The Anointing Breaks the Yoke
As I contemplated the other morning, the Lord brought back this spiritual truth to me “the anointing breaks the yoke.” (Isaiah 10:27). “It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.”
He was saying that whatever yoke the enemy has placed on you, the only way to break it is to meet it with the anointing. What does that mean? Glad you asked. I’ll “break” it down with His story to demonstrate.
You can consider the yoke as a taunting, a kind of harassment or torment, anything that brings bondage, ruining your peace in addition. The anointing is what is needed to break that hold. Let’s consider the story of David and the “yoke” of the Philistines over the Israelites, in the form of Goliath. They were taunting the armies of God, bringing a reviling of God Himself and the Israelites. As far as they could see, they had nothing with which to break this hold. In all their might in the form of King Saul, who the Bible tells us stood head and shoulders above everyone else, they could not break it. Saul became a man of might in his own right. There was a time when he was anointed by the Lord, but instead of humbling himself, he became proud. This, of course, was no match for Goliath who apparently stood about nine feet tall or more. That would be several feet above Saul. So, for Saul to go one on one with Goliath would not have ended well. Plus, Goliath was demonically empowered. Israel apparently had no one to match the power of this mighty giant. Their natural strength to Goliath’s supernatural power would only end in their slaughter. Therefore, they were cowering before the giant bound by fear.
What to do?
Enter this “little boy,” as the reviling giant called David. Let’s remember that David was the forgotten one of Jesse’s 8 sons. Out in the hills of En Gedi tending the sheep where only God knew what he carried. Forgotten! How do we know he was forgotten. Well, when Saul had lost the anointing and favor of God through disobedience, the prophet Samuel came to anoint a new king from Jesse's house on God’s orders. Jesse gathered his sons, everyone except David. When Samuel thought for sure this one was it because he looked “kingly,” then when God said no, that’s not the one, then another, oh surely this is the one – No, God said again, that’s not the one. When he asked Jesse if he had any other sons, as in “Are these all of your sons?” Jesse’s response was essentially, “yep, that's all of them.” "Oh, there’s David, but he can’t possibly be the one, he’s in the hills with the sheep." Well, you know the story, God rebuked Samuel for only looking at the outside of a person to determine their stature before God. That’s usually not the case. The stature of a man, or woman, before God is determined by their internal resolve and relationship with God. So don’t make that mistake.
So, when David came to visit his brothers at the battlefront and heard the yoking taunts of this uncircumcised Philistine, he wondered why they were accepting this reviling against the armies of God, and by extension God Himself. They mocked him, called him names, and told him to go home. Chief among his mockers were his “beloved” brothers. You know, the kingly ones. Saul tried to put his armor on David, but David refused it. Saul’s armor was unfitting, too heavy with the wrong kind of weight. – if you get my meaning. Who wants to wear the armor of the disobedient? You see, there is the weight and glory of the anointing, but it does not weigh down, it empowers with godly might. So, the mockers watched as God's anointed one, who to man was just an arrogant little brat, was about to face off with this giant. They thought he would be dead meat.
But David, ran towards the giant with the famous words, “You come to me with a sword, and a spear and a javelin but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Sam. 17:45). and slew that huge giant, might and all. It all came crashing down in a defeated pile of bones and metal.
That’s what the anointing does.
So, breaking it down. The anointing was on the inside of David, he was the anointed one God used to slay that giant so the method was also anointed of God, the one smooth stone that found a way through a space in Goliath’s helmet or through the helmet itself. That’s all it took, making the rest of Israel look on in shock and making David famous. So even before he was crowned as king he was anointed as king, approximately 13 years before he sat on the throne. That anointing stayed with him. And it’s important to note, in the secret of the mountains of En Gedi, God was preparing David to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines. When he took down their champion, it was all over.
So how do we access the anointing?
We can only access the anointing by faith. We cannot do, or access anything supernatural, without faith. Fleshly might or working it up doesn’t do anything. It may deceive and fool a lot of people, but God is never mocked by man’s antics. “Faith comes by hearing … the Word of God.” That means the Living Word, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27-28; see also v. 16). You have to be able to hear the voice of God. His written Word is in the Holy Scriptures where He gives us understanding by the Holy Spirit. We cannot live without the Voice of God or the Word of God or the Spirit of God. There are, however, counterfeit familiar spirits, which is why we need discernment to know of what spirit a person is. If it is not of God, we reject it.
So that brings me to a major point in the anointing that breaks the yoke. The anointing is the Anointed One, the Christ, Jesus. When the yoke presents itself it’s Jesus Who has to answer that “door” so to speak. You put on Jesus; you answer when you're “in Jesus”. You cannot afford to answer in the flesh because you’ll lose when you do. For instance, let’s say you’re in a relationship and the enemy shows up when someone is triggered, then you “answer the door” in the flesh because now you’re offended. Your negative emotions are triggered and you react. When you answer in the flesh in this triggered state, the enemy comes, with your permission, and takes up more ground. But let’s say you don’t allow yourself to be triggered in offense and you let Jesus Christ, the Anointed One “answer” the door. It has the opposite effect and breaks the yoke, and the enemy has to recoil from whence he came. He came knocking, you let Jesus, the Anointed One answer with the yoke-breaking anointing. That means you submitted to God and resisted the enemy’s triggering, so he had to flee because the environment is not one that can accommodate him so he has to go. [James 4:6-7, paraphrased]. That is a spiritual law and Satan has to obey it. Remember God is the Lawgiver.
So now, how are you going to respond the next time the yoking bondage knocks? Will it be in the Spirit accessing the anointing through faith or will it be in the flesh? You choose! We know, “in the flesh is no good thing.” (Rom. 7:18). So “choose you this day between life and death.” Remember, “the power of life and death is in the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21) And “choose you this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15). Will you serve yourself or will you serve the Lord and flourish? Choose, my friend. And choose well!
Please note, I am referring to any kind of yoke, and what does a yoke do? It places restrictions on movement, it binds and places into subjection to a force that is not of God. That bondage could be an addiction or any kind of habitual sin. It knocks and you answer in your flesh, so you stay in bondage instead of letting Jesus “answer” that door. Remember, when God saved you, you asked Jesus to come and live inside of you and lead, as Lord, over your life. That means everything that approaches you is approaching Jesus. Therefore, for Him to be Lord, He has to either approve or deny access to you, but He will never overrule your own will. You still have free will. If you push Jesus off the throne for even one moment to answer the door yourself, you will have sinned by opening a door to the evil one to attack you. And what does John 10:10 tell us? “The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy.” That’s all the devil does. He is not capable of bringing good to a life. Only God can do that. James 1:17 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." Are any of those good things that you want to reign in your life? What does the same verse, John 10:10 tell us Jesus comes to do? “But I (Jesus) come to give your life and it more abundantly.” Jesus does the very opposite.
So, when we allow destructive behavior, we are allowing the enemy of our soul to have more lordship in our life than God. You cannot say that you’re God’s if he is your “surrogate” father. It is time to repent and come back to the Lord so that He can have His rightful place in your life. If you don’t, there is only one eventuality, death, and separation from God. If you do allow Jesus' Lordship over your life, you can expect life and not just any life but abundant life. The choice is yours. God will not violate your free will and commandeer you to obey Him. That’s up to you.
The key is to the anointing is to let Him, the Anointed One, answer the door when the yoke knocks and you will break the stronghold over your life and that of your family if you are the head of a household. When you are the head of a household this plays out in exponential ways negatively or positively. You get to choose!
May this word be a blessing and life-changing for those who would let God use it to destroy the yokes in their lives.
