Faith

Highway of Holiness

by Katy Curry
01/21/16
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This is a fictional story of rededication to Our Lord Jesus Christ
Inspired by Isaiah 35:8-10 NIV

The air was thick with fear, the trees and fallen logs made for slow going and he needed to move fast. He needed to get away. He vaulted over some fallen logs and ran, ran as hard as he could; his breath coming out in ragged gasps. 

“Bad, Bad, LeRoy Brown, Was the baddest man…..”

Matt sat up with a start reaching blindly for the cell phone. His heart was pounding; he was covered in a cold sweat, felt it dripping down his back. He sort of remembered the dream, he remembered the terror that had crept up his spine.

Finally his fingers closed over the phone. Hullo?”

“Matt. It’s Frank, from church. Listen man, we need to talk…”

“Hey Frank. Listen, I just woke up, I’m late. I gotta go. I’ll give you a call later.” Matt cut Frank off with a promise he did not intend to keep. Church. No time for it.
“Sure, Matt, but don’t forget.” Frank’s voice belied the frustration he felt at Matt’s avoidance.

“No problem. Call you later.” Matt replied without thought and hung up. He looked at the time, 10:46 AM. He could sleep for another hour; and let himself fall back onto the sheets that used to be white but were now grey. He caught the sour smell of sweat, body odor and knew he needed to put fresh ones on the bed. Maybe tomorrow, if he thought of it. He was back asleep in moments.  The dream began again; this time, Pastor Frank was running alongside of him.

“Hey, what’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be doing ‘church stuff”?” Matt asked.

“Ain’t no more church, Matt,” Frank panted. “Some monster out of hell devoured it. It’s gone, I called you, remember?”

“I remember, I was tired, haven’t been sleeping, keep having this dream … watch that log” and they both leapt over it.

“Beast from hell? Sounds like what ‘s behind us,” Matt panted as the roar of an ungodly being rang through the woods. It was hungry, hungry for souls. “I can’t run much longer, we need a tree, a big one.“ They saw one in the distance and made for it with all the strength they had. As they sat on the branch the creature burst into the clearing; it presented the most terrifying sight either man had ever seen. It was a dull greenish-gray like sick Spanish Moss. Tendrils that ended in sharp pincers dangled from it as did to octopi arms with suckers on the inside and eyes on the outside. It’s mouth was a circle with rows and rows of sharp dagger-like teeth. It was six feet tall and almost twice as long. It was the ugliest fearsome thing they had ever seen.

“R-R-OU-WGH-R!"

The sound was furious, loud. It hurt their ears and the evil behind it spit right into their souls.

“What is that thing?” Matt whispered.

“Do you remember what I talked about when we last met?” Frank asked.

“About the highway? Yeah, you called it something … the, holiness, that when we got to it we would be safe. You were talking about salvation.”

“Yeah, that’s right, the Highway of Holiness, from Isaiah.” I explained that as you drew closer to God, Satan would attack to keep you from that Highway of Holiness. You don’t get it. You’re so close and Satan is after you. You must be something special because he has set his beast after you. You’ve been called, in a very big way.
“Your mother dreamed she was in hell; saw the people, heard their screams, felt their despair and hopelessness. Now it’s your turn. This is your wakeup call. WAKE UP!!!!”

Matt sat up with a start. He looked at the time, 10:53.

He sensed the malevolence; there was a smell, brimstone? “It’s time to see Frank.” He decided and began toward the shower; caught the flash of movement, a tail? Then the growl, so familiar….from his dream! Something told him to get down on his knees yet he continued toward the bathroom.

“DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!” The force knocked him backward. He fell to his knees just as the demonic beast jumped toward and over him, tendrils and octopi arms reaching, eyes staring, mouth agape, teeth grinding.

He prayed to God; "Father, I messed up. I got it right when you got my attention before, you blessed me I got a great job, I let myself get distracted. Jesus! I am so sorry! I confess my back-sliding, I knew
it was wrong, but it seemed so easy. Take me back, save me from th is thing! I want to come back and this time I will do it right!" His prayer continued from his heart, words unrecognizable as the Holy Spirit
took over. When he finally sat up on the floor, the satanic beast was gone. There was a sweet smell in the air, as if he had scrubbed the whole place, washed everything clean. Then he sensed a peace, that
peace that can only come from God, that surpasses all understanding. God had heard his rededication prayer and had answered him. He knew what he had to do.
Matt stumbled back into the bedroom, picked up the cell phone and dialed.

“Frank? Yeah, man, I’ll be right there. We need to talk.”