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(Please read (Galatians 5:16-26) in preparation of this blog.)
"For God does speak — now one way, now another — though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, He may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings. (Job 33:14-16)
It came about, as if I was suddenly transformed from the nice pleasures of our good earth into the misfortunes of a literal wasteland. I suddenly found myself in the strangest wilderness that I have ever seen.
Nothing but thickets of thorns, patches of underbrush, undergrowth of weeds and the like, with no visible means of letting up. "How did I get here?" I moaned. My last remembrance was that it was a very nice, pleasant Sunday morning and I was on my way walking off to church.
After realizing my current situation, the only logical conclusion was my sudden need of divine help; help in getting me through this vegetative wilderness. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how I got where I was, but I knew I would need providential help in getting free from this ecological nightmare experience. OK, I'll just start my walk, praying as I go,
Then, seemly by way of a divine directive, there appeared a funny looking character. He was dressed in shabby attire, and his appearance left a lot to be desired. In other words, he took on the appearance of your classic bum. Who was he? Likely he was a tramp or vagrant street person, but surely not the divine help that I had prayed for.
My first thought was, "There's no way this individual can be human, but I can't be choosey at this point in my travel. So, I'll just see what he has to say. Maybe he knows his way around this woodland chaos."
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Well, I was on my way to church, but how on earth did I get in this wilderness? I am totally confused," I replied.
"Just what did you expect to accomplish in church?" he questioned.
"To learn how to be a better person," I responded.
One thing for sure, his diction certainly did not mimic his dress, for he was well spoken. His only pronunciation difference was that he spoke in the "Old English" diction. And at times he would revert from speaking in English to that of an unknown language.
His next conversation didn't make sense, but I needed help, so I decided to let him carry on. Yet, not saying a word, he took my hand and away we went on our journey through this impossibly wooded jungle.
Well, this pending journey did get the best of my curiosity. I just had to ask him where we were going and where we would wind up. Again without a word, he just pointed to a passageway arch displaying an overhead sign which read "Life's Pathway." I thought the entire maneuver somewhat weird, but I had no choice but to follow his guidance. And away we went.
We traveled for what appeared to be an eternity and then it happened. We came upon another breezeway, displaying a sign reading "Redemption Pathway."
Lying ahead in our path was the thickest clump of thorn bushes that we had encountered on our entire forest journey. What was so odd, as we entered this thicket was a large sign with read "Works of The Flesh." Each individual bush also displayed such writing as Immorality, Idolatry, Strife, Jealousy, Anger, Envy, Sorcery, Impurity, Sensuality, Disputes, Carousing and so on.
"What now?" I silently wondered.
The man must have read my mind, as he immediately responded by telling me we must conquer those "Works of the Flesh" in order to continue on our spiritual journey.
With somewhat of a struggle, and after plucking those "Works of the Flesh" thorns from my flesh, we were finally able to overcome this challenging thorn patch and move on down the path. Then we came to another apparent challenge. However, this one was the opposite of the one just concluded. The undergrowth was draped with an assortment of fine flowers.
"Very unusual," I thought, "compared to the last challenge."
This clump of flower growth also was adorned by an array of positive messages, starting with a big instructional sign reading "Fruit of the Spirit," followed by such individual signs as Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.
"Wow, what a difference!" I thought. "Just like that sermon my pastor recently gave us. What a much needed relief. I feel more like moving on now. Let's go!" And we did, rather easily.
Again traveling what seemed to be an eternity, up and down and around the dusty winding road, it happened, just as it did in the beginning. All of a sudden, and without any warning, this nice gentleman just disappeared in the fog. And simultaneously with His disappearance, looking through the heavy fog, and up a long winding hill I saw what appeared to be three empty crosses, shinning against a brightly sunlit background.
"I must go on," I thought, as I had come too far to quit now. So away I went. As I moved on, the fog seemed to lift and appearing in front of me was another breezeway which read "Path of Grace." (Ephesians 2:8-9) And as if by divine guidance, I was led through the breezeway and up the long winding hill to the crosses.
When I got to the top, it happened. The whole terrain cleared up and a certain quiet peace came over the land. And you guessed it; the man who had guided me through the wilderness suddenly reappeared. Only this time His complete appearance had changed from that of old, dirty, ragged clothing to wearing a robe of pure, radiant white. And his appearance changed to that of a radiant, blinding white light.
He then raised his hands as if commanding the scene, and spoke out. Only this time, His speech echoed with thunder, as He said," You have made it My child. By your faith, you have found Calvary, the hill of My free grace." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Then just as He had appeared, he was gone again, and in His place was a stream of what could only be described as heavenly fog.
What happened next? Strangely, this entire episode swiftly came to a conclusion, by finding me sitting in my favorite church pew, listening to my pastor, as he invited us to come forward in rededication of our lives to the gospel call. His bottom line statement was "Remember, the Spirit will always give victory over the Flesh," quoting (Galatians 5:16). Jumping up, I couldn't run fast enough, in moving to the front and kneeling in rededication.
Had this all been a dream, a vision, or just His way of revealing the truth of the gospel; the truth of choosing the Gifts of the Spirit over the Works of the Flesh? I may not ever discover the truth behind my long journey, and about my church decision. But one thing I'm sure of, I surely found my way to Calvary that day. (Galatians 5:24) Amen!
Authors Postscript
Have you ever suddenly awakened during the night to what appeared to be a message dream? And as you allowed these images to scroll through your mind, did you get the impression this dream was trying to tell you something?
Yet this message was so strong, you were compelled to jot down the facts of the dream. Was this a divine message dream? Whether the information was factual or not, the entire gist of your dream caused you to become aware of some aspects of your life, causing you to make a mental note of your living practices.
Who are we to get a message from God? Well, why not us? After all we are all His children. So, pay attention to your dreams whether they be real of not.
"'And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams.'" (Acts 2:17)
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