The whole city was on alert, and people yelled as they ran past me, “Get out of here! There is a tornado coming!!” Immediately a deep and penetrating fear struck my soul and left me paralyzed as I watched the last people evacuate a gray and colorless city. For a moment I just stood there and stared at the bleak and empty buildings that surrounded me. Something about the situation seemed distorted and unnatural, and the sense of fear I had exceeded the gravity of my situation. Then from the core of my being a sense of anger began to well up, and I spoke to the air of the empty street I stood in, “NO… I am NOT afraid of death.” At that moment I turned to look deep into the heart of the city where I saw a whirling cyclone descend from a sheet of dark clouds above.
The cyclone looked like a giant pillar whirling with clouds from the sky, and its cylindrical shape from top to bottom seemed decidedly unnatural. While I pondered about the unusual nature of the cloud formation, several beams of light shot from the sky around the sides of the pillar to the ground – confirming my suspicion that it was in fact unnatural. Even though the cyclone was miles away from me I had the distinct sense that it was ‘watching’ me from afar. Again my spirit rose in anger as I squared my shoulders against the adversary of my soul, and I identified him saying, ‘SATAN’. The cyclone then responded by moving towards me at a rapid pace. Standing my ground I watched as the pillar approached me, prepared if necessary to meet my death. The cyclone enveloped my body for a moment – and then disappeared without a trace, leaving me standing alone and at peace.
When I awoke from the dream I had a new understanding of the tactics that SATAN uses to control and manipulate us. Oftentimes SATAN will package a spirit of fear in legitimate circumstances around us – and like a virus attached to an email we accept it into our lives. The moment we have accepted that spirit of fear, we can be controlled into doing his will without even realizing it. It is important for us to realize that even though God has called us to use wisdom and common sense in interpreting the events that are going on around us; we must not rely on our own understanding over God. The moment we bow to the altar of our own understanding over the Holy Spirit is the moment we have given SATAN a foothold into our lives. Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.”
In my dream it was only through the Holy Spirit that I knew something was awry with my situation, even though my mind had a very different interpretation of the surroundings. Regardless of what is going on around us, we must NEVER allow ourselves to make decisions out of a spirit of fear. Sometimes we can confuse a spirit of fear with the leading of the Holy Spirit, because they are both supernatural sources of insight. One source however is demonic, and to distinguish between the two it is important to remember that, “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” -2 Timothy 1:7 Before making any decisions in haste, it is always good to take a quiet moment between ourselves and God – and make sure that fear isn’t a motivating factor behind our actions.
When we understand that a spirit of fear really IS trying to motivate us – a decision to resist will almost always be met with a test! As in my dream, almost all fears that we have are rooted in the fear of death. If death is the worst possible outcome of any situation, and we are NOT afraid of it – then SATAN really can’t have that strong of an influence on us. Scripture tells us that JESUS died to free us from the fear of death saying, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” –Hebrews 2:14-15 Because of what JESUS has done for us, we should no longer fear death!! Having that confidence produces a great boldness in us, and like the Apostle Paul we can declare over ourselves, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” –Philippians 1:21
