“The one”
The Lord likes to speak to me while I am sleeping. I am not sure if I have visions, or if they are dreams or maybe lucid moments where I am more awake than asleep. In any case, tonight was one of those moments when the Lord downloaded to me an experience that He wanted me to share with you. Most of the experience was given to me while I was in this slumbering sleep state while the rest of it was added to it while I scribed it out in the early morning hours. The following adventure was the moment He allowed me to experience.
I found myself walking up a narrow path that was winding its way up the side of a very steep mountain. This path was wrought with danger, and every step felt like it might be my last. One look to my right revealed a deep and very steep drop off where signs of past rockslides were noticeable everywhere. I thought of the pour souls who might lay at the bottom of this deep ravine as there was also evidence of others who had journeyed on this path before me. Occasionally, I would come across a lost shield or sword that may have been left behind or lost by a lonely sojourner on this narrow road as they were wisped over the side of the cliff into the darkness below.
I was exhausted and every muscle in my body felt as if it was being ripped apart as I struggled to climb higher up this dangerous and perilous path. I noticed a small entrance to a cave just up ahead of me. I held up the small torch that I was using to light my path and slowly crept my way inside. Once inside I realized that the small entrance opened into a larger cavern. I decided to rest here for the night as I did not have the strength to carry on for even one more step. I covered my light with an old helmet I found on the ground and laid down the heavy pack I had been carrying with me. The ground was cold and rocky, and it was so dark inside the cave that I could not see my own hand in front of my face. I was so tired that I did not care. I only wanted to rest. As soon as my head hit the ground, I fell fast asleep.
I am not sure how long I had been asleep when I heard a noise that startled me awake. It was a low guttural growl from some large hideous creature that was making its way into the cave. Paralyzed in fear, I lay there unable to even breathe for fear that it might hear me. I grasp the hilt of my sword under my cloak as I closed my eyes tightly and covered my mouth in hopes that I might not cry out in fright and give away my position to this fowl smelling creature. My only hope was that I would be able to stay concealed in the darkness as there was a total absence of any light anywhere within the cavern.
The low growl not only began to grow louder but now also seemed to multiply as I soon realized there was a legion of these evil lurking creatures slithering and crawling into the opening of the place that once gave me shelter and rest. I had thought that I was safe in this place, but now, I feared that I had wandered into a den of hungry jackals. I could feel them begin to circle around me. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck seemed to bristle and stand up as if they themselves wanted to flee this evil and dark place. I thought if I could just hold my breath long enough, I might be able to slip off into a state of unconsciousness and not have to suffer the painful ordeal of having my body torn apart by whatever evil creature had now laid down almost on top of me, but I could not. As I slowly inhaled, their rancid breath seemed to burn my lungs as the air in the cave had become toxic. I felt nauseated as the hot and humid air became thicker and more fowl with every breath that I took. The savage beasts finally finished making their way into the cave, and a deathly silence fell upon the room as they laid themselves throughout the cavern. It felt as if the entire army of Satan was camped on top of me. The fear that surrounded me felt as if it was smothering the very life right out of me when suddenly, I heard it.
It was a faint and distant cry at first from a man who seemed to be at the very top of the mountain. I could not make out his words very clearly, but as he repeated himself, I began to make out what he was shouting. He was crying out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Again, I heard him cry out, but this time even more clearly and more loudly he sang, “Worthy, worthy, worthy, is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wisdom and glory, amen!” As he cried out over and over, his voice became full of power and authority. I could hear the putrid smelling beasts around me begin to stir, and I found the courage to finally open my eyes ever so slightly. At first, they seemed to be paralyzed with fear themselves, and then they began to scurry around as if they were trying to find a place to hide or escape from the ever-increasing power and authority emanating from the very words that were being spoken. “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY! WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME!” The walls of the cave began to shake, and the ground seemed to begin to move beneath me as the voice that was once a cry from the mountain top now seemed to fill the very cave where I was laying. Suddenly, as if a lightning bolt was shot down from the sky, the cave was filled with the brightest light I had ever experienced. It was an intensely pure white light, but it also had every color of the rainbow in it. It was then that I realized who was crying out these words of living power. These words of praise and worship were not coming from the top of the mountain as I had previously believed, but instead, they were coming from within the very same cave where I was being held captive. The voice that was crying out praise into the darkness was not from another man, but rather, it was from “The One” who was living in me!
My eyes were fully open now as I praised and worshiped my God. The walls of the cave transformed before my very eyes and became walls of gold. The stalactites and stalagmites that once were shadows in the darkness now had become pillars of fire. Where the mouth of the cave once stood there appeared to be a throne, and on that throne sat a King. He smiled as He watched me sing praises to Him, my eyes fixed upon His gaze. The light that had suddenly filled the room seemed to be pulsating from within me. Every word I spoke in praise and adoration to my King seemed to shoot lighting and fire from the very cells of my body. It was as if I had become a nuclear fusion reactor, and I was going high order! What once had appeared to be ominous and vicious beasts in the darkness of the cave, now appeared to be small, frightened rodents scurrying from the light that was exploding from my body. It was vaporizing them on contact, and there was no place for them to hide.
When the throne room experience came to an end, I looked around and the cave was once again empty. It was still dark outside and the path still appeared to be narrow and wrought with dangers, but instead of the torch I once carried, I now had a light that was emanating from within me that lit the way. It seemed to shine a fiery golden light that pulsed forth from within me with every beat of my heart. My body no longer felt any pain, but it was instead now energized as if I could run forever without ever becoming weary again. I looked up at the path towards the top of the mountain, and I heard a voice behind me say “I will always be with you. I will go before you, and I will be behind you. Keep your eyes fixed on Me, and one day soon you will hear me say, ‘Well done my good and faithful servant, come, be blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” I turned my face to “The One” who went before me, and I regained my footing along the narrow path.
When you are feeling tired, sick, lonely or depressed and the enemy seems to be surrounding you in a dark and cold place, remember that the light of Christ comes from within you, and praise and worship releases that light into the world. We are next generation warriors in the army of Christ, so we no longer need to carry a flame externally because the fire of the Holy Spirit lives within us. He is “The One” who speaks to us and gives us the words to cry out when we praise and worship our King. It will devour our enemy when we speak His word because His word is a two-edged sword that slices through the enemy with surgical precision. When we worship our King, the enemy flees, and we can walk the road set before us in confidence and without any fear. Remember that the Holy Spirit goes before us and behind us. He lives within us and guides us along our path. We need to put our trust in our King, Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.
You can read more about this and other truths by obtaining a copy of “Prodigal to Prince” by Beau Walsh at BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com.
