Last night, I had a very emotional dream. It was a dream that came to me in segments between times of sleep and times of being awake. In the dream, I found myself in a cave high on a tall mountain, bordering a steep and impassable cliff with no way to escape.
The dream was so emotional that I woke Jan to share with her what had happened. After my conversation with Jan, I returned to sleep, and the dream continued with its next segment.
As it is with some dreams, not everything makes sense to our natural minds. After I considered the impossibility of escaping the cave on my own, rescuers began to assemble in the cave with me. They represented words of encouragement from the Lord after I had expressed my fears and doubts to those who had assembled with me in the cave.
It was decided that the only way out was to escape by using a parachute, something I did not have. Then, two friends of mine appeared in the cave and said they knew of a company that produced mountaineering and skydiving equipment. That company then provided me with the necessary equipment to escape the cave. Then I went back to sleep until the time I woke up.
This morning, Jan came into our living room as I was beginning to read God’s word. She wanted to follow up on our conversation about the dream. She mentioned she read a word published today on The Elijah List from a friend of mine, Daniel Pontious. In Daniel’s word, he wrote, “I heard the Holy Spirit declare that there’s another sound that’s going to come from Heaven in this hour, only it’s not the sound of a mighty wind; it is the sound of chains falling! I heard the chains rattling as though they had been taken off of the feet of an entire army that had been captured by the enemy.”
After Jan shared Daniel’s word, I continued to read my Bible, reading through Isaiah. As I read Isaiah 36 and 37, another confirmation of the dream’s importance appeared. That was a third confirmation in a single day of what the Lord wants to say to those who feel trapped by their circumstances with no way of escape.
When the Assyrian army had surrounded Jerusalem, the Assyrian king’s chief of staff issued a warning to those trapped inside the city, “What is the reason for this hope you have? (36:4). “Do not let Hezekiah lie to you. For he will not be able to bring you out of your trouble” (vs. 14). This representative of the king was mocking God and dismissing the possibility of rescue.
During the night, when Jerusalem was facing impending doom, the Lord acted on their behalf, “For I will fight for this city to save it for My own good, and for the good of My servant David.” (vs. 35). Then something unexpected happened, “The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. And when men got up early in the morning, they saw all these dead bodies” (vs. 36).. After witnessing such devastation, the invading army withdrew and returned home.
When any believer feels trapped by an impossible situation – like a cave experience where there is no way of escape, God will act for His own good and for the good of those who trust Him.
In the cave of their imprisonment, they will hear the sound of the chains that bound them in fear begin to break and fall off, followed by unexpected forms of deliverance that will come to destroy the enemy’s plans of fear and bondage, setting them free.
Powerful word! Lately, whenever I’m in a situation where I feel stuck or trapped, I hear the Lord say to me “What are you looking at? Your circumstances or Me?” As soon as I hear Him say that, I look back to Him and the circumstances change, and I see the open door He’s showing me. It has led me out of many of life’s caves. Thank you, Garris, once again, for hearing the Lord so clearly, and encouraging us with it.