“So (Israel) came to Baal-perazim, and David smote the (Philistines) there. Then David said, God has broken my enemies by my hand, like the bursting forth of waters, therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim (Lord of breaking through).” 1 Chronicles 14:11
BREAKTHROUGH. noun 1) an act of overcoming or penetrating an obstacle or restriction, 2) a military offensive that penetrates an enemy’s lines of defense, 3) a major achievement or success that permits further progress, as in technology.
The year that was new such a seemingly short time ago has matured and now is nearly spent. Beginning in January, the prophets prophesied breakthrough. “Breakthrough For You In 2002!” was the reminder on the wall at Family Word Church all year. The message raised my expectations. I always need a breakthrough. Who doesn’t? And it’s natural, as the year winds down, to look back and measure its events against so great a concept as “breakthrough”.
I can cite specific events that happened in my life this year that were breakthroughs, such as, the amazing recovery my father made from a heart attack, not something people living with CHF do every day (see June L.O.G.). Or the turnaround my mother experienced in a progressive disease that was stealing her vision. Or my twenty-year dream that became a reality with the publication of my first novel. But I don’t think a list of these events, important as they are, does justice to the Lord of Breaking Through.
This month, I read Proverbs 9:1-6 for about the umpteenth time. “Wisdom has built her house. She has hewn out her seven pillars…” For the first time in my reading of this passage I noticed the past perfect tense the writer used. If 2002 has taught me anything about breakthrough (and it has), it is that Jesus is my Baal-perazim. In Him, the Lord broke through, like the bursting forth of waters. Like the waters that flow eastward from the temple, from the East Gate.
You see, I don’t have to wonder anymore whether or not the Lord wishes breakthrough for me. In His wisdom He has already broken through to build a habitation fit for the children of His love. For you and for me. He has sent His messengers, saying, “Come! Taste! Live!”
Was 2002 the Year of Breakthrough for me? You better believe it! The year brought the beginning of breakthroughs in my attitudes and my expectations, and that, my dears, is the gift that keeps on giving. For the rest of my life.
I say, Thank you! To the preachers and the prophets who obeyed and proclaimed the Word of the Lord. Like the maidens of Proverbs 9:3, they were His messengers sent out in welcome. I have heard. I have entered the door. I have found an abundance of everything good. I am grateful.
There was a great line from a hit movie this year. My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In one touching scene between the heroine and her mother, the mother says, “I gave you life. I gave you life so you could live.” That was it. All she wanted for her daughter was that she live, that she experience life with all its wonderful flavor. Could the Lord wish any less for us than life, and that more abundantly?
This season, above all, I wish you happy breakthrough.