Several months ago while listening to a worship playlist, the Lord gave me an incredible vision but I wasn’t to share it at that time. I was struggling with the Lord’s timing in receiving some of His promises. And as I was anxiously waiting for the God who delivers, He graciously showed me the God who sustains. A few days ago, the Lord reminded me of that vision and revealed to me that it was time to release it.

I saw a vision from above looking down at the earth. There were pockets of beautiful sunshine and bright light that were surrounded by war and chaos. Some scenes were further away in the distance while others appeared up close. In one view I saw a person in an apartment on their knees with light surrounding him as evil filled the room. As the Lord’s Army of Angels surrounded the other pockets of land, I watched as His Angels surrounded the man praying on his knees to hold the enemy back.

Suddenly, the Lord reminded me that as He answers our prayers and His Army of Angels surrounds His people, evil will still be present. The enemy won’t be wiped out completely but will be kept at bay, a distance away. As I continued watching, occasionally flaming arrows broke through and struck the one surrounded in prayer, but the Angels ministered to him and helped him rise up again and again. He was wounded, but still stood! Then I heard You Lord call me to come up higher and rise.

I took Jesus’ hand and soared high above the clouds and found myself looking down over a vast mountain, white with snow. I then saw a small gathering of people around a fire to keep warm. The fire suddenly grew and consumed them and I was reminded that God is a consuming fire. But they were not consumed in a bad way. It was good. They were burning bright white with holy fire. They were His burning ones. As darkness rushed in to surround them, they burned brighter with eyes looking up, focused on the Lord.

These burning ones weren’t oblivious to pain and demonic attacks. They got hit but kept rising up, kept taking the next step, kept their eyes on Jesus, and kept praising Him. And they got back up faster and stronger each time. They knew where their strength came from.

Next, I saw an area of land that was bright green with flowers and vegetation. The plants looked lush, but their stems were actually weak and thin, almost like string. A strong forceful wind followed by a consuming fire came and wiped out everything.

As this was happening, a crowd formed, watching and pointing their fingers at each other, commenting on why the area was destroyed. “They didn’t have enough faith.” “They were following the wrong path.” “They didn’t hear God correctly.” “Oh too bad for them. We should pray for them”, etc… Soon, the crowd began to walk away, shaking their heads. Yet a Remnant stopped and turned to look back. Then it happened! New green sprouts of life began to push through the once destroyed land.

Suddenly, I was able to see under the ground where I witnessed their roots growing longer, thicker, and deeper in the new soil, pushing the plants above to great heights in a short amount of time. The stems were stronger and the shoots and branches stretched far and wide as the plants began to bloom.

The Remnant tried to call back the crowd of naysayers, but they refused to even turn around and acknowledge the new growth, the new birth, dismissing it completely. Before long, the new stronger growth not only filled the once burned area but began spreading out, transforming nearby areas to be more fruitful and vibrant.

The Remnant who turned back to witness the new growth, fell on their knees in awe and praised the Lord, thanking Him for the restoration and re-growth and for allowing them to be such witnesses of His grace. They too were personally touched and began to grow stronger as well as they were drawn to His Presence before them.

I looked to Jesus to reveal His purpose in this vision and He showed me that the crowd stood in the green fields, admiring the lush land full of growth and fruit, but the roots were weak. Although they produced plants that appeared tall and strong, it was supported by a thin foundation that easily fell when the strong winds came. It was easier to walk away, point the finger, and make logical and emotional explanations. They were so busy justifying their assumptions, that they did not recognize what grew out of the ashes, dismissing its relevance.

Jesus then said to me, “People will dismiss what they fail to recognize as the many ways I will operate in their life. I will bring consuming fires in order to bring beauty from the ashes – new birth – new growth – new mindsets – new strength – new wisdom – and a new perspective from My view. My consuming fire is not always to destroy as punishment. Only those who seek Me, truly surrendering their opinion to gain My perspective will humble themselves and grow mightily. I will raise them up and cause them to soar above and ignite below. Stay rooted in Me, diving deeper and deeper, seeking Me without an agenda or preconceived notion. But instead, be open to receive with a heart and mind of a child. Oh, the things I will reveal to those with childlike faith in Me!”

I was sad to see the once lush land covered by ashes, but rejoiced in what grew from it! And I understood as I reflected on my family’s own journey. I have been consumed by what others would say or think. Would they point their finger and say, “Oh I’m so sorry for you.” “You just need to have faith of a mustard seed.” “Guess they didn’t really hear God like they thought they did.”

I’ve been waiting to blog – holding back on my calling to write – until I had my perceived victory over our circumstances to finally share how great God is and what He’s done in our life. But God hasn’t given me the end story of His promised deliverance yet. Instead, He’s given me His promised sustainability, to share in the process and the journey. For so long I was waiting for the God who delivers but found the God who sustains.

“I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 NIV

Therefore, I need to push aside the sabotaging thoughts and criticizing words that whisper in my head, which are holding me back from His calling on me, and accept the call to write as He leads me and post what He wants me to share. I hope to encourage those who follow my testimonies and see the greatness of God in the big moments, the small ones, the everyday ups and downs where my faith is tested, to continue to stand and keep standing, believing that God’s Word will never return void, that His promises will come to pass, no matter how long the wait. To believe that there’s beauty for ashes, new growth, new strength, new wisdom, new lives to reach, minister to, and be ministered by. It’s time to step out, grab hold of Jesus’ hand to SOAR, and rise, rise again, and rise above!