Shutting the Door: Reclaiming What the Enemy Has Stolen

There's something about January that stirs the soul. Perhaps it's hope, renewal, or the courage that comes with fresh beginnings. Whatever that stirring feels like, God speaks into it with words that matter most: "Behold, I am making all things new."

As we step into a new year, we're invited to close doors that have remained open far too long—doors that have given the enemy access to our lives, our destinies, and our identities.

The Divine Declaration

This year carries a powerful declaration: It is time to reclaim what the enemy has stolen.

The enemy has been sneaking into our camps, stealing from us in ways both seen and unseen. He's been stealing our hopes, our destinies, our joy, our focus, and our vision. He's been after our families, our finances, and ultimately, our identity. Because when we understand our true identity in Christ, the enemy becomes the one in trouble.

The enemy doesn't mind if people get saved, but he desperately wants to prevent them from understanding who they really are in Christ. A believer who knows their identity becomes a genuine threat to the kingdom of darkness.

The Story of Pursuit

First Samuel 30 tells a powerful story of loss and recovery. David and his men returned to their camp only to discover that the Amalekites had raided their villages, taking everything—wives, children, possessions—all gone. The scripture tells us they wept until they had no strength left to weep.

But here's where the story shifts. David inquired of the Lord, asking, "Shall I pursue this band?" And God's response was clear: "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and you will surely rescue all."

David received a prophetic word from God. But receiving the word wasn't enough—he had to act on it. He had to pursue.

Understanding Soul Ties and Strongholds

Before we can fully pursue what's been stolen, we must understand how the enemy gains access to our lives. Often, it's through spiritual ties or soul ties—connections that open doors for intruders to enter.

These ties don't cause the damage themselves, but they create access points. The intruder that comes through these open doors begins to study our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. If left undealt with, the intruder brings clatter, whispers, and confusion. It speaks in wrong voices and provides destructive propaganda designed to cheat us out of our destiny.

This can affect us mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It's like a spiritual Trojan horse—it looks acceptable, so we allow it in, and then it destroys from the inside out.

Eventually, if these doors remain open, a stronghold establishes itself. The stronghold's job is to keep the door open no matter what, allowing lies, curses, and deceit to continue their mission to destroy our destiny.

The Cost of Open Doors

When strongholds remain in our lives, they steal our purpose, our calling, and the authority we're meant to walk in. They make us feel less than who we really are—unable, weak, lost, or confused.

Our spiritual enemy rejoices when he steals from us. He celebrates when our destinies aren't fulfilled, when our prodigals don't return home, when financial blessings are blocked, and when our own doubt stops the fulfillment of our faith walk.

Don't think for a minute that the enemy doesn't party over what he does to us. The Amalekites were spread across the land, eating, drinking, and dancing because of the great spoils they had taken. Their pride led to their destruction.

The Power of Pursuit

The word "pursue" means to follow, overtake, catch, kill, and defeat. To overtake the enemy means we must move faster than him. While the enemy is rejoicing and partying, we must come full speed to reclaim what's ours.

David had 600 men with him, but 200 couldn't cross the brook—they were too exhausted. Not everyone close to you can run with you. Not everyone who says they'll stand with you can make it when you go after the enemy. And that's okay. There will be those who say, "Let's do this" and run hard with everything they have.

David didn't just get his belongings back. He got his wives, his sons, his daughters, and everything he owned—plus the spoils of the enemy's camp. And he even blessed those who couldn't run with him.

When you pursue and overtake the enemy, you don't just get back what was stolen—you get blessed with more. And your victory becomes a blessing to those around you.

Breaking Free in the New Year

Now is the time to break all ties, to break spiritual agreements and connections, and shut the door to the strongman. We cannot fully move into everything God has for us while these doors remain open.

What are you fighting for this year? What has the enemy stolen that you're ready to have back? What strongholds have been standing guard, keeping doors open in your life?

It could be fear, doubt, a poverty spirit, or an orphan spirit. It could be old mindsets, traditions, or connections to people and places that no longer align with where God is taking you.

The Freedom Prayer

Breaking these ties requires intentional action. It means forgiving those who have hurt us, renouncing unhealthy soul ties, and binding the strongman connected to these connections. It means declaring that these influences no longer have power or permission in our lives. It means choosing freedom, choosing wholeness, and choosing a new way forward.

Walking in Expectation

As we step into this season with doors shut and strongholds broken, we walk with expectation. We expect miracles, signs, and wonders. We expect favor everywhere we go. We expect blessings from heaven, even from unseen sources. We expect doors of opportunity to open and doors that need to be shut to remain sealed. We expect divine protection wherever we place our feet, and we expect God's increase and glory to be manifested in our lives.

The same God who has been faithful in every day behind us will remain faithful in every day ahead. He is making all things new, and He is giving us back what the enemy has stolen—pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

This is the year to reclaim, to pursue, and to walk in the fullness of everything God has promised.journey towards wholeness awaits.