“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.” Isaiah 43:2-3
In this devotion I want to share a vision God gave to one of our prayer leaders here at Pawnee Assembly of God. For many, this has been a season of struggle, testing and trial. You may be experiencing this in your family, marriage, business or health. If this is you, let me give you some encouragement. You are not alone. There are so many in the body of Christ right now that seem to be going through difficult circumstances. Nobody cares to be in the seasons of endurance. You may feel as if you are in the flood or fire. If this is you, you need to know something. God is with you, and you are in the best place you can be! Now I am not in your trial. I am sure it does not feel like it is the best place. Loss, grief, anxiety and fears do not feel like the best place. Keep reading.
A few months ago, a member of our prayer team here at Pawnee Assembly of God emailed me a vision she had in one of our services. This service was during a sermon series designed to equip us with the power of praise through trials. Recently God resurfaced this vision to me, and I want to share it with you on this blog. I believe you will be encouraged just like I have been. A big thanks to Leah Wise for her permission to share this with you. Here it is...
“As I was shouting during the first song at church today, I had a vision of a river. The river overtook a Philistine looking soldier, an enemy. He looked fierce, strong and large in stature. He had heavy armor and carried weapons. The waters rushed in a strong current swirling around him and pulling him under. He was unable to surface. I knew that the river was the presence of God.”
Let me interject something right here. The Bible says that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus also said that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but He (Jesus) came to give life! We have an enemy, but we also have the victory over that enemy through Jesus. A big enemy of God’s people in the Old Testament were the Philistines. The story of David and Goliath ( a Philistine) is about David who was smaller, weaker and strongly overmatched not succumbing to the current of doubt and fear, but instead overcame the enemy with God’s help. David knew who he was with and WHO was fighting for him. The enemy looks strong because it is strong. In fact, stronger than you, but notice in this vision who is stronger. God is and His presence does something to our enemy. With all of the weapons the enemy has to fight against us, it cannot stand against the current of the presence of our God! Goliath could not stand against a small smooth stone and there is no way the Goliath in front of you can stand against the current of God’s presence. Your trust, your faith in God and who He is in the middle of your circumstance is powerful. God is with you and your enemy cannot stand against Him. The vision continues...
“Then I saw another man. He looked like a normal sized, average in stature man of 2021. He was in the same river. The water rushed over him. The man did not fight to rise to the surface as the water got deeper all around him, but he allowed himself to be immersed in the river, well below the surface. The river grew calm in the spot where he resided. He had peace and rest. He had a calm about him, like a confidence that he was in the best place. I knew in this place that God was growing him and strengthening him while doing battle on his behalf in the same river.”
The same current that takes out our enemy can appear at times that it is being used to take us out to. We pray for deliverance, healing, and answers only to be met by more turbulence and storms. The commotion that the enemy wants to use to agitate and weaken our faith is the same river that God uses to immerse us in His presence. So many times, when we feel like the current is too strong in the battle we tend to want to struggle to the surface for air. How much more can we take? We feel like we are losing the spiritual oxygen in our lungs and if we don’t make a move quickly, we will not make it. But in this vision, the man with the problems of 2021 doesn’t fight. Instead, he surrenders. As he surrenders, the river grew calm where he resided. Notice that! It is not that the storm stopped, but where the man resided with God, there was a pocket of peace. There is air, there is peace and a confidence that he will not be overwhelmed and destroyed. He had a confidence of peace knowing that he was in the best place because even though it was a river stronger than him, it was also the place there where God’s presence was growing, strengthening and doing battle for him. Get this, where we thrive, the enemy cannot survive.
If you are struggling, try something different. Surrender to God’s promises over you. Let faith replace fear and trust in the promises according to Isaiah 43:2-3. God is with you and that is the best place to be.