In Need of Supernatural Vision
I want to share something that has been deeply on my heart. I have spent many hours in prayer and reflection concerning these uncertain days we are living in. As I have prayed, I have felt a strong urgency to encourage God's people not to allow what we see happening around us to determine what we believe about Him, His promises, or our future.
One of the greatest challenges we face in uncertain times is the temptation to become double-minded, to look at our circumstances with natural eyes while trying to hold on to God's promises with our faith. James 1:8 describes the double-minded person as "unstable in all his ways." I know from my own journey that when my focus shifts away from God's Word, it becomes much easier to lose my peace, stumble, and lose sight of what He is doing.
In seasons like these, we need supernatural vision. We need to see beyond what is happening in the natural and remain firmly rooted in faith, trusting that God is still faithful and that He is still leading us toward breakthrough.
Eating from the Tree of Life
You may be asking, "Sandie, how do I do that?" I asked the Lord that very same question. His answer to me was both simple and profound:
"Tell My children to eat only from the tree of life. If they eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they will become double-minded and stumble."
When I heard those words, I immediately thought of a dream the Lord had given me. In the dream, I saw a serpent speaking lies to God's children, attempting to seduce them away from their faith and dependence on Him. The meaning was clear. Throughout Scripture, the serpent represents satan—the deceiver who seeks to draw us away from trusting God and walking in His truth.
As I reflected on that dream, I sensed it carried a significant warning for the Body of Christ. In uncertain times, it is easy for us to slip back into a mindset of striving, performance, and self-effort. When life feels unstable, our human nature often looks for something we can control. We may begin to think that if we pray harder, attend church more, or do more spiritual activities, we can somehow earn God's attention, love, or favor.
Please hear my heart: Spiritual disciplines are important and valuable, but they were never meant to become a way for us to earn what God has already freely given through Christ. This is the very issue Paul addressed with the Galatians. They had been "bewitched" into moving away from faith and returning to religious performance and legalism, rather than living by the power and leading of the Spirit (Galatians 3:1–3).
The word "bewitched" implies a form of deception through different types of witchcraft. It would be similar to someone having a spell cast onto them or to experience various forms of witchcraft assignments against them. In the case of the Galatians, Paul was saying that they had been like ones upon whom a spell had been cast against their minds or actions.
Believer, keep reading; I am going somewhere with this. None of us wants to be influenced by any form of witchcraft. Yet, in this case, Paul is comparing religious performance to being under an evil witchcraft-type spell!
A performance-based mindset causes us to believe we must somehow persuade God to bless us, heal us, or respond to us, but that is not the invitation of the tree of life. The tree of life represents the freedom we have in Christ. Our relationship with God was never meant to be built on guilt, shame, or striving. It was designed to be a journey of grace, freedom, and intimacy with Him.
The enemy knows that if he can keep us trapped in condemnation, we will struggle to walk confidently in the identity and authority Christ has already given us. Because of the cross, we have been given direct access to the throne of grace. When we stumble or fall short, we do not have to hide from God; we can run toward Him. There we find mercy, forgiveness, and grace that strengthens us to continue walking in His ways. Our sins were fully dealt with through Christ's finished work, and "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).
The enemy's strategy has not changed. From the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, he tried to convince Eve that God was withholding something good from her. He planted a lie that created a sense of lack. Yet Eve had already been created in God's image. She already carried the identity and value she was searching for. The enemy's deception caused her to question God's goodness, and that doubt led her to eat from the wrong tree. (Photo via Unsplash)
Today, we face that same temptation. The enemy still whispers that God's grace is not enough, that we must work harder to earn what Christ has already accomplished for us. But every time we place our confidence in our own efforts instead of resting in the finished work of Jesus, we are being drawn toward the tree of the knowledge of good and evil rather than the tree of life.
The Thief Today
Let's look more closely at the thief. We know the thief first appeared in the Garden of Eden, and we'll return to that account shortly. For now, let's consider Jesus' words in John 10:10 and what they reveal about moving from a performance-based mentality to a life of grace.
When I refer to legalism, I mean the belief that we become righteous because of what we do rather than because of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10 NIV).
I love the promise of a full life, but what does that really mean? As I studied this passage in several translations, I found words such as "abundance," "overflow," and "fullness." These descriptions reveal God's desire for us, His children, to not merely survive but to flourish in the life Christ purchased for us.
The Message Bible expresses it this way: "A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of" (John 10:10). What a beautiful promise! God is not opposed to our dreaming about a life filled with His goodness. In fact, Jesus came to make that life a reality. Through salvation He provides not only eternal life, but also an abundant life marked by His presence, peace, and provision. Yet in the very same verse, Jesus warns us about a thief who seeks to rob us of everything He came to give.
Many Believers have become very familiar with John 10:10. We've learned to identify satan as the thief and have faithfully prayed against every attack on our health, finances, families, and spiritual inheritance. We've exercised the authority Christ has given us, binding the enemy according to the principles found in Matthew 16:19.
While those truths are important, there is another dimension of this passage that deserves our attention. The thief's strategy is not simply to steal our blessings. His greater objective is to convince us that there is another way to obtain the life God promises. He tempts us to seek acceptance, righteousness, security, and fulfillment through something other than Christ. That deception can take many forms. It may appear as religious performance, self-effort, legalism, human wisdom, or the belief that our own works make us worthy of God's favor.
There Is Only One Door, and It Is Jesus
Whenever we trust in anything other than Christ's finished work, we are attempting to enter through the wrong door. Jesus alone is the Door to abundant life. Every other path ultimately leads to disappointment, striving, and spiritual bondage, because it is rooted in self rather than in the grace of God. The thief has not changed his strategy since the Garden of Eden. He still whispers that Christ is not enough, that we must add something to His finished work in order to be accepted by God. But Jesus has already made the way. The abundant life is not earned through religious effort. It is received by faith through the One who is both the Door and the Good Shepherd. (Photo via Unsplash)
To fully understand John 10:10, we must read it in context. Before Jesus spoke about the thief, He first declared that He was the Door—the only entrance into true life.
"So Jesus said again, 'I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am the Door for the sheep [leading to life]. All who came before Me [as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders] are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not hear them. I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security). The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His [own] life for the sheep.'"
(John 10:7–11 AMP)
Notice the order of Jesus' teaching. Before He warned us about the thief, He identified Himself as the only door to life. That is significant. The thief's greatest deception is not merely to steal our peace, health, or provision. His ultimate goal is to persuade us that there is another way to receive what only Christ can give. Jesus made it unmistakably clear: there is only one Door.
The enemy has always sought to seduce Believers in their thinking. The spirit of antichrist did not suddenly appear at the end of the age. Its work began in the Garden of Eden, where satan first questioned God's Word and enticed humanity to trust something other than God's provision.
That same deception continues today. The enemy still whispers that our acceptance with God depends upon our own efforts. He encourages us to trust in religious performance, human achievement, or personal righteousness rather than in Christ's finished work. Whenever we believe our works make us acceptable to God, we have exchanged the tree of life for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Scripture leaves no room for confusion. Jesus alone is the Door through which we enter salvation, freedom, and abundant life. Every blessing we receive flows from His finished work on the cross, not from our own performance.
The Good Shepherd willingly laid down His life for His sheep. Because of His sacrifice, we are forgiven, justified, and welcomed into the presence of God. The door to salvation was not opened by our obedience but by Christ's obedience. This truth is foundational to the Christian life. We do not strive to become righteous; we receive the righteousness of Christ by faith. We do not earn God's favor; we live from the favor He has already extended through His Son.
The thief wants us to spend our lives striving to earn what Jesus has already purchased. But the Gospel invites us to stop striving and enter the freedom that comes through faith in Christ alone. When we keep Jesus at the center of our lives, we remain rooted in grace rather than performance, faith rather than fear, and freedom rather than bondage. We continue to feast on the tree of life, because we trust the One who is both the Door and the Good Shepherd. There is no other entrance into the fullness of life. Christ alone is enough.
Two Trees in the Garden
From the very beginning, God placed two significant trees in the Garden of Eden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. These two trees represent more than a historical event; they reveal two ways of living that continue to confront every Believer today. Although Adam and Eve lived in the midst of God's perfect provision, they were given a choice. They could trust God's goodness by eating from the tree of life, or they could pursue knowledge apart from Him by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That choice has never disappeared. (Photo via Unsplash)
As Believers, we are continually faced with the same spiritual decision. Will we live from the life Christ has provided through His finished work, or will we rely on our own understanding, performance, and self-effort? Jesus leaves no doubt about where life is found. He alone is the Door to salvation and abundant living. Yet the enemy continually attempts to persuade us that there are other ways to experience fulfillment, acceptance, and righteousness. His strategy has not changed since the Garden. He still invites us to depend upon ourselves rather than upon God. He encourages us to believe that our efforts, religious activities, or personal achievements make us worthy of God's favor. Whenever we accept that lie, we begin eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of the tree of life.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents far more than the temptation to commit obvious sin. It also symbolizes a life rooted in self-dependence. Whether our confidence rests in our failures or our successes, our focus remains on ourselves instead of on Christ. The tree of life points us in the opposite direction. It reminds us that life, righteousness, and acceptance are found only in a relationship with God. Everything we need flows from His grace, not from our performance. As we continue to receive His love and trust His finished work, we experience the freedom, peace, and abundance He promised.
Which Tree Will Shape Your Thinking?
Every day we choose which tree will shape our thinking. Will we feed on fear or faith, performance or grace, or will we feed on self-effort or complete dependence upon Christ? The conflict between these two trees is still being played out in the hearts of Believers today. The enemy wants us to believe that we must earn what God freely gives, but the Holy Spirit continually invites us back to the tree of life, to live from the finished work of Jesus rather than striving to establish our own righteousness.
When we choose the tree of life, we stop measuring our worth by our successes or failures. Instead, we rest in our identity as sons and daughters of God, fully accepted because of Christ. That is the life Jesus came to give—a life marked by freedom instead of striving, confidence instead of condemnation, and grace instead of guilt. Each day presents the same invitation: choose life. Choose to trust the One who has already provided everything you need through His finished work on the cross.
As you have read, it's a huge hindrance in our walk with the Lord whenever we move into religious performance. This is because too much of "us" is involved. It's focused on "I," "me," and "my," right? Anytime we get self-involved, it takes away from the finished work of Christ.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we don't have work to do! No way! Scripture points out that faith without our works is dead (James 2:26). We have to co-labor with God to establish His Kingdom on earth, and that requires some work. But my point is this: Christ has paid the price for our salvation. We don't have to prove ourselves to receive it.
And, dear ones, let's not forget that the word "salvation" in the Greek means "to save," "protect," "restore," "deliver," and "heal" (Strong's 4982). I like to say that our salvation gives us everything Heaven has to offer! So, think on that a while. Rejoice in it all—especially in the fact that Jesus is all we really need!
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Sandie Freed
Sandie Freed Ministries
Email:Â freedrevolution7@gmail.com|
sandiefreed@yahoo.com
Website:Â sandiefreed.net
Dr. Sandie Freed is an apostolic, prophetic leader, author of more than fourteen books, and travels nationally and internationally preaching, teaching, and ministering the Word of God. Ordained as a prophet by Bishop Bill Hamon, Sandie's ministry involves a strong prophetic anointing and spiritual discernment. Her unique gifting is in dreams and visions, and as a modern-day Joseph, she empowers others to interpret God's voice through dreams and visions. Sandie's goal is to always equip the body of Christ in their callings and empower them through revelation of the love of God. To this day, her best selling book is Breaking the Threefold Demonic Cord: How to Discern and Defeat the Lies of Jezebel, Athaliah and Delilah, which has been taught around the world and is printed in many different languages. Sandie and her husband Mickey co-pastor Lifegate Church in Hurst, Texas.
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