We've heard it said that "there's always a calm before the storm," but I also believe the reverse must be true. The only reason we experience storms is because the atmosphere is swirling with unbalanced forces, and a storm is necessary to bring the forces in the atmosphere back to a place of equilibrium. The same laws have played out in human history through countless wars. Two or more opposing military forces clash, blood is spilled, economies are shaken, and eventually--even if it takes a hundred years--a compromise is made, and a relative peace between nations is established. You can even think about something as simple as the last time you sneezed. Your body sensed there was something it needed to get rid of or adjust, there was a pressure build up in your sinuses, you sneezed, and your body reached a sort of equilibrium again. This phenomenon we observe both in nature and in the nations all points to a greater truth of what can be known about God and His relentless pursuit of reconciliation with a creation that turned both their faces and their hearts away. If we can begin to scratch the surface of what this entails, I think many hearts are going to be unlocked and softened to the heart of God, just as mine was after Jesus showed me this vision that left me absolutely undone. I pray that this truth gets buried deep and will produce abundant fruit in your life.
That One Peculiar Day at Church
Spring of 2019, I attended my usual Sunday night service in Dallas where I heard someone preach that I had yet to see preach before. I had seen him lead worship many times, but seeing him preach was a first, and you could tell he was a bit uncomfortable, as this was out of his normal sphere, but he was determined to preach the message the Lord put on his heart, no matter how how strange it was going to sound to the attentive audience of hundreds, both in the room and online.
I came to church that evening at a pretty low point in my life. I was ravaged by spiritual and natural warfare to an extent that I had never experienced before. It was demonic, and it was tiring. My peace had left me. It was in that season that I learned way more about demons than what I'd liked, but I learned some of the greatest ways we can stand against the schemes of the devil, what they are, and above all, I was given a level of understanding about the body and blood of Jesus that I'm still learning how to walk in every day. Needless to say, I did not expect what I experienced after one of the oddest, but one of the most powerful messages I've ever heard.
This man stood and preached a message about a dream he had (I'll recall it to the best of my ability). In this dream, he and a preacher friend were preparing to attend a wedding, but the groom wanted to meet with them before the wedding. They arrived at the hotel where he was staying, the person at the front desk gave them the number of his room, and they went to go knock on the door. Jesus then opened the door, wearing a bath robe, and He looked so excited to see them, and even more excited that it was His wedding day--a day He had been waiting for for eternity. He invited them in, and after talking with them for some time, He paused and said "Hey, can I show you something?" (and this is the part where it gets a little strange. The speaker warned that this is only a message for the mature and to put your heart in the right place). Jesus then very slowly shook off His robe, and His skin was exposed, inch by inch--every laceration, bruise, and scar being uncovered one by one--until the robe was on the floor and all you could see was His exposed, beaten body. In awe, the two preachers slowly circled around His body. Tears filled their eyes as they caught a vision of the Lamb that was slain. They heard the story their whole lives, but never in their wildest imagination did they expect His body to look as marred, torn, and mangled as the way it did.
The speaker, voice cracking and a hand over his face, then referenced the verse in Isaiah 52, which says: "[For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him.] His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s, and His form beyond that of the sons of men." Because of that dream, he understood what that verse meant for the first time, seeing it literally embodied in front of him. However, the audience was covered in silence. There were some other parts of the dream that sounded a bit inappropriate, which made people cringe and call to question the validity of the dream, which any rational person would be expected to do, of course. Meanwhile, I was in the back of the auditorium, weeping profusely, and I did so for hours. The Lord took that man's message, and translated it to my ears and to my heart, and it took me to a deep place in God I never knew I could experience. My friends saw me and were confused, that is, until I explained what the Lord showed me just moments befor.
The Vision
In this vision, I found myself standing only a few feet from Jesus, who was on His knees, head down, and hunched over a whipping post. Behind Him was a Roman guard with a cat of nine tails in his hand. In horror, I watched the guard raise his whip, and slash Jesus across the back. Pieces of flesh didn't just tear, they flew into the air. "NO! No, please!" I cried out. My cries blew into the wind. He stayed silent and still. He didn't fight back or defend Himself. I was perplexed, and almost offended at this level of humility being demonstrated. The guard lifted his arm again, and as he was coming down with it, time came to a standstill. The frame froze. Jesus then turned His head toward me and said "I did this so that you could walk in peace." I couldn't believe it. Why would ANYONE go through such great lengths just so I could walk in peace? It didn't seem fair. But this is His heart.
After He said that, I felt cut to the heart. It begged the question, "If He paid such a high price for me to walk in peace, then why am I not walking in it?" All at once, I felt dumbfounded. Then, a verse rang out in my spirit at the end of this vision; one that never stood out to me until now:
"....The chastisement for our peace was upon Him..." (Isaiah 53:5).
I think most people know that earlier in the verse, it says "He was bruised for our iniquities" or the part after, that says "by His stripes, we are healed," but hiding in plain sight was something that was just as profound, crying out to be discovered, and I couldn't un-see it. It kept playing out in real time, right before my eyes, therefore, I wept, and wept, and wept. It was one of the most tragic and most beautiful displays of love and humility that I have ever seen. It's haunting.
Unusual Times Call for Unusual Peace!
Right now, a nearly invisible force is causing every nation to reel and sway like drunken men. People's worst nightmares are becoming a reality. Death, lack, isolation, fear, and uncertainty have gripped the hearts of many. However, the word of God says that "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). What is happening now has happened before. God saw this storm coming many, many years before it came--before He even created man, and He already made a way for us to walk in supernatural peace. Only He can provide it. His Spirit is directly opposed to the spirit of fear, and has the power to create within us a sound mind (2 Timthoy 1:7). One word from God can bring order into chaos (Genesis 1). The same Jesus who confronted a severely demon-possessed man who lived among the graves and put him in his right mind before all the people, is the same Jesus who is alive today (Mark 5). The same Jesus who told the wind and the waves "Peace, be still," when the disciples' boat was about to be capsized, is the same Jesus who is alive today (Mark 4:39).
The great news (and it is great news indeed) is that if you are in Christ, Paul says that "...we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom we also have access through Him by faith into this grace with which we now stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2). Then, to the Ephesians, Paul defines "peace" from a more diplomatic perspective in speaking to the Gentiles who have given their hearts to the Lord, saying:
"Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity" (Ephesians 2:12-16).
The word for peace Paul uses is "eirene" which according to Strong's concordance, means "a state of national tranquility, as in an exemption from the rage and havoc of war." We see here that peace is not just a feeling--it's an ever active and functioning reality as a direct result of what Jesus accomplished by a deliberate act of His will, which was laying down His life, descending into the deepest parts of hell, then ascending to the highest heights as rightful King on His throne. Mankind started a war with their Creator. Jesus, coming in the form of a man, finished this war and started a new covenant with those who would believe in Him and follow Him. His broken body is our peace-deal--our contract of reconciliation--between man and God. The only terms of this new contract are that we believe in Jesus, walk in His Spirit, and to love Him wholeheartedly (Romans 8:2, Galatians 5:14).
There is still so much more that could be said, but I'll leave it to God to reveal it to you Himself. It's part of the fun! But I'll leave you with this reminder, which is one of the last statements Jesus comforted His disciples with before He went to the cross:
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
The Secret Girl
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