, dream, or walk freely in the promises of God. This is how our enemy wants and needs us to live as believers so we are not a threat to his dark kingdom. But what if we decided to rise, become brave and allow God to invade, take over, and move into every aspect of our lives? What would that look like I wonder? The enemy doesn’t want you to know that there is a vast, boundless, spacious room just waiting for you so you can live fully in the freedom Jesus died for. But how do you find the place your soul cries out for? How do you reach the spacious room if the door is fastened tight, padlocked to the very ones who need to enter? How do you step into this broad, spacious room that is filled with endless possibilities if you don’t even know how to?  

Cravings, aspirations, and passions groan within us as we feel confused and cramped by our desolate, defeated thinking. The strongholds that chain our thoughts down so we cannot walk free and live in the spacious room God offers. Like a prisoner captured by the enemy, we allow Satan to keep us small and contained, locked up in the tallest tower of his dark castle, restricted by the cramped cell of his making, that robs us of the boundless, ample, spacious room our dreams long for. So, we blame God for not rescuing us, for not being there for us. Our wounded thinking keeps taunting us with the one question that haunts all of our dreams of living in a spacious room, “Did God really say?”  

The lidless eyes of the sinister snake stared right into Eve’s thoughts and feelings in Genesis chapter 3, fuelling the sense that God was holding something back from her. The spacious room of the garden they were told they could take their pick from, now felt contained, restricted, and restrained because the serpent had highlighted the one tree they were not allowed to enjoy. And as the snake’s intertwining coils wrapped around Eve’s thinking, his carefully plotted poisonous lie held her hostage, convincing her she was indeed a prisoner. So, she hid in her prison thinking because she wondered, doubted, and questioned if God really said that He loved her.    

Psalm 31:7-8 reminds us that God hasn’t handed us over. ‘I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.’ Let that truth sink into the depths of your soul. ‘You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.’ Satan wants to keep your thinking contained. He needs you cramped up and restricted because, like Eve, if we knew how much authority we have over him, he’d have nothing on us.  

According to the Bible commentary of the Old Testament, the Egyptians cast spells when they lay the mummified bodies in the pyramids for the afterlife, and if a creature, like a serpent, was considered dangerous or a pest who could threaten their dead, the spell cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly so that it wasn’t a threat to the person, thus keeping its face down so it wasn’t in a position to rear up its head and strike. This thinking ties in with Genesis 3:12-14, ‘God said to the Woman, “What is this that you’ve done?” “The serpent seduced me,” she said, “and I ate.” God told the serpent: “Because you’ve done this, you’re cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life.” 

Our enemy wants us to believe that we’re as cursed as he is. Blighted to live a doomed existence in the confinement of our small thinking because we feel there is no room to live our lives in the spacious room God set our feet in. But the serpent cannot strike you down, he crawls on his belly and has no power over you. The God desires, cravings, aspirations, and passions, your Creator put in your heart keep calling our names over and over again, reminding us to walk in the authority that has been given to us. To stop living a small life and walk in the dreams and longings that shine light into the darkness of our guarded and restricted thoughts. The spacious room reminds us of the authority we have been given by Jesus, the One who defeated Satan and all his principalities at the cross.  

James 4:7-10 tells us to submit to God, resist the Devil and he will flee. ‘So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time.’ There is nothing sly or cunning about God. He doesn’t set you up to fail as the serpent did in the garden. Remember this when doubt, worry, and anxious thoughts tell you you’re not capable or worthy enough to live in the spacious room of His promises because, ‘Every good gift bestowed, every perfect gift received comes to us from above, courtesy of the Father of lights. He is consistent. He won’t change His mind or play tricks in the shadows. We have a special role in His plan. He calls us to life by His message of truth so that we will show the rest of His creatures His goodness and love.’ 

So, commune, breathe dream, and walk freely in the promises of God. Use the authority Jesus gave to you and walk boldly, confidently right into that spacious room with your head held high. Ask God to invade and take over every aspect of your life and give Him your heart so He can show you how much He loves you and give Him room to move! 

Wendy xo  

What would your life look like if you lived in a spacious room? 

I pray today that you will stop listening to the lies the serpent keeps telling you and you will learn to walk in the authority Jesus gave to you because of His death on the cross. I pray for holy confidence, a boldness to rise from your guarded, contained, restricted, and restrained thinking and grasp with both hands all that God has planned for you. In the name of Jesus, Amen