Isaiah 41:10 “…I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Imagine the happiest moment in your life. Think about that complete joy that no one can take away. This moment might be as quick as a few seconds, or it may be a long-lasting bliss. This moment, however long it may be, is vivid. The moment is seared into your mind and imprinted on your heart forever. Think about that moment-that moment you don’t ever want to forget.
The vivid images, intense joy, and searing impact is how this dream was, but it is utterly indescribable; capturing this dream with words will be difficult. All I know is that I can see each image as clear today as I did just over two years ago.
I felt as if I was flying. I was in an entirely different world, all alone. It was someplace above the clouds and it was beautiful. Everything was bright and sparkled. I had never seen anything so beautiful. There was a great, bright light in the distance. Something about that light added to the extreme happiness I was already feeling. I was running toward the light, even though it seemed far away. The closer it got, the faster I ran.
The strange thing was that as excited as I was to reach my destination, my body hurt. It hurt like the real life I had been experiencing. My right side literally felt on fire. My legs were about to give out and my heart ached a pain I had never experienced. I was still running a fever, unable to eat, and breathing was at times difficult. Somehow, I was able to run. I was able to do the thing I absolutely loved before I realized pain existed. My vision started to dim for a couple of seconds and then the light in the distance turned into a hand. It was Him. The hand was outstretched from the sky and I wanted nothing more than to hold it. With little energy left in me, I somehow was not just smiling, but laughing; my running pace quickly increased. It turned into my fastest sprint, like out on the track years ago.
When I felt like there was a chance of getting through the pain, I stumbled. Pain hit me harder than I ever had felt in my life and I almost fell to the ground. I felt as if my life was about to end. Instead of giving up, I looked up. At that moment I’ll never be able to put into words what I saw or felt. The Hand. It was brighter and more beautiful than ever before and was right above me. There He was! I reached up. As soon as I felt His touch, the pain instantly left my body. I woke up…
I was in my own bed, breathing heavily and my heart was pounding. I was in a strange state of shock and astonishment, but I was filled with so much peace. Pain had left my body. After months of constant pain, and mornings of waking up with excruciating pain, it was gone. His hand was right with me.
Never in my life had I felt so much joy or peace. It was like I caught a glimpse of heaven and felt that childlike joy of running into His arms at the finish. It was a glimpse of my King whom I so dearly love and the home I long for someday.
I’ll never forget that dream or how I felt upon waking up. My body has never been the same since that moment. Physically, I felt relief; emotionally and spiritually, I felt a new freedom.
God is good, and His strength and healing can come as quite a surprise. These things may last according to His timetable, and not our own, but His plans are good. His love never fails.