This morning I work up, after almost 8 hours of sleep (interrupted but I’ll take it!!), and rather than hopping right up and getting into the day, I just laid there (so very rare for me) and I contemplated on the many thoughts that went through my head in the night.
I’ve been spending A LOT of time in God’s word these last few months, and what I was taught growing up seems to be VERY different from what I am learning as I read and am consumed by Gods word.
What if being a Christian is NOTHING like what I thought it was, nothing like what I was raised to believe. What if those that taught me had it all wrong, what if they were taught wrong? What if the deception and lies that Satan throws at us are SO MUCH WORSE than I ever imagined? I hear the word deceptive and I know what it means, I can wrap my head around it, but when I think about where my heart is leading me, I’m speechless at the level of deception. It is greater than I ever imagined.
When I lay in bed this morning and I was thinking about something my husband and I used to talk about. “How can you know what the light is like if forever you have lived in darkness.” (this statement is generic and applicable to anything). For example, How can I know what it’s like to be a Christian if I’ve never experienced it, How can I know what it’s like to eat something sweet if I’ve never had sugar, How can I know what it’s like to throw up if I’ve never been sick, etc…
And the matrix movie came to mind. I don’t remember too much of the movie – just the point, they were living a lie, and only a few of them woke up to see what was happening and fight against it.
If we believe by Grace and Faith, and we ask in the name of Jesus, speaking to our mountain – it will move. (Ephesians 2:8) (John 14:13) (Mark 11:23)
1 Samuel 17:45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
David was little more than a boy, with no formal training, Goliath was HUGE and had been a soldier in training for a long time. Yet David knew and believed in his heart that if God was with him, no one could be against him!
2 Kings 6:16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Elisha’s life was threatened, but he believed and knew that God was with him. When is servant became afraid he prayed that his servants eyes would be opened. What he saw is the army of God. WOW. WOW. WOW. I can not imagine opening my eyes in a time of trouble to see God’s horses and chariots around me, ready to fight for God, on my behalf. Yet they are there – everyday – waiting on us to take up our authority against our enemy. (Luke 10:19) (1 Peter 5:8)
Lord, thank you for being with us, ALWAYS, never leaving or forsaking us! We pray that the blindness in our lives would be bound up and that our eyes would be open to Your never ending love, and the authority that You have given us to move our mountain! That we would hear YOUR WORD and recognize it’s TRUTH, that we would embrace that truth in our lives and have a desire for more of YOU in everything we do!
In my dream we were at my grand parents home. I’m not sure who “we” was – just people that were close to me, I didn’t see faces or hear names – but the impression I had was that my immediate family was with me in the house. When I looked out the window I could see there were lions walking around, I remember seeing three. Immediately I felt a sense of peace that my family was with me, safe in the house. But then I saw other people walking near to the lions, unaware that they were there. There was one person I knew – I knew her face and I knew her name, it was the only very vivid part of my dream. Although I haven’t seen her in a while, she is very special to me.
We yelled out the window to them to hurry to the door that we would let them in, that there were lions. Immediately two female lions pounced onto the woman I knew and pulled her down. There was no blood, there was no death, I had no FEAR, just a sense of urgency (which struck me as odd). The rest of the people came towards the house with the male lion, battling to get to the door.
I took the people that were already in the house to the kitchen and armed everyone with a weapon – knives, anything sharp – and I told them – WE MUST STAND TOGETHER – when we open the door to let them in, the lion will try to get in – we need to fight him together, so that the rest of the people can come in the house to safety.
At this point everyone was at the door, with the lion, waiting to get in. I prepared to open the door, but something small made a hole in the corner of the door, before I could open it, and weaseled in. I don’t know what it was, a dog, a small child, I’m not sure.
But then the lion somehow snuck through that same hole, I couldn’t understand how he fit but he came into the house all at once and I rushed toward him so he couldn’t come past me to the rest of the house. I remember everyone else with weapons stood back – and I had to urge them to come forward with their weapons and fight the lion. I felt like I couldn’t do it on my own – but what was I to do. I took the first plunge. I had a long knife, and I plunged it into the side of the lion – and he roared – but he didn’t fight back. He stood there – and I plunged my knife again – and the rest of the people with weapons started to plunge their knives into the lion.
I used to have a recurring dream (similar but different to this), there were bears at my grandmas house and we would race to the attic to hide, they would break into the house and chase us. I would always wake up sweating and scared and unable to let the dream leave – it would really rattle me and if I went back to sleep it would pick up where it left off, so often I would keep myself awake. This dream was different. After I woke up, I just laid there, no fear, no heavy breathing or sweating or worry. I decided that I wouldn’t take the dream seriously (I think mostly because I heard at one point that in visions God was a lion – and I thought maybe it was an attack to get me distracted from my relationship with God) – I would just dismiss it, because, I thought, it must just be a weird dream.
I don’t mind waking up early – It was about 5. Everyone was still sleeping, so I snuck out of bed and went downstairs with my bible. I love having time to myself with my thoughts, with God. I spent some time listening to soft music and stretching. Then I read my bible and spent some time praying (in conversation with God about some things that were on my mind over the last few days).
And all of a sudden the significance of my dream hit me.
The lion was satan – The Word of God and the Truth were our weapons, It was my immediate family with me on the inside of the house – and when confronted with an attack from Satan, when no one else will stand up against him, then I will fight and do what needs to be done to protect the ones I love. Satin can sneak into our lives in ways that we least expect him to. And perhaps the most inspiring part of it, was that when we FIGHT back – when we know and take the authority that God has given us, Satan has NO POWER – absolutely none. He is nothing, despite the impressions we have of him being big and dark and scary.
It was a comforting revelation, I’m growing!
Then I remembered the woman I knew, that the lioness’ pulled down outside. I didn’t dream of her dying, or even fighting against them, and they were mostly pulling at her dragging her down. It hits me now, that she did not fight back. That part of the dream struck me, I stayed in the house – where it was safe – and welcomed everyone who would come to my house, where it was safe, and if my house was under attack I would fight – but I was unwilling to go out into the dangerous area and fight for her.
A word. This is where your at now, and this is where I want you to be.
And I just know, that I know, that I know, that God has spoken to my heart.
God is so GOOD! I am amazed at how my relationship has grown with him. I am no longer confused, I am no longer frustrated, I am not angry or bitter or battling. God is no longer “out of reach.” He is with me, He will not leave me, nor forsake me. Not in my own home or when I step outside of the door and walk into dangerous and unknown places. Psalm 139:8
I am growing, and while I want to do it all at once, I know that it will come. I can do nothing in the flesh on my own, but with God, all things are possible! John 5:30 and Matthew 19:26
Lord, I pray that you would continue to guide me in the way that you would have me go. I thank you Lord for the presence you have in my life, and I pray that I would never lose sight of You! Amen
A little over a month ago I started to get fed up. I love God! I have always loved God! I just didn’t understand Him. I just kept thinking, why is it so difficult to be a Christian? It doesn’t make any sense. I was so sick of the roller coaster ride my relationship with God was on. I struggled to understand the bible when I read it, but I regularly read other Christian “self help” books, I listened to Christian music only, my family attended church on a somewhat regular basis. For almost a year my children and I volunteered to help with the young children in our church as well as other areas. I really did love God, I had a desire to be near to him, and there were times in my life that I couldn’t contain the feelings of love and acceptance I felt in my relationship with God. And then there were times that I couldn’t see God through the storm. And man were there some storms!
I would watch testimonies of people and hear their stories and have this strong desire to have what they had. A relationship with God that didn’t ebb and flow. Why did it seem like they didn’t have ups and downs? Why did it seem like they were always close to God? WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!!
I felt God calling me into things, but I couldn’t make sense of it. How could he call me to anything, when I couldn’t stay close to him, when I couldn’t get my own family under control – how did He think I could witness or help others? It was so confusing – but I wanted to be obedient.
Out of frustration one night I prayed – I had no idea what I was praying – just this desire – LORD – I DON’T WANT TO FALL AWAY FROM YOU!! I don’t want life to get in the way of You. Show me!!!
Last night was a bit of a struggle, not so much for me (I haven’t felt “strife” really since I accepted the Holy Spirit) but for my husband. In between the sleep and wake (which seems to be happening to us a lot lately with a 3-year-old and being 7 months pregnant), I just kept praising the Lord and thanking Him for all the glorious things He has done for me, and binding Satan in the areas of struggle.
Then the word came to me.
Super Natural.
It wasn’t a spoken word, or even a whispered word like I hear other people say when they talk about God speaking to them. It was just a word that was suddenly there – and I knew it came from God.
I kept it with me, thinking and meditating on it through-out the night. But it still didn’t mean anything, it was just a word.
I woke up to our 3-year-old pattering down the hallway to “snuggle in our bed” and I remembered the word. I asked God what it meant and received my answer almost before I finished asking him.
Holy Spirit is Super Natural.
YES!!! This was the answer to so many of my questions. It’s only 8:30, but so much has come through my mind since I woke up at 6:30.
The Holy Spirit is Super Natural. The Holy Spirit parted the red sea, The Holy Spirit fed the Israelites in the dessert, The Holy Spirit closed the mouths of the Lions when Daniel was in the den, The Holy Spirit was with Samson, The Holy Spirit descended over the Egyptians with the plagues when they refused to release the Israelites, The Holy Spirit is how Mary became a virgin mother, and How Jesus healed the sick, the blind, rose the dead, cast out demons, forgave sins, etc. The Holy Spirit is in us!!!
WHAT!?!?! The Holy Spirit is in us. When we accept that Jesus was the Son of God, that he was crucified so that we may receive forgiveness, and that God raised him up from the dead – we have the Holy Spirit in us.
So for the last I don’t know – 15+ years of my adult life I have struggled to be a Christian – trying to make sense of it all – because it really just didn’t make sense. I had so many questions that couldn’t be answered – and just kept thinking – well I have faith that God has a reason – and if I’m supposed to know, then He’ll let me know. I have struggled unnecessarily because Satan has lied, deceived and stole from us!! Perhaps the biggest lie that I have seen is that we think God causes us to go through struggles – as Christians we become passive and do not “resist” the devil – because we think that God is putting us through a time of “strife” so that we might grow. It’s a lie. God’s word is good, and it’s living!! God loves us – so much that he sent His only Son to die so that we could have eternal life. God is good – he wants to see us prosper – Jesus died on the cross so that we could receive the Holy Spirit (which by the way was in us in the Garden of Eden and was stolen by Satan when he deceived Eve). Jesus dying on the cross meant that he TOOK BACK what was rightfully ours. The Holy Spirit is in us – the moment we receive Jesus – but if no one tells us, and we are only hearing the lies that Satan has spread through our churches, then we become passive. We don’t fully receive the Holy Spirit. PASSIVE – I hate that word – PASSIVE – just accepting that God is responsible for what Satan is doing. Nothing can be farther from the truth. God wants nothing but the best for us. We know that when we pick up the bible – put our nose in it and study it.
UPDATE
In regards to this post, there is a portion that I would like to add an update to. I mentioned that God is not the author of “struggle”. Since writing this I have grown in my relationship and my understanding of God. I do believe He absolutely is the author of all things, I believe he can work all things out for the good of those who believe. In regards to struggles though, I would clarify my original thoughts, although I believe God is the author, and He allows us to go through these things, it is ultimately for our good, and because of our own choices that these things happen.
I had some verses come to me in multiple ways this week, and I can’t help but think they were meant to expand on this post, and I encourage you to delve into them.
1 Kings 22:13-23. In this specific instance we are seeing that ‘all the host of heaven standing beside the Lord on his right hand and on his left’ (angels, both good and bad stand before the Lord). God is the author of all things, but He has laws surrounding what can and can not happen, and all creation is bound to those laws.
When we operate within the boundaries (laws/rules/commands, etc.) that God has set for us, we are ‘safe’. When we operate outside of those boundaries, legally we open doors that allow the enemy to influence our lives.
I do fully believe that true repenting Christians can not be possessed, but oppression is a very real thing and the devil goes to great lengths to keep us from knowing God’s truth and sharing that with others. In short. It is our own choices and actions that will allow oppression in our lives. When we operate within God’s boundaries, we can rest safely in His arms. I also believe that we should be dressing in the armor of God, because although it is safe in His arms, deception is huge and we are all sinners living in a spiritual battlefield.
