Lord of the Breakthrough

“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
Leonard Cohen

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
T. S. Eliot

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
Paulo Coelho

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”
J. M. Barrie

“Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
Ernest Hemingway

Baal-perazim. It almost sounds like an afterthought, does it not? Something you might brush past without a second glance. But that name—tucked away in Israel’s history—carries with it a force that can shake everything we think we know. Baal-perazim. It is not exactly a name you hear tossed around at dinner parties, is it? Yet, maybe it should be. This obscure place is a pivot point, a place where God’s power crashes through our reality, turning everything on its head.

David’s Flood: A Battle Beyond Strategy
To grasp the significance, we need to step into the scene. David, newly crowned king, finds himself on the battlefield, face to face with the Philistines. These are not just any enemies. They are the living, breathing embodiment of Israel’s worst fears. The people who gave Israel Goliath. The ones who seemed untouchable with their iron chariots and their overwhelming strength. Israel’s recurring nightmare. But then something happens that rewrites the script entirely: “And David came to Baal- perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, ‘The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.’ Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim” (2 Samuel 5:20, ESV). A breaking flood. David was not talking about a gentle trickle of help. He was not thanking God for a subtle assist. He was describing a force so overwhelming that it ripped through everything in its path. A flood is uncontrollable, chaotic, something that sweeps away everything in its wake. This is the kind of breakthrough that does not just alter circumstances; it shatters them. This was not a moment of mere strategy or clever maneuvering. This was God breaking into the world like a flash flood bursting through a dam, bending the course of history itself. Baal-perazim means “Lord of breakings through” or “Possessor of breaches.” This name is not a poetic metaphor—it is a declaration of God’s ability to shatter any barrier, no matter how impenetrable it seems.

Divine Power and Human Hands
But it gets even more interesting. In 1 Chronicles 14:11, the very same event is recounted, but with a slight twist that makes us pause: “And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, ‘God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a bursting flood.’ Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim” (ESV). “By my hand.” Wait a second. So, was it God’s doing, or was it David’s? It is easy to get caught up in our either/or thinking—was this divine intervention or human effort? But what if it is both? What if God delights in this divine-human partnership, where He crashes through, but does so through our hands? It is not that David’s role was diminished, but his action was the vehicle for God’s overwhelming power. This echoes through Scripture in moments that seem to blur the line between God’s action and our own. Remember Moses at the Red Sea? God commands him: “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:15-16, ESV). Divine command, human action, miraculous result. Or think about Joshua, standing before the walls of Jericho. God delivers the plan, and it sounds absurd: march, blow trumpets, shout. Yet when Joshua and the people follow through in obedience, “the wall fell down flat” (Joshua 6:20, ESV). God’s plan, human obedience, and an impossible outcome. It is like God has this habit of crashing through the limits of what we think is possible, and He often uses our hands to do it. But here is the thing—He does not fit into our categories or bound by our either/or thinking. God breaks through, and He invites us into that breakthrough.

Breaking Through Despair
Jump ahead a few centuries. The scene shifts. The prophet Micah speaks to a people beaten down, exiled, and wondering if they have a future. And into that despair, Micah drops this promise of God’s breakthrough: “He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their King passes on before them, the Lord at their head” (Micah 2:13, ESV). It is Baal-perazim all over again. Only now, the stakes are higher. God is not just breaking through enemy lines; He is breaking through a future that seems like a dead end, a situation so hopeless it feels like a prison. And here again, God goes before, leading the charge. The one who “opens the breach” goes ahead, breaking open the impossible, leading His people out of captivity. This pattern of breakthrough ripples forward into the New Testament. Paul and Silas find themselves chained in prison, feet locked in stocks. And what do they do? They pray. They sing. Then: “suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened” (Acts 16:26, ESV). A literal, earth-shattering breakthrough. Again, God’s power crashes through the barriers, but it happens in response to human faithfulness—Paul and Silas worshiping Him while imprisoned in their chains. It is not a one-off, and it is not isolated to some ancient context. It is God’s way of acting in the world—breaking through, inviting human participation, and turning prisons into places of liberation.

Beyond the Walls
But here is the question we are left with: Is this just ancient hyperbole? Are these stories the grand exaggerations of a people trying to make sense of a chaotic world? Or are they glimpses into a reality we can hardly fathom—a world where the impossible is simply God’s starting point? Think about it. We live in a world that loves walls. We are surrounded by them. Physical walls. Mental walls. Social walls. Economic walls. We hit them every day: “You can not.” “It is impossible.” “That is just how things are.” But what if those walls are less real than we think? What if they are more fragile, like paper thin barriers that could be swept away at any moment? What if those walls are simply waiting for God to break through? The truth is, Baal-perazim does not fit into our neat categories. It can be messy. It is often unpredictable. It is definitely disruptive. God does not always break through in the ways we expect. Paul and Silas probably did not have “earthquake” on their prayer list. But that is the thing about breakthrough—it never looks like what we expect. It is not just about the walls we face, but the way God chooses to break through them. We see this pattern again and again. Naaman, expecting some grand gesture of healing, gets told to dip in the Jordan seven times (2 Kings 5:10-14). The disciples, cowering in fear after the crucifixion, have Jesus pass through the locked doors to reach them (John 20:19). God’s ways are unexpected, unconventional, and often startling.

Choosing Baal-perazim
So where does that leave us? It leaves us with a choice. We can keep living in a world defined by walls—accepting the limits, playing by the rules. Or we can embrace the Baal-perazim way of seeing. We can look at every wall as a potential breakthrough waiting to happen. We can invite God’s power to crash through in ways we cannot predict, mixing His strength with human obedience in radical, explosive ways. It may not always be comfortable. It may not even be “safe”. It likely does not fit into our plans or expectations, but it is alive, dynamic, and it just might be the truest way to live in a universe where flash floods can appear out of nowhere and prisons can turn into places of freedom. This is not about blind optimism or wishful thinking. It is about the faith that sees beyond the walls, knowing that we serve a God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV). It is the same faith that made David pick up those five stones when a giant stood before him. The same faith that made Peter step out of the boat onto the storm-tossed sea. The same faith that turned a handful of disciples into world-changers.

So, dear reader, the next time you find yourself facing a wall—any kind of wall—remember Baal-perazim. Remember the God who crashes through, the Lord of the breakthrough. Remember that He invites you into that breakthrough. And remember that it might come in a form so unexpected, it will require a whole new name. Welcome to Baal-perazim. Keep your eyes open. The next breakthrough could be closer than you think. Keep your flood insurance up to date.