Five Prophetic Revelations to Get You Unstuck

Five Prophetic Revelations to Get You Unstuck

By Steve Backlund

The Children of Israel in Exodus 14 were a prime example of being stuck. Their future seemed blocked (by the Red Sea in front of them), and their past was catching up to them (with the Egyptians chasing them from behind). It was in this setting that God said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell my people to move forward” (verse 15). As they stopped complaining and took steps of advancement, they participated in a miracle that moved them into a new place. 

When someone says they feel “stuck”, they are typically describing a sense of being trapped by their thoughts, emotions, or circumstances, and they are believing they are unable to move forward or make changes. Sometimes we can have an overall sense of being stuck, or we can feel bogged down in specific areas of our lives (i.e. relationships, health, career, spiritually, etc.).

We first get “unstuck” in our thinking and then in our habits and actions. I want to share five wisdom keys to help you get unstuck. They are all helpful reminders, but I am believing you will also receive at least one revelatory key (a “now word” for you) that will uproot a lie holding you back in your life. Here are the five: 

1. We cannot live just to make other people happy - “Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). When we are overly concerned about how others feel about us, then we have developed co-dependency in our relationship and our forward movement is neutralized. Codependency refers to a dysfunctional relationship dynamic where one person is excessively reliant on another, often sacrificing their own needs for the sake of the other. It causes us to be controlled by their reactions to us. This can be from a parent, family member, leader, friend, or someone else. Yes, we are to respect and honor people, but we also must let go of living for their approval so that we can chart our own course and find our purposes in life. Some reading this are entering a new season of breaking free from the chains of people pleasing. 

2. We will have favor with whom we are supposed to have favor with - In Acts 23, Paul’s nephew had favor with a centurion who protected Paul from an evil plot. Paul did not have favor with everyone, but he did with him. One of the most freeing beliefs we can have is this: if someone does not like me or sees me as I want them to see me, then their view of me must not be important for my destiny. Certainly, we want to ensure that we are not doing things that harm our reputation. However, when we stop trying to impress others, we will actually gain favor because we will be seen as authentic (and people are attracted to authenticity). This is an hour you are being empowered to trust and relax in your relationships.

3. Thanksgiving unlocks everything - “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:2). A gate represents a new dimension or season of life. We can get out of any season where we feel stuck, through a dramatic increase in our “thank  yous” to God and people. It always works. What do you need to thank God for, and what people do you need to thank today?

4. Our goal is not just to feel good and be comfortable - King Saul in 1 Samuel 16 found relief from a tormenting spirit by listening to David play the harp. He had a momentary time of feeling better, but it would have been better for him to read my wife’s book, Victorious Emotions. In this great book, Wendy says we don’t fight against negative emotions, but we target the beliefs creating them. “If we want a different feeling, we need a different belief,” she says. Right now, God is releasing grace over you to pull up the roots of the lies creating a lack of hope. 

5. Sometimes it needs to get worse before it gets better - “​“But when he came to himself . . . “ (Luke 15:17). The Prodigal Son blew up his life with poor choices. The pain of those decisions ultimately created a wake-up call that led him back to where he belonged. It is difficult watching people suffer such negative consequences, but if we enable dysfunction and constantly protect people from reaping what they have sown, then we are part of the problem. Yes, God’s “Plan A” for change is seeing His goodness (Romans 2:4), but those who ignore Him and His ways will get opportunities to like the Prodigal Son, to come to their senses through challenging events. Right now, God is giving you the strength to not be everyone’s savior and to know when to help and when to allow people to come to their senses on their own. 

Our forward movement in life causes the Red Seas to part. As we discover and defeat the belief systems that have trapped us in a stagnant place, we will break loose of the chains that bind us, and we will bring freedom and deliverance to many.