God is more glorified when I work out of my weakness than my strength. I’ve said over and over that I am not a writer. A real writer wakes up and says, “Oh, boy, another day to put the pen to paper.” I’ve never looked forward to writing, but I do it because God uses it for His glory.
When it comes to writing, I am very much a procrastinator. I procrastinate because I’m dyslexic. Words and numbers are jumbled for me. Sometimes, it takes as long as 12 hours for me to write, rewrite and rearrange 800 words for my article. Each week, I send them to Marti Pieper, my writing partner, who has the gift of translating my words and making the message plain.
For someone like me, the idea of writing a book is daunting to say the least. That’s why Marti and I combined our gifts to write Escape the Lie: Journey to Freedom from the Orphan Heart. For some time now, I’ve been teaching a message called “The Orphan Heart,” taken from John 14:18, where Jesus said to His disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans.” Doesn’t that seem like an odd statement to make to these grown men with businesses, families and lives of their own?
Over a journey of many years through many people that God brought into my life, I began to understand what Jesus meant. The Bible is full of promises. In John 8:36, we see one that declares Jesus can set us free: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” And in John 10:10, the Scriptures proclaim that Jesus comes to give abundant, overflowing life: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
If Jesus came to set us free and to give us abundant life, then why do so many of those who bear the name of Christ walk around without either one? I’ve asked the same question about my own life. If Jesus is who He says He is and can do the things He claims to do, then why isn’t my life an example of His works?
This struggle comes because from the very beginning, we believers have bought into a lie that began in the Garden. We have all the promises of God, but we walk around living like orphans in our Father’s house.
But Jesus doesn’t want us to live as orphans. He wants us to enjoy the fullness of life as sons and daughters of the most High: “‘I will be a father to you, And you will be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:18). Escape the Lie gives you practical help with lots of little smiles thrown in to help you understand what God really intends for your life.
Let me just share just one nugget of truth discussed in the book. We believe in Jesus, but the enemy wants us to think, believe and act as though our Father is helpless. He wants us to believe the Father can’t take care of our past, which will always define and bind us.
Does that sounds like freedom? Of course not. But I can prove that many of us think just like that. How many times do we pray over and over, asking God’s forgiveness for the same sin? But don’t the Scriptures say, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Yes, the Bible says it, but we don’t believe our Father is able to do it.
And the enemy has a plan to heap still more frustration upon us. He whispers in our ears that not only can our Father not take care of the past, but He can’t take care of the future, either. Worrying is the direct result of not believing the future lies in God’s hands. Don’t the Scriptures tell us not to worry (Matt. 6:25-34)? But we do, because we believe the lie. If God our Heavenly Father, who loves us so much that He sent his only Son, can’t take care of the past and can’t take care of the future, what does that say about today? My Heavenly Father is powerless to help me, which leaves me as an orphan.
In the book’s Foreword, my friend Bart Millard of MercyMe says it well:
“Maybe you’re someone who loves Jesus but deep down inside, you know something is missing. Maybe you’re someone who has trouble trusting God and other people. Or maybe you’re someone with hurts from the past that have left you wounded, weary, and worried about the future.
If any of these describe you or someone you love, read this book. You’ll gain some incredible insights into how to embrace the truth that will set you free and live the kind of abundant life Jesus promised.
Take Walker’s message to heart—so the Orphan Heart won’t take you. (Escape the Lie, x).”
Read Escape the Lie to help yourself and others. Don’t you think it’s time to be free indeed?
