Testimonies

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Several years ago, I had a vision that I did not clearly understand at the time. Looking back, it is easy to see how prophetic that vision was for me. I would like to share it with you because I believe it is something we can all relate to in some way, some of us more than others. And it is my prayer that it will strengthen you wherever you are today.

I was standing in a deep valley. That valley was so full of briers and tangled masses of thickets that I could not see beyond them. I felt very alone and helpless, even hopeless. Isn’t it true that when our lives are in shambles, it is hard to see beyond the moment?

Suddenly, Jesus was there and said simply, “Follow Me.” In my mind, I really believed that He was going to take one big step and be out of that mess, that I would follow Him in faith, and that the two of us would be miraculously standing in a clearing where birds sang and the morning sunlight reflected gold off the still waters. Maybe He would even give me a cool glass of water and a plate full of fish and/or bread. Wouldn’t that have been nice?

But that’s just not the way it worked. He stepped into the midst of the briers and walked determinedly through them. I was just glad He knew the way out, because I certainly did not. But I must confess that I did not appreciate His way of getting us out of there. I mean come on, He’s Jesus; He could blink His eyes and deliver me from that mess. But, in His wisdom, He did not do so.

The key point here is that I was there and I was there for a purpose, but that I was not alone there. I had to go through that and the only way out was through dogged determination and the faith to believe that I was not alone in it. He IS the Way. Psalms 139:7-10 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Hours upon hours seemed to have passed. My flesh was burning and itching from the many brier cuts I endured. I was sweating profusely and it stung as it poured down into the cuts. I was crying, but it was almost as though He could not hear me. However, He turned to look back at me occasionally and I could see the compassion in His face for me. Then He would turn back around and keep forcing His way through the briers. Finally, when I thought I couldn’t stand another cut, I cried out “It hurts! Oh God, it hurts so bad!”

He stopped only long enough to tell me that we were almost through the thickets, to keep going and not give up. “...Just a little further now. We’re almost there.” I thought that surely we would go just a little further and then we would reach the clearing. But that’s why I have to not lean on my own thoughts or understanding. We did reach the outer border of the thickets, just as He’d said we would. But we got through them only to have come to an impossibly steep cliff. There was not what I thought it would be.

I could see the totality of the valley then. There were no clearings, only thickets. It stretched very, very far and was enclosed in steep cliffs. There was no way out but to climb the cliff in front of us. My hands were so bloody from trying to protect my face from the briers we had walked through. Blood poured from the cuts on my arms and legs. I was thirsty and ached all over. I just wanted to rest a while. And I thought we would rest. But again, I had leaned on my own understanding because, to my surprise and disappointment, He had immediately begun to climb.

On the way up that very steep cliff, I struggled to find rocks solid enough to use for pulling myself up or bracing my feet on. Some fell apart in my hands and/or under my feet. I was barefoot and my feet were already bloody and swollen. The falling rocks scraped against my wounds, opening them even further. Some of the sharper ones cut new wounds. I could hardly feel my hands anymore. The muscles in my arms and thighs burned white hot. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold up my own weight. And the farther we climbed, the steeper the cliff became.

We’d been trudging through the briers from early morning to afternoon. We had been climbing the cliff during the heat of the day, from early afternoon to near sundown. “Exhausted” is hardly explanatory. Then, about 3/4 of the way up the cliff, I made a huge mistake. I looked down. Why do we do that? Why do we look down at the size of our past troubles or at how far we have to fall, rather than up at the One who is able and so very willing to deliver us from them? They become overwhelming when we look at them. All I know to tell you is to keep your eyes on the I Am, who was and is and is to come. He is far greater than our troubles.

Nevertheless, I was terrified. He immediately stopped climbing, as though He knew I was in trouble. He grabbed hold of my arm to steady me and looked me firmly in my face. He told me very plainly, “Keep your eyes set on Me and follow Me.” Then He immediately turned around and kept climbing.

I wanted Him to say “Just a few more feet.” But He didn’t. He didn’t lie to me and tell me that the climb was getting easier. It wasn’t getting easier. It got harder and harder. And just as I was sure I was doomed to fall to my death, I reached up for a rock and grabbed hold of grass. I hung there. I simply did not have the strength left to pull myself over the top, which was no longer just a steep, vertical climb, but even leaned outward and over me.

I closed my eyes. The tears that had been flowing most of the day were all dried up on my face. I couldn’t even cry anymore. Oh, how I recall the time in my life when I felt completely cried out. I was even afraid to let myself cry for fear that my heart would simply stop beating. That is such a painful place to be. But even then, I was not alone. When we can’t cry out, God still hears the cries of our hearts. He is so very, very near to the brokenhearted. Yet, the brokenhearted often fail to realize just how close He really is. He is fully aware of every wound, both large and small, that leaves our hearts in anguish.

There, with my head dropped down and my eyes closed, hanging on by some unknown strength that was certainly not my own, I felt His strong but tender hand enclose mine. “Come on. The day is getting late.” And He pulled me over the top. I thought surely we were done. We’d walked out of the valley and climbed the huge wall. But what I found there, just beyond the edge of the cliff, was a forest.

I was beyond hopeless at that point and it took what very little strength I had to cry “Where is it? Where? Where is the peaceful place and where are the still waters? I want to rest. I want to bathe. I want to sit down with You and be comforted.”

“We’ll be there soon enough.” He didn’t say “soon,” just “soon enough.” By that time, I knew better than to lean on my own understanding. I prepared my mind for whatever painstaking walk lay ahead. But my body was so not in agreement. I just wanted to collapse. He turned and walked toward the trees. What could I do but follow Him? I was tempted to just sit down there and hope that He would come back for me later. But I looked around and there was no water, no shade unless I followed Him into the forest, no food, no shelter.

A cool breeze sifted through the forest and lightly touched my bruises and torn flesh. Though my tongue and throat were parched, I had gained a little strength to keep walking forward, to keep following Him, even though I had no idea where He was leading me. Revelation of John 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

For the first time, not leaning on my own understanding, the path through the forest was a brief one. We couldn’t have traveled more than a couple of hundred or so yards. Just as the sun began to set, we came to a gate. I didn’t know what lay beyond it, but we’d come that far. I wasn’t about to not follow Him through it. And there, just beyond the gate, was a clearing.

The grass was soft and cool under my feet. One big shade tree stood fat and lush beside a pool. He sat beneath it and patted the ground beside Himself. I sat down with Him. He cupped His hand into the water and drank from it and smiled at me. “Drink, good and faithful servant.” Then He reached into the fold of His garment and pulled out a large piece of bread. There was no plate. The Lord fed me from His own hand.

Since the day I had that vision, many things have changed. The road has not been an easy one to travel. I have had my moments of hopelessness and weariness. In moments when I was sure I needed comfort, I found that I was more in need of correction. There were moments when I questioned God’s will for my life and many, many moments when I complained. I confess that I’ve been a real whiner when it came to accepting the path chosen for me. But now, today, I’m left with both a testimony and compassion for those who are in the midst of the briers or hanging by a thread on the edge of a cliff.

Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Few there be because most of us find it much easier to just sit down in the midst of the briers, rather than to follow Him out of the midst and through them.

I tell you, The I Am is faithful. It really, truly is that simple. You’re not alone. Even now, if you cry out, He promises to hear you and I assure you He will be there before the words ever leave your tongue. Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. He has given you a little strength and He knows when to pull you up and when it is best for you that you climb. Trust Him. He is the Light unto your path, no matter how difficult the path may seem to be. He has a purpose for your life and the path you walk, a great purpose. And no matter how difficult it may seem, He will never, ever put more on you than you can handle.

My friends, I remember once calling my mother and saying to her “You always told me that God wouldn’t put more on me than I could take. But Mom, I can’t take this. I can’t.” I had fallen completely apart and all I could see ahead of me were the briers, the valley of the shadow of death. I fully expected her to comfort me. I expected her to give me some hope. I never expected her to say to me “Treava, you’re the strongest person I know.” I didn’t feel very strong. Yet, when I was at my very weakest, then was I strong. It is then that we truly learn to lean upon the Lord. It is then that He can begin the process, the long and oftentimes difficult process, of restoring our souls. And my friends, He is thorough.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Psalms 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Amen.
© Joyce Pool

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