Week 3 in Colombia has been all about trying new things and exploring the spiritual realm in new ways. Bear with me because some of this stuff is “weird” when you first think about it, but trust me when I say this: the Lord loves to meet with us and talk to us in new ways as well as in “tried and true” methods. He promises us that we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole hearts (Jeremiah 29:13). Stepping out of your comfort zone and seeking Him in a new way than what you are used to is a prime example of this!
A huge fear of mine for a long time has been a fear of bad theology, especially concerning the Holy Spirit. While it is good to test and discern these things, I believe the Lord does not want any of us to live in fear. He wants me to trust that He can protect me from the evils in the world, including bad theology. My prayer this week was for the Lord to continue to teach me directly and protect me from people’s own interpretations about the Scriptures and what it means to have a real relationship with the Lord. In the meantime, I would continue to seek Him through any means readily available to me (meaning with my whole heart).
Tuesday night, January 22-
This month, our squad worship nights have been on Tuesdays. On this particular worship night, we spent time in imaginative prayer rather than in musical worship. Imaginative prayer is basically praying and asking the Lord to guide your imagination while also speaking through it. This sounds odd, but in my experience, it is like asking the Lord to speak to you through a really long vision. You silence the voice of the enemy and still your own mind, letting your imagination flow from one thought to the next as you are led by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, you ask questions and sometimes you get answers. The important thing to remember is that prayer is a conversation, and imaginative prayer is no different. You say something and wait for God to say something back. I know this may sound kind of sketchy, but again, I trust the Lord to protect me from bad theology. If I constantly live in fear and don’t try to experience Him in new ways for my self, I can’t grow in understanding His voice. He can encounter people and speak to them in new ways.
Most importantly, in order to know that it is really the Lord speaking to you, you MUST compare it with Scripture. The Lord will NEVER contradict Himself, so if you “see something” that is contrary to the character of God that we see clearly in Scripture, you know it is not from God.
Whatever it is, that thing is not from the Lord. Throw that whole thing away.
Some of my squad mates and I actually encountered the Lord in really powerful ways that night. Many of us had visions. It was a beautiful time, and many MANY tears were shed that night. What can I say? The Lord is beautiful and moves in beautiful ways. Allow me to take you on my imaginative journey from that night.
To start off, we found a quiet place to sit before the Lord. We asked the Lord to protect this time and speak to us. I cannot stress this enough: this is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL when seeking the Lord and His voice, especially in a new way. The enemy will try and destroy this time or pervert it for his purposes. But Jesus has all authority, so if we ask Him to protect us and our time in His presence, You better believe He will spare no expense.
After this, we literally asked the Lord to sit with us. That was when my vision started. I saw a figure sitting in front of me. The figure looked strangely familiar to me. And His mannerisms looked really familiar too! It clicked to me then that it looked like an older, slightly different version of me. So I thought to myself, “Wow! Jesus looks like me, and His mannerisms are like mine.” I thought that was a cute though at first, but then the weight of it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Do you realize the gravity of that? The Lord created us in His image. That is something we know for sure. And what’s more, I actually got to see that for myself. The more time we spend with Him, the more we begin to resemble Him. It’s not that He looks like us; it’s that we are being conformed to His image.
I asked the Lord what he wanted to talk about. I love my squad and love talking about them to anyone who has ears, so I asked, “Why don’t we talk about how much You love the people on my squad?” He answered, “Let’s start with you.” Wow. I guess I am a person on my squad, huh?
The next thing I know, I see a younger version of myself standing in my backyard at the time. I was underneath the plum tree. Sunlight poured through the top of the tree, enveloping me in a white glow. I was cradling a small bird in my hands, holding it up for it to fly away. I felt Him tell me that THIS is what He loves about me. I think, “He loves my kindness and gentleness.” I knew in my heart that this was right. That’s how I HOPE I come across, so it is so affirming to think that Jesus thinks that about me.
Eventually, my vision takes me to the Kingdom of heaven. I am in the throne room of the Lord, dancing like a wild man. I start spinning, and I hear the booming voice of the Lord laughing joyfully. Suddenly, I look around and see that I recognize some faces in God’s Holy City.
Side-note: all of these people are still alive. I wasn’t sure why this is what the Lord was showing me, but I was just going to let Him speak however He wanted to.
The first person I see is my earth dad. He doesn’t say anything. I just see love, joy, and peace all over his face. I think, “Pure bliss in reunion with my dad.” Historically, my dad and I have a history of arguing about our different views on theology. Suddenly, I felt the Lord telling me that it was all going to be ok in the end. I love the Lord, and my dad loves the Lord. We understand Him in different ways, but our faith and love for Him is genuine. We will still both end up in the same place, even if we don’t see eye-to-eye on every issue. But in the Kingdom, it won’t matter. How beautiful a thought.
The next people I see are my life group leaders, Nick and Chrissy. Man do I love these people. The Lord knows this. Probably every person I have ever met knows this because I talk about them all the time. Haha. I was overjoyed to see them there! They were standing side by side, smiling like it is nobody’s business. Again, no words. Just peace and serenity. Even now, I feel like what the Lord is saying is that at the end of it all, we will be reunited in the Kingdom. No matter how far apart we are, they are fellow workers for the Kingdom and we are all a part of God’s family. No anxiety or trouble will come upon them that they cannot face with the Lord. No matter how tough life may get, He has got them in His hand. This comforts my spirit as well.
An interruption. One of the worship leaders guides us to ask the Lord to take us somewhere else. I ask the Lord where He wants to go. He says, “No. Stay.” Again, another epiphany! I go where the Lord wants me to go. He wants me to stay with Him there in His palace.
The next person I see in my vision is my teammate, Lee. I see a figure with him as well. They both look back to me and chuckle in classic Lee-Cole-fashion (my squad mates know what I am talking about! Love it)! Both figures are about the same height and sort of resemble each other. I think at first that they are brothers, but then the reality hits me again: that’s the Lord, and the Lord looks like Lee, too! Or I guess, more appropriately, Lee resembles the Lord because he, too, was created in God’s image. I later got to share this vision with Lee, and I believe it struck a chord with him as well. How awesome that the Lord knows who needs encouragement! The encouragement He leads us to pour out onto others comes out of an overflow of our intimate time with the Lord!
As the worship time comes to an end, I am hit with one last epiphany. I saw myself spinning, dancing, and tumbling all over the Kingdom of the Lord (odd, considering I am the least graceful person on the planet and don’t even know how to tumble, but the Lord redeems our weaknesses for His glory, amirite?!), and I suddenly sense the words “gentle joy.” Immediately following that, I realize that God’s joy is gentle; it is found in a smiling face. His peace, on the other hand, is wild while still being peaceful. How funny is that? God is a God of great reversals, but I wouldn’t have guessed that His joy looks peaceful and His peace looks explosive. That’s a reversal that my brain has a hard time comprehending.
As you can probably imagine, I was WIPED after this experience. There was so much to process, and it wasn’t until this post that I feel like I’ve been able to process this fully. How great is the Lord?! He still speaks to us all the time! We just have to open our mind and realize it in order to really hear what He wants to say to us.
In all things, be blessed!
AG
