The Turtle, the Tree, and the Rock
May 4, 2016
Today, God gave me a vision that I believe concerns the Church and our nation.
I see a large turtle with a heavy, deep shell. He is standing on his back legs with his stomach leaning against the tree. The turtle looks as if at any second, he could topple over, for he is balancing the rim of his shell on the ground, at the base of the tree, and tipping to his right. Half of his body is concealed because the tree is in front of him. Next to the turtle and to his left is a very large rock.
This is what I believe the vision means:
The turtle represents people who are concerned only for themselves. They are self directed, self protective, and determined to do things their own way. They prefer hiding out, rather than being available to God, and also hiding out to avoid sharing their blessings, provisions or possessions with another. They do not trust God.
The tree represents God’s way. A tree is upright, straight, and reaches its branches towards heaven. This tree is God’s standard of perfection, by which all men will be judged. The tree represents the way to life, and the way of life from God’s perspective. In Isaiah 61:3, God uses oak trees as a metaphor for righteousness: "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."
The rock represents steadfastness. It is immovable, it is unshakable. In this vision, I believe it represents faith and trust in the Lord.
In the vision, the turtle is just about to fall. He is off course, and off balance. He has come to this immovable tree, this standard of righteousness, with the weight of his possessions and cares of the world on his back. He fails to judge rightly, to acknowledge that God’s ways are right. He is about to realize the consequences of his self-directed waywardness. He will fall.
The vision is about the church. Too many Christians do not have the fear of God. They are more concerned for self protection, for their rights, for their possessions, and for their interests. They want to ignore God’s holy standard. Many practice sin as a lifestyle, expecting that their sin will be forgiven. Some believe that their lifestyle is not sin at all. But the truth, that God is pointing out, is that wrong thinking, or error, leads to sin and eventual downfall.
The vision is also about the current American political climate. People are allowing fear to override faith and sound judgement. People are looking to the government and especially the next president to “save our country from___________.”
God wants us not to be like the turtle, but to be like the rock. That we would instead, have unshakable, immovable faith. God wants us to trust in him, to not be moved by the events and circumstances around us. We are not to fear, "...what we are to eat, what we are to wear, for your heavenly Father knows you have need of them. You of little faith!"
If we do not turn to God, I believe there will be additional judgments. And I believe that America will fall. I know this is not a popular theme, however, I must declare what I believe, God is showing me.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God." It is a vote of no confidence (in God) when we look to the government to solve our problems, provide our food, our medicine, our education and our safety.
The turtle was being measured by God’s holy standard, The turtle was not upright, but tilting to the left. It was trying to balance. But once fallen, a turtle cannot right itself easily. Like the turtle, our nation has chosen to ignore God’s standard for righteousness.
We need to be like the rock - to stand on the word of God, to trust in his great love and to have a faith that cannot be shaken.
I want to share the wonderful way God confirmed this message to me today. I believed that it could be summarized in the passage 2 Chronicles 7:14. I wanted to look up the scripture to include it in my manuscript. So I took out my phone and did a search on Bible Gateway for "if my people...."
I then began praying and I asked God to confirm that I was understanding this vision, that I received its true interpretation. So I said to the Lord, "You can show me, even using the reading for the day, something to confirm this.” And so, I went back to my phone, clicked on Bible Gateway to see what the scripture was for today, and IT WAS 2 CHRONICLES 7:14 - the very passage I had just done a search for! I would love to have taken a picture of the screen on my phone. God really speaks to us! What an awesome God we serve!
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
The ball is in our court!
