"And the Lord said unto satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So satan went forth from the presence of the Lord."
 Job 1:12


It's happened many a times over the years to me in my dreams. I get this feeling of darkness come over me, and I try to shout for Jesus & my mouth will either turn to squishy jello so that I can't talk, or "Dark" (as I like to call the dark figures) just muzzles it everytime I try to shout out the name of Jesus. It's literally the feeling that someone has their hand over my mouth. In the past, it has scared me, and I've woke up in sweat, tears, and just plain feeling totally disoriented. I've always ended up being able to call on Jesus' name, but it is always a struggle before the nightmare is over. Last night's visit was a little different then all the other times though.  Dark came & tried to scare me in my dream again. I don't know what the dream was about. I only remember that I was walking, and Dark tried to scare me by using the surprise tactic. It literally jumped in my face, short of saying "BOO!" to scare me. I didn't panic this time though. I wasn't even scared, not even a little... I wasn't even startled by the "surprise" tactic. (And I knew right when it showed up that it was the same familiar, evil spirits that have taunted me in my dreams before.)

I simply stopped walking right in my tracks. I looked it straight in the "face", and I started LAUGHING. It wasn't just any laugh either. It was a deep down in my tummy ache kinda' laugh. I simply found it absolutely amusing that Dark tried to scare me. And it just stared back at me, quite taken with my response. Dark seemed confused, with a shocked & defeated look on its "face." For a change, Dark didn't know how to react to ME. For a change, Dark's sly attempt to creep up on me unexpectedly & rattle my soul was an epic fail.

When I was done laughing, I said, "I rebuke you"... and at that moment, Dark tried to muzzle my mouth again, like it had done so many times in the past. But it didn't work this time. I just pushed passed the muzzle, and yelled so loud, "I rebuke you in Jesus name!" that I literally said it out loud, and literally woke myself up mid sentence, in just enough time to hear myself yelling it out loud. I wasn't crying when I woke up. I wasn't sweating or scared, not one bit. I was in total peace, and quite smug about it, to say the least... so I closed my eyes, said a quiet thank you to Jesus, and went back to sleep, peacefully...

Last night was a defining moment in my walk with God. Nevermind the years of anguish that are behind me! Nevermind the unknown future that's ahead of me! Nevermind those spirits who have taunted me since I was a little girl, showing themselves in dreams and visions, showing themselves in this world & the people around me...something changed forever in that moment of laughter. Dark will never be able to shake me again.

Maybe I laughed at Dark because I've seen it so many times before, that it's become laughable that Dark thinks it can still scare me. Maybe I laughed because Dark looked so pitiful trying to scare me with its surprise tactic... almost as if it were cute, the way my 2 year old would be cute if he had tried to scare me in the same way.

I know though, that Dark can never scare me again. I remember as a child, "stomping" on the devil, by stomping my feet on the ground, and proclaiming that I was stomping on the devil. It was an act of innocence & "pretending" as a child. But now... now it's just real. Dark has no power over me. Maybe Dark is a cute 2 year old, next to the super strong tower I call my God... who, resides, in me.

I'm not afraid of you anymore Dark. Your evil shadows linger in this world, I know. You tear people down, you tear their worlds a part, their families, their lives... and you've even been known to assist them in their suicide. I've heard your stories from others before... I know I'm not the only one you've taunted out there. But you've been harrassing me for as far back as I can remember. I must be something special, because you've invested an awful lot of time into me.

You can't touch me. You've never been able to touch me. You can't scare me anymore... I'll laugh in your face. This world you devour can't have me. I won't dress like it. I won't talk like it. I won't think like it. I won't live like it. I won't die like it. I'm not yours to have. I never have been.

 People look at me and think that my "religion" makes me follow a bunch of rules to be a part of it. I look at people and think that this world makes them follow a bunch of rules to be a part of it. I'm not following any man's rules. I'm just the spitting image of my Father, like any child. And this world, this world that is being led around like puppets on a string as they live in darkness & their lives are torn a part & being taken away...  is the spitting image of Dark.

Dark can't have us all. Because we all have a choice. And God's mercy is greater than the shadows who linger in this world. He's coming ... he's scooping up his people, and Dark, you just can't do anything about it. There aren't enough demons in hell to overpower the power that's in me. There never will be. There never was. He's always been with me. He's been in me since I asked Him in as a little girl, and He's never left.

I'm pushing through your barriers at the speed of sound now, and Dark, you just can't stop me. You will never be able to stop me. Your attempts are laughable. You're nothing. Nothing. Nothing. You're nothing.



 
"When I spread open my wings, just step inside the shadow it casts, relax, and let your feet be lifted off the ground."

They stood along the shoreline and anxiously waited as they watched his magnificant wings spread a part. They wondered if the shadow would be big enough for everyone to fit inside. It didn't look big enough. But everyone fit comfortably inside as they slowly stepped "aboard" the shadow.

As they stepped into the shadow they became like feathers and slowly drifted up off the ground.

"Feel free to move about. You will be safe while we are on our journey, as long as you don't move outside the shadow."

With that, he began to move the glorious wings...slow... then faster and faster, like a propeller on a plane. He began to soar over the crashing ocean waves. The journey was going to be a long one. But no one cared to look back at the devastation they were leaving behind. The only images left of the devastation on the shoreline were the memories stored in their minds.

Memories.... a scene of hunger, poverty, fire, hate, murder, scavengers.... most of them already scattered abroad by the time the winged man appeared. He was only taking the children... the innocent children left to their own inside the devastation... left with no one to care for them, because no one cared...except the winged man.

"You will stay here now for awhile," he said as he landed in a valley, surrounded by ocean, mountains, waterfalls....tranquillity, utopia. He turned and flew off into the endless sea, more children were waiting back at Devastation Shore.

He had sent word back to the shoreline that he'd be back for more when ever they were ready. New children heard the message and they waited on the shore for the winged man to come and save them from Devastation Shore.

Back at the utopia, the children felt safe. Some of them missed their parents and loved ones who couldn't come. They'd send letters back to the shore, with no return address... in hopes that their loved ones could find their way to the winged man too. They couldn't leave a return address. There were bounties on them. An evil one wanted to find them and bring them back to the shore to kill them. But he didn't know where the utopia was or how to get there. He was not allowed there, and it made it him angry. No one was allowed to the utopia but by the winged man. And no one knew the way except the winged man. It was in a secret place surrounded by the sea, deep down in a valley, hidden from the vulgar world."

Sometimes God talks to us through our dreams. If you've ever had a dream from God, you know the difference. God gave me this dream recently. Of all the dreams I've ever dreamt from him, this one has had the most profound impact on my heart. And it was so surreal. Maybe because I know the truth behind this dream, it impacts me so greatly. It's not a fictitcious fantasy dream. It's real. God speaks in metaphors.

I begin to tear up now at the thought of how real this dream is. It is real, and it is powerful... the message, that is. It tears me up because there are so many people out there who don't know how real this God and his salvation is. We are all born on Devastation Shore. But we don't all make it to the utopia. Many of us spend our lives aimlessly wondering Devastation Shore. Many of us never even step into the shadow of his wings. Many of us don't think this is "for" us or that we "don't need" it. I can't count how many times I've heard some one say, "church just isn't for me." People don't even know what they're really saying when they say that.

Some of us do step into the shadow of his wings. There are no walls in the shadow of that flight though. That means we can choose to abort the flight at any given time. All we have to do is step outside the shadow. Some of us look at the shadow & think it doesn't look big enough. We doubt God. Life starts to get a little rough and we want to retreat back to the shoreline. Maybe we look down into the scary sea and become afraid of falling. We have so little faith, and we run. When we step outside the shadow, we only find ourselves falling into a crashing and deadly sea of endless ocean. We have so little faith in God when it matters most. But his wings are always sufficient. Always.

Utopia isn't heaven. It is only the place in your heart where God resides, until we make it to heaven. The journey to utopia is called salvation. The Bible says you must become like a little child, and have the faith of a child to enter heaven... do we, really? How POWERFUL is that thought when you really think about it? Only children are allowed to the utopia...

He makes frequent trips back to Devastation Shore to pick up anymore children who are ready to go. The Bible says in Acts 2:38, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. " Then in John 3:5 it says, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." These verses make it very clear on how to get ready to step inside the shadow for the trip to the utopia. And why is the utopia surrounded by water? Water is life. Water is essential to your salvation. It's called baptism. We MUST be born of the water. We are given new live when we're baptised in Jesus name. The Holy Spirit, as John said is a gift for everyone of us, will follow our water birth, and we will be spiritually born.

I am so happy to have left Devastation Shore. Satan puts bounties on us... he wants to bring us back to that place to kill our spirits and bring us down. But God is bigger. God is stronger. And when we're in the shadow of his wings, we are safe. We are covered in the power of the blood of Jesus and nothing can touch us. But if we step outside that shadow... or if we never even step in... well, it's our choice.

(See also Psalms 91, which I later found corrilated with my dream)