A Faith that Sustains Us
Hi Friends,
I hope you are well. I am writing about a vision I received just yesterday morning. It concerns trouble, or persecution, and being steadfast in faith.
This morning as I was praying, I opened my Bible to this scripture. I believe that it speaks of the carefulness we need to have regarding our hearts and what he would have us know about this vision.
"Oh Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. Oh Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands - if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe - then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust." Psalm 7:1-2
The Vision in Seven Parts
1. First I see a woman to my left. She is wearing a full, ankle length jean coat, which flares out from the waist to the floor. The coat has been badly abused, tattered, and its ends and hemline frayed. Four inches have been ripped off the hem on the left side of the coat. She herself looks very solemn, looking straight ahead, she walks in front of me and turns to her left and continues to walk away with her back towards me.
I see that the coat has been pulled down off her shoulders, and would fall off her body if it were not for her arms, bent at the elbows and splayed slightly outward. The coat drags the ground, I see that it is filthy; its finish is worn away. its style is like that of a dress coat, that you might wear over a full length gown, however, denim is a casual fabric, not for the purpose of formal wear. Denim is also made of cotton, certainly not for warmth.
The woman herself, appears to have been through a lot. Her hair is short, but unkempt. The scene depicts, or suggests there was a previous struggle, and abuse, and at the same time a quiet determination on the woman’s part to continue moving forward.
2. Next, I see a dark form of a person approaching me. He keeps his body low to the ground in a somewhat of crouched position as he moves towards me. In his hands are black straps which are attached to a two-piece container. The container is like two halves of a clam-shell, only made of molded fiber-glass, about 6” in diameter. This person tries to bind my legs together with the straps, but does not get the job done.
3. Then I see a blond haired young man, taking a black backpack from the trunk of a car, which I believe is mine. He places the backpack on his back, as if he were in preparation for an important task. There is a sense of authority and purpose behind his movements.
I believe the young man is an angel, that has been given a task or mission to carry out. The black backpack may represent the burdens for which we have been praying. These burdens carried to the Lord in prayer, I believe are now to receive answers. The Lord moves mountains for us. He dispatches his angels to fight and win His battles against the wicked one.
4. Next I hear a voice saying, “ What I am telling you….” This is an incomplete thought. But the Lord, wants us to seek him for the deeper things. The vision speaks, but through the Holy Spirit and by prayer, we receive his communication.
5. The next part of the vision shows a left foot with a grey sock. It is seen at eye level. The color grey can represent, old age, ashes, destruction, mourning, and sorrow. It can also represent repentance and purification. The grey sock is on a single foot. Where is the other foot? The pair has been separated - it is not with its mate.
6. Then, I see a newspaper with an article entitled “Jill” and then somehow it changed to “Jenny.” This was interesting to me, I had no idea what this might represent. At first I thought that Jill and Jenny were political, or television personalities. I even considered the possibility that they were a “couple.” But I decided to look up the meaning of both names. I was surprised to find that “Jill” and “Jenny,” were names given to mean a female of a species. A jill is a female ferret. A jenny is a female bird or donkey. So I continued reading.
A ferret is a carnivore, related to the weasel or European polecat. As a noun, It has a second meaning: “an active and persistent searcher.” As a verb, “to ferret” means: “to find and bring to the light by searching.”
The word “jenny” is commonly used to describe a female bird: the “jenny wren.” I usually think of the noble qualities of birds: the faithfulness of a bird keeping her eggs warm. The diligence required to search for bugs to feed her hungry brood. And the courage it takes to force her young from the nest, to teach them to fly.
However, when I looked up information regarding the wren, I found the bird’s lifestyle to be a caricature of the modern American “family.” This is what I found: both the male and the female are not monogamous. (In contrast, the noble swans have but one partner for life.) The female sits on the eggs faithfully until they’ve hatched. But shortly after feeding them for only a few days, she may leave the nest behind, in search of another mate. She probably became bored with the endless chirping and begging for food, so she left the care of her young ones to her partner to manage. The male of the species, tries to encourage a female wren, by fabricating 3 or more nests in different settings from which she can choose. She decides whether it is better under the shelter of the eaves, or in the cozy hollow of a tree. Perhaps a man-made wren house is to her liking. She chooses the one which suits her, and then goes about furnishing the interior of the nest with a soft lining. Does this lifestyle remind you of someone?
A donkey is a domesticated ass, Equus asinus. It also means, “a stupid or obstinate person.”
So a jenny donkey is a female ass - someone who is both stupid and/or obstinate. This is certainly not a compliment.
When I regard the vision of the article in the newspaper, entitled “Jill” and then changing to “Jenny.” I see something, quite sad. It depicts a person who is a diligent seeker of the Lord, a jill, who later, by temptation of the flesh or by false teaching, or believing lies, walks away from God to follow her own desires.
How often in the New Testament, did the Lord, and the apostles, lead by the Holy Spirit, write to warn us of apostasy and backsliding? How often did they warn us about false teachers, or gospels that are not gospels at all.
”But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them .....Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.” 2 Peter 2:1-3
“You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.” (to the Church at Pergamum.) Revelations 2:14
“Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” (to the Church at Thyatira) Revelations 2:20
Notice the themes - sexual immorality and idolatry. These are New Testament quotes. The warning is to the churches.
We should be like a Jill, who is an active and persistent searcher. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
“O God, you are my God, earnestly l seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1
7. The last piece of the vision shows a plant in a terracotta pot, that is stringy, and is losing its leaves. It was not getting the water or sunlight it needed. A plant becomes stringy when it seeks sunlight but does not find it. And a plant can lose its leaves when the plant fails to find water. We can become unhealthy spiritually, and even physically, when we lack the “light of life” and when we do not have the “living water” that the Lord provides.
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” Psalm 1: 1-3
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12
The Lord supplies us with water: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
What I believe the vision means:
If we see the vision in its entirety, we can see that, our “born again,” new life in Christ, may start out, full of sunshine. We are pleased with new found friends at Church, and by experiencing the presence of the Lord. But as time goes by, we can become like the seed sown on a rocky place, that the Lord speaks of in his Parable of the Sower and the Seed. “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” Matthew 13:20-21
The woman in the first part of the vision, I believe represents the church. She has been abused, and persecuted. Yet, with quiet reserve, so has decided to continue moving forward with God. Even though persecution comes through people, some well-intentioned and some with downright evil intent, we must remember that our true enemy is not flesh and blood but the devil and his demons. Jesus instructs us to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:44-45
The black form of a person in the second part of the vision was a demon who tried to bind me with black straps, attached to an open container. The demon would like to fill the open container with something that I have. What do we have that he wants? Our love and devotion to God? Our ministry? Our health? Our prayer life?
Thank you Jesus that in spite of his efforts, he was not able to bind me. And, I pray that he will not bind any of you.
The man with the backpack I believe represents angels who are authorized to deal with the demonic entities that come to attack and bind believers. God give us authority to bind and to loosen. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19 The angels are dispatched when the Lord gives his command.
The foot with the grey sock, I believe represents wisdom. (Grey hair is representative of the wisdom that comes with age.) We cannot stand on wisdom alone, for the wisdom of man is foolishness to God. How often are people lead astray by the wisdom of man. We have atheism, existentialism, Mormonism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam along with many more philosophies and man-made religions. These give people a false sense of security.
But one cannot stand on one foot for long. They will not stand before God: “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Psalm 1:5-6
We need to make our foundation sure - that foundation is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, he is the one and only true God. He is the rock upon which we stand.
If our foundation is not sure, if our faith is not genuine, when persecution comes, we will not stand. We must clothe ourselves, not with the wisdom of man, but with the power of God, that comes from having a real, and active relationship with the Lord.
We must become seekers of God, like the jill ferret. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
The part I reserved for last is the voice that said, “What I am telling you….” I believe that God reveals his plans, his thoughts as we seek him. I never want to say, “Thus saith the Lord.” Because this comes with certain doom: “Then the Lord said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘’No sword or famine will touch this land.” Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine.’” Jeremiah 14:14-15
So, please take everything I share with you to prayer. If something doesn’t agree with your spirit, please ask the Lord to show you the truth and share with me your thoughts. I appreciate your desire to read, and I encourage you always to pray. Be blessed!
