The God of All Comfort
Hi Everyone,
I have two visions to share with you today. They are about two related but different topics. I always ask the Lord what visions I should share. Some are for me alone, and others are to be shared. These are both.
The Visions
The Neck Pillow
In the vision, I saw a crescent shaped neck pillow. On the fabric perpendicular to the horizontal seam was a tiny red thread, about ¼” in length. It was not sewn or attached to the pillow, but simply resting on the surface.
There were many expressions that came to mind when I saw the pillow. They were all about necks and heads. Here are a few that passed through my mind:
“Don’t lose your head over it.”
“He’ll have my neck for this.”
“It’s your neck or mine.”
“Don’t stick your neck out.”
Heads will roll!”
“Keep your head in this situation.”
Most of these show the importance of protecting oneself. “To lose your head,” can mean to be out of control, where as “keep your head,” means to maintain self control. “Don’t stick your neck out” has the connotation of “don’t risk your security, lay low, don’t say a thing.” “He’ll have my neck for this.” means, I could lose my job, or my position for whatever I did.” But these saying all stem from the idea of capital punishment, to literally lose one’s head.
I believe that the neck pillow in the vision represents something that we put our trust in: our talents, our abilities, our relationships, our possessions, our money, our beauty or strength, and anything that we hold dear about our personal body, our life or our lifestyle. It represents our egos, our livelihoods, our identity, our loyalties, everything that we consider so valuable that we would “die” without it. The pillow is our comfort, it is the first thing we go to in times of trouble.
The tiny red thread is like a blemish on our view of ourselves. It does not belong to us, for it is not attached, but it clings to us. This could be a false story, or gossip that concerns us, one that spreads like a wildfire. It could represent sin, for it is the color red. It is small, but it is seen nonetheless, because of its contrast to the fabric. It looks so small, couldn’t we simply over-look it? Could we move on and ignore it? Is this so small as to be considered unimportant? But it is still there nonetheless. We know it’s there; God knows it’s there.
As I was praying about the vision, I asked the Lord to show me a passage in the Bible as to its meaning. So he gave me this:
“For God has not called us for impurity, but for holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” 1 Thessalonians 4: 7-8
What I believe that God is saying is that sin is sin - even if it seems small, nearly imperceptible, yet God sees it. He does not want us to disregard what he bothers to point out. This is one reason that we are given the Holy Spirit, so that when we sin, the Holy Spirit gives us a nudge - a thought - “That wasn’t right!” We can be so moved as to repent immediately. However, if we don’t repent right away, the Holy Spirit will keep on reminding us, convicting us of the sin, until we say: “Oh my! I’m sorry. I sinned, I should not have entertained that thought. Please forgive me!”
We are blessed to live in the New Covenant age, to have the Holy Spirit indwell us and cause us to repent of our actions, words or thoughts that are not right. “Lord, please forgive me for being critical of someone else, for saying such a thing!”
No matter how insignificant a sin may seem to us, it matters to God. If we do not repent, but justify it as “Oh well, does it really matter?” Yes - Yes, it does matter. If instead of repenting, we let these small sins hang around, we become less sensitive to the voice of God. Eventually the Holy Spirit is so grieved, that he doesn’t want to hang around.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
As more and more sin creeps in, we become distant to God, our prayers become stale, and we no longer feel that we can come before Him. We become ashamed of ourselves and want to hide just like Adam and Eve who because of sin, hid from God.
But it does not have to remain this way. All we need to do is realize that it is sin that separates us from God. If we want to be restored to our former relationship then we should have remorse and godly sorrow for our behavior and change our minds (repent), for God will forgive us.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
The Lord paid our debt of sin with his precious blood on the cross. He redeemed us, so that we do not have to be separated from God as Adam and Eve were. Sin causes a separation from our Lord and creator. But now because of the Lord’s sacrificial death, our relationship can be restored. We can have fellowship with him.
It is so important for us to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our unconfessed sin, and help us to avoid ignoring the sin, justifying the sin, or hiding the sin. If we know it is sin, then let us confess it. Otherwise we give place to the devil, for he is the accuser of the brethren. We give him the right to pester us, when we leave the door open to him through unconfessed sin. If we want to be free, we must get right with God, repent and resolve to live for the Lord.
Jesus does not hold back, but only speaks truthfully:
“And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who overcomes will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’” Revelation 21:6-8
The Lord will forgive these sins, if we repent. Why hide them? Bring them into the light so that the devil cannot bring his condemnation and torment against us.
I thought I might interject a personal testimony, to illustrate this point.
A Black Ball
Years ago, my husband and I had an argument, and we both went to bed angry. As I lay in bed, I looked up at the ceiling and saw a huge black ball larger than a stability ball coming down towards me. I knew it was demonic, so I bound it, “in the Name of Jesus,” and commanded it to go! I knew that I needed to repent for what I had said to my husband. So I immediately apologized to him, and in turn he apologized to me. I felt greatly relieved, and was able to sleep in peace. The word says:
“‘Be angry, and do not sin.’ Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26:27
God allows us to experience the ramifications of sin, for he wants us to learn from our mistakes, and value our relationship with him. I have grown to love God more and more simply because of his faithfulness and his loving kindness towards me. It is his kindness and patience that moves upon our hearts to confess our sins, repent, and be restored to our fellowship with him.
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? Romans 2:3-5
The Gift
This revelation was a dream, not a vision, but I believe it came from the Lord. I saw a woman with a very large brown paper shopping bag with two handles. The bag was huge: about 45” W and 36” H. The top edge of the paper bag, which would normally be open, was sealed so that the woman had to tear the bag in order to remove the contents. She pulled out an extremely large pillow or cushion. It was beautiful. The pillow was covered in a hand painted silk. The design was very ethereal, soft with pastel colors flowing across its surface.
As I looked at the beautiful pillow, I thought, “This is way too big for my mother’s white sofa.”
It would only fit on a sofa that was grand in scale. Still in the dream, I imagined the sofa would have to be over 25’ long and about 5’ deep for it to be in scale as an accent pillow.
Then, I knew what the dream meant. This beautiful hand painted pillow came from God himself as a gift to my mother. He was offering her a place in his kingdom.
“In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into my presence, so that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3
It is the Lord’s hand that painted the cushion for my mother. And it is his invitation that he makes to her to believe in his son, Jesus, as her Lord, Savior, God and King. But she will have to tear the bag to receive the gift.
The bag represents the baggage that she carries as sin and unforgiveness. She has to give up and renounce all the ideologies and practices that she has embraced over time that separate her from God: reincarnation, transcendental meditation, divination, and interest in the occult.
As a young girl, my mother went forward to receive the Lord at a Christian tent meeting. When she came home to share the good news with her own mother, her mother said, “We’ll have none of this!” So that Sunday, she put my mother on a bus to take her to the Episcopal church, a respectable church in town.
Later in life, my mother started looking for God in all the wrong places. She took interest in studying astrology, following Edgar Caycee “the sleeping prophet,” Baháʼu'lláh and the Baháʼí faith, Buddhism, the New Age Movement, and what I call my sister’s practice: “hocus pocus medicine.”
When we were children she would read our horoscopes, and bring home “toys” of the occult: the Ouija board, the 8 ball, fuchu sticks, etc. We made fortune tellers from paper, and “eyes of god,” from yarn and sticks. My father hated it all. He said that my mother “flew around on her magic carpet and looked into her crystal ball.”
My Christian siblings and I have been praying for our mother for over 30 years, and now that she is 93, there is not much time left. I am praying about when to share this dream with her, hoping that she will receive it. God knows all things. Years ago, when I wanted to tell my sister that her practice was an abomination to God, he stopped me by giving me a vision, and then said, “Do not go where I have not sent you. Give her the same chance I gave you.”
So the same applies to my mother today. I must get the green light from the Lord, to share this revelation with her. And I take comforted in the Word of God, for Jesus said:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.“ John 6:44
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.” John 6:39
Because my mother went forward to receive the Lord long ago, it must have been that the Father drew her heart to Jesus. It was the enemy, who used her own mother’s fear of man, to derail my mother’s faith. And later, the enemy enticed her to open doors to false religions and ideologies. I believe that the Father will once again draw her heart to Jesus, for no one is beyond God’s reach. I believe that the Lord will answer our prayers, for he is good.
An Invitation for All of Us
The dream of the hand painted pillow represents God’s invitation to know Him. It is not just for my mother- it is for all of us and our family members. But it is in a paper bag that needs to be torn open in order to receive the precious gift of salvation and eternal life with God. We all must be willing to tear ourselves away from the things in the world that keep us from him. The Lord said:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
And James writes:
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4
These passages speak of the world as having the things that our flesh desires: material possessions and pleasures, pastimes and prideful accomplishments and titles. The enemy tempts mankind with the things of the world, things that do not last. The devil tried to tempt Jesus, while he was in his earthly body, for he became like us in the flesh, yet did not sin. He did not succumb to the temptations.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15
Jesus came because of his love for us. The world had nothing to offer him. His joy was to do the Father’s will and to know that by his sacrifice we would be reunited with him in his eternal kingdom. Prior to the Lord’s death on the cross, all who died were sent to the grave, to Sheol, until he came again to close out the Old Covenant age, raise the dead from Sheol, and usher in the New Covenant age where spiritual death is no more. Now, we and those Old Testament saints from Sheol are welcomed into heaven as our eternal home with God. This is what the Bible teaches. It is not necessarily what people have been taught by their denomination. But if you prayerfully read, and study the word of God for yourself, you will find that all has been fulfilled, and we are living in the eternal kingdom on earth and someday in heaven. We will pass from this life into the next, never having died spiritually.
Jesus spoke of eternal life with Martha:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
When Jesus says whoever lives by believing in me - he is speaking of being born again, born of the Spirit of God and living in the Spirit. Jesus said these who live “by believing in me, will never die.” He is saying the physical death does not change our position spiritually, we are in the kingdom of God now on this earth and we will continue to be in the kingdom of God after we close our natural eyes for the last time. It is merely a transition from the physical realm to the spiritual realm.
So, our true treasure is found not with earthly things, but with God in our heavenly home. God is our source for everything that pertains to life, peace, and joy. When we put him first, we will have everything, and lack nothing. The Lord is good, his words are true, and we can have fellowship with him. Hallelujah!
Please share this post with others, for we all need to see from God’s perspective, and he is more than happy to meet with us. God bless you all!
