About a week after I wrote my last post, Overcoming that which holds us back, The Lord gave me a vision which completely illustrated what I had written:

Under an overcast sky I saw a woman standing in a field. She was exposed to the elements and was full of despair. Everywhere she looked there was desolation. She was alone and completely crushed by the burdens she carried. It looked as if she had been abused and tormented, and had been abandoned in this place of despair. The weight of guilt and condemnation was upon her – a terrible weight that had come from herself, the world, the church, the enemy – a burden for which there was no hope, no salvation. Maybe death would bring relief?

And then she saw Father God standing at the edge of the field, near the horizon. Even from this distance, she could see His arms wide open, His face full of love and compassion, and she heard His voice calling … “Run to me!”. She began to run towards him – faster and faster. As she got closer, she saw that He was dressed in royal robes which had many folds and layers. She ran and she ran until she reached the robes, and still running, she went through the layers until she felt His strong arms enfold her.

In that embrace, she cried and sobbed for what seemed like eternity, and He never once loosened his grip or let her go. For the first time in her life, she felt despair and condemnation leaving her, and after a time, she became calm in His arms. She felt love and compassion surround her. There was no guilt, no condemnation – only the liquid love of the Father covering her, freeing her, releasing her. As she rested, she realized that not once did the Father talk about any of the issues she had faced. She just knew that she was home and that all those things that had bound and tormented her were falling away.

She could have stayed in His embrace forever, but she felt the Father saying, “Turn around”. She turned, still in His arms until she could see the place from where she had come. It looked the same, but now she was safe, and it held no power over her. It was still a dark place, but she heard The Lord say, “Speak to it – command it to go”. As she obeyed and spoke to the darkness, she saw it begin to crumble and evaporate. The chains were just lies – made of mist, with no power to hold her. She now stood in that place of victory, not because she had figured out how to deal with those things, but because running into the all encompassing, all forgiving arms of the Father had set her free.