Heavenly Realms

At times it’s hard to accept the darker truths that come by revelation through Christ, but to ignore what’s been revealed to you, or neglect sharing when prompted to, can result in far more uncomfortable circumstances. 

I was a bit hesitant about sharing this one, but I don’t believe God gave it to me to keep to myself. 

I’ve always been a dreamer, but in leaning more into my relationship with God, I’ve found that they’re more than just dreams. Some are sent as heads-up of what’s to come, some are sent to reveal truth behind what I’m physically able to see, and some are sent as warnings, urging me to fast or pray. As you may expect, they’re not always so pleasant. I love the sweet dreams that you can sort of cling to in order to get you through tough times, but as I grow I realize that there’s something special about those dreams that keep you humble or grounded, never forgetting the deeper truths behind what we physically experience daily. 

I will not share every detail of this dream,  but only what I believe is relevant to the message. As I always say, without further ado, let’s begin shall we…

I was sick this day in real life, so I had to take a break from work to rest. I ended up falling asleep in my car, that’s when God dropped this one on me.

Dream:

In the dream, I was also feeling sick. I spoke to someone else I knew who had herself been feeling similar symptoms, and she confirmed that there was someone else we also knew who had been experiencing those same symptoms. In that moment it clicked for me that what we had been feeling was an outward manifestation of what was going on spiritually around us. 

Sidebar:

In real life, I thought this, but let’s be honest, when feeling sick, the last thing you’re going to assume is that it’s spiritual.

Dream Continued…

I found myself walking through these halls until I came to an open door. Within, I saw two sides of people lined up facing each other and yelling out who they fought for. Almost like you’d see in medieval TV shows, when two kingdoms, for instance, are preparing for battle right before they charge, so they line up in front of each other yelling, and ready to attack.

One side held up crosses and chanted Jesus’ name, while the opposing side held up what seemed like pitchforks and chanted satan’s name. As I turned around to exit the room, someone from the enemy’s side tried to pull me towards them so that I might fight for them, but I fought them off and kept walking.

There was another young lady who recognized what was going on as well, she was right behind me, and I knew the same thing that just happened to me was going to happen to her, so I thought to fight for her, but I’m not sure if I was able to, that part of the dream just ended.

Explanation:

Okay, let’s get into it. After waking from my dream, I prayed and almost instantly I began to feel my symptoms subside. It freaked me out a bit, but also confirmed that what I was feeling was indeed due to what was going on beyond this realm one way or another.

God likes to get my attention in mysterious ways, so I can’t say for sure that my sickness was due to the spiritual warfare I saw in the dream. What I believe is that the symptoms I experienced served as an example of some sort.

See, when the body is sick, recognizing the unfamiliar that has entered the host, our white blood cells immediately begin to wage war against the stranger that has somehow entered in with the intent to destroy. So quite literally, when we are sick, war breaks out within. In the same way, spiritually what we may experience outwardly (Ex. exhaustion, depression, anxiety, etc.), is a result of the war that goes on beyond this physical realm.

Continued…

It’s easier to believe that there’s not a war going on in the spiritual realm because let’s be honest, that just sounds absurd. Nevertheless, it’s far more detrimental to ignore what the word of God has warned us about time and time again, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

This stuff is very much real, and I believe God is calling His people to wake up and recognize what’s really going on. It’s so beautiful and exciting that Jesus is coming back right? Absolutely! But there is so much more that comes with that than what we’d like to admit. The closer it gets to His return, the darker things will become on this earth.

In my dream, I recognized how the side of darkness was adamant about recruiting me as a soldier for the kingdom of darkness. Honestly, this made me think, as Christ followers, and soldiers in the Lord’s army, are we as adamant about recruiting more lost souls to Christ’s side as those are within the kingdom of darkness?

Granted, the majority of them—those on the side of darkness—may not quite understand exactly what they’re doing because they are ultimately victims, but with our increased discernment we understand, and recognize the need for revival in our everyday environments. So why aren’t we as adamant?

Here’s my theory:

• There are those who believe, yet are so consumed by the fight for themselves, and those who are connected to them, such as family, that they selfishly have forgotten the mission, to go out amongst ALL the world.

• There are those who revel in the sweetness of Christianity and refuse to acknowledge the spiritual war because it will put a “damper” on things.

• There are those who simply do not believe in all that “mumbo jumbo”, yet they believe in Jesus.

I believe many of us at times, including myself, forget that we’re not called to fight alone. When God brings you to a quiet place to grow, it’s not meant for you to remain there forever. At some point you have to step out of what has now become a comfort zone, and do what God has called you to do.

There’s power in numbers, I think when we begin to recognize this simple truth, we’d begin to fight differently. I’m learning that one of the most overlooked forms of waging war against the enemy is leading lost souls to Christ; its a slap in the face to the enemy.

Many of us can rebuke the walls down if you gave us a few hours alone, but would we lead those who thirst to the Living Water if given the opportunity. Usually I prefer to stay quiet unless spoken to, so prayer in the background just feels better to me, but I know that in order to do better in this area of my faith-walk, I must move a little differently than I have in the past.  Don’t get me wrong, prayer works, but it’s not the only weapon God has given us in our spiritual arsenal.