Sword Fighting. pt1

God has been stirring me up a lot this past month to get myself ready for what is to come. I'll write a few posts in this topic. A few nights ago I woke up from a terrible dream, and shook my husband awake to recount what I just saw to him. "There was a lion... and it absolutely DEVOURED .... and... it was so terrible..." I whimpered. Felix quickly assured me that this fearful dream was not a dream from God and I can just reject it. All the right things to say. Sounded good, but then, as I fully awoke to the new day, clarity came to that dream and we both quickly decided that this was in fact a prophetic dream, urging me and whoever may hear it, to get their act together and prepare for some serious sword fighting.

The dream goes like this:

I was back at ministry school, and I was told that the day would be a day for the ladies, where we would talk girl stuff, learn makeup tutorials, and be ministered to as daughters and as women. Excitedly, I ran from house to house to gather all of my best friends from my ministry school times... Chloe, Elle, Bianca... a typical response that you would find in me in reality.

On the journey there, I overheard two leaders in my life discussing two other students and praising them. I quickly became jealous and discouraged that it wasn't me that they were talking about, feeling small, and wondered what I should do to become great. But I quickly remembered Jesus´ words that the greatest is always the most humble and childlike. Realising my error in being jealous, I quickly pushed the matter to the side, remembering truth, and continued on toward my friends. Upon arrival at the church building, I saw a crowd that had just been dropped off by two or three bus loads. They were all ministry school students. Men and women, because the men had come to serve and bless the women. But the building looked so desolate and barren. It was grey concrete and looked like a scene from an abandoned church in a war zone in the Middle East, where Christians are persecuted. The next thing I noticed was a large lion that had everyone awfully captivated. I soon realised that this was no "Aslan" or "Lion of Judah" but a ferocious, wild animal that wanted blood. At this point, I remember holding up a toy lion infront of my face, knowing it was probably a useless attempt to survive, but at least might distract the lion from me. The people were terrified, and slowly backing away. Then one man, rather impulsively, stepped forward to command the lion to back off. The lion leapt toward the man and began to attack him. We were all terrorised by what we saw. The lion then shape-shifted into a tall, lanky, criminal looking man with super strength. I watched as he kneed the male student in the gut so violently that it brought the man to the ground.

I ran into the church to hide, not necessarily feeling safe even in there, but at least out of sight for a time. I helped girls get into the church. I saw one sulking friend lean on the door "what's all this fuss about?" She complained, and leant on the door in indifference. "Alice (Using a different name), GET INSIDE THE CHURCH RIGHT NOW!" Smacking some realist sense into her,I got her inside as well. But then thought, "what a coward I am! I should be out there fighting!"

So I went outside again, and pulled out a sword. I was perhaps 100 meters away from the lion / man who now had a knife at the throat of the male student. I knew it was a useless attempt with the sword because of the distance, but then I thought, "what a fool I am. I don't even know how to use this. I'll end up dead" In the mean time, the creepy man / lion had dragged the doomed male student away, under the building in a parking lot. I could hear the intense sound of his torturous treatment from inside the church.

CREEPY, RIGHT?

But as I awoke, a scripture came to mind: "Be well balance and always alert, because your enemy, the devil, roams around incessantly, like a roaring lion looking for it's prey to devour. Take a decisive stand against him and resist his every attack with strong, vigorous faith". 1 Peter 5:8-9.

The footnote in my passion translation states that "the implications the context is that if you do not bring your worries and cares to God, the devil will use depression and discouragement to devour you..." There's more there, but I'll let you read it. Interesting that he brings discouragement and depression into that context, because that was (discouragement) an emotion I really felt in the moment where leaders were praising other students infant of me.

But there's a deeper issue here. One we need to talk about.

I could't use my sword.

Read on