GO THROUGH THE NARROW PLACE

Recently I was meditating on the reality that Jesus IS eternal life. (Jn. 11:25, 14:6; Rom. 6:23). I went into an open vision, and I saw the cross – empty - on dry, barren land. Beyond it was a beautiful open meadow pulsating with life. I walked toward the cross. As I got closer, I saw Jesus on the cross, but He was slightly transparent, as if a veil; it was like He was there, but not there. I could tell that I was seeing it from the eternal realm, what had happened in time past but is still reality now in the Spirit. I could see his broken open flesh. I walked into His body, then deeper through His blood. I was now in the meadow that was vibrant with life - lush greens and golds, beautiful streams, vibrant flowers, surrounded by many trees; the air was fragrant and filled with the atmosphere of glory. I woke up.

This vision was straightforward and very descriptive. It was truly more than a vision, because I saw myself going through the Body and Blood of Jesus and felt the impact. I was in awe and wonder. It took me a few minutes to begin pondering the seeming dichotomy that we, as believers in Christ, live in. We have received resurrection life through the veil of His flesh (Heb. 10:19-20) and we are seated in Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6), but our bodies are still very much alive in the earth realm. There is a continual pressing through the veil of our flesh – (leaving behind our fleshly and soulish desires, affections, opinions, reasonings, preferences, idols) to live from the heavenly realm.

""I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." (Jhn 10:9 NKJV)

HOW? Yielding at every moment, surrendering our thoughts and desires. Even as we “do” things we need to do, we can be ever aware of Him. We build on that as we continue to yield. The reality is the Holy Spirit of the Living God dwells in us, and we are in Him (Eph. 3:17-19; 1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Jn. 4:13, 5:20).  We are One with Him always, not just in devotional times.

"By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." (1Jo 4:13)

I pray that the Lord will open your eyes, even as Elisha prayed for his servant Gehazi’s eyes to be opened, to see the reality of the spiritual realm that co-exists with the physical (2 Ki. 6:17-20). We need to see to be able to effectively live as His ambassadors on the earth! I heard the Spirit of the Lord say, “Tell them, yield unto Me and they will be free to see the reality of the eternal realm found only in Me.” (Jn. 17:3)

Vision #2 The Lord reminded me of a similar vision that I had in 2017. In that vision, I saw myself in a dark tunnel. It was very narrow, and there was barely room for me. I could not turn around; I could only move forward. It was very tight and I couldn’t see the end. I felt intense pressure to get out quickly, yet I could only crawl on my hands and knees. I wanted to escape this place of confinement, yet I knew the Lord was in it. I recognized His sovereignty and the necessity of going through this narrow place as part of His plan.

Suddenly, I was through the tunnel and standing in a large open place. It was a tranquil meadow surrounded by lush vegetation and beauty, everything glowing in greens and golds, vibrant flowers of all colors. I was walking with the Lord, and we were communing intimately. I was aware of being partnered with Him, not in a flippant familiarity, but one of mutual respect and love. He truly enjoyed being with me. We were so one in heart that I had no desire to be anywhere else. I was aware that all that I had need of, at any given moment in time, would be revealed and released to me as long as I stayed focused on and in communion with Him.

Surrounding this idyllic place was a cloud of darkness and a demonic flurry of activity; creatures with faces full of violence, gnashing their teeth, furious they could not enter this place of communion. There was a protective covering of a transparent shield. I knew that as long as I stayed in a place of communion with the Lord, no harm could enter in.

I hear the Lord saying to those in the tunnel, “Take courage! I am narrowing your interests, removing all things that would hinder you from your journey into the destiny I have designed for your life.” (Lk. 13:24, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”)

“Do not be afraid, I am with you even when you are not aware of My presence. This is a season of preparation where you will be made acutely aware of My presence and My love in the midst of your difficulties. You will experience the Oneness that is necessary to walk in the fullness of all that I have promised; these promises are yes and amen.” (2 Cor. 1:20)

“You will soon be leaving this narrow place and entering into the fullness of beauty and intimacy that you have seen in your spirit and desired in your heart and even tried to make happen through diligent prayer and seeking. Yet it was not My timing, or My way; there is a greater measure to be released that can only come through emptying of what you are carrying. The tunnel becomes the funnel; I AM making you willing for My filling!”

To those who have come out of the tunnel, I hear the Lord say, “Continue to abide in the secret place, your only desire to seek My face, you will see and you will know what to say and where to go. Let Me be first in all your heart and My richest treasures I will impart. My glory will be seen and known, drawing others to My throne. Creation is groaning, awaiting the time for my sons and daughters to truly shine. When darkness presses close at hand, I call you forth to possess the land. Stay in My Presence, let Me have precedence. My glory will blind those who come to bring harm, and I will fell them with My mighty right arm. I have spoken and it will be. Continue to yield and abide in Me.”

I was reminded of a word I wrote in 2023 (MOVING FROM AFFLICTION TO GLORY ) that contains important keys to pressing through the narrow place into the reality of the eternal realm.

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal." (2Co 4:17-18)

While! God is working in our affliction and it will work for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we keep our eyes on the eternal realm. If we don’t stay focused on the eternal, it will not be work for us a weight of glory. We will be angry, frustrated, trying to escape, bearing through it with gritted teeth. The glory released is in relation to our joyfully and willingly enduring the process, yielding to God’s sovereignty and faithfulness, trusting in His goodness.

God works all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28) in every situation. Affliction can be a teacher (Ps. 119:67) as we are being conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).  Yield to His leading by the power of the Holy Spirit – that same power that raised Christ from the dead resides in you! (Rom. 8:11) Stay focused; look for what God is doing in every trial! Did you know that this hastens the coming of the Lord?

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God…” (2Pe 3:10-12)

Lay Hold on Eternal Life! Paul exhorts us to "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life…" (1Ti 6:12) Bring eternity into the NOW, in everyday life. We are in the world but not of it  – we are citizens of heaven. The early church lived from this reality; it is an apostolic foundation that must be established in our lives to be able to endure rightly for others to see the Lord through us, in the midst of our tribulations. I heard the Lord say, “Keep your eyes on My face and you will receive enabling grace to press through every difficult place.”