Egypt has always been a type of the world and in many instances Egypt denotes the worldly Christian or the Christian’s struggle with the world. We see here the worldly Christian crying out because of the oppressors. It is not the cry of one who lacks bread or the cry of one who has been beaten with many stripes but it is a different cry from a different kind of oppression. It is a cry of the heart for more of the Lord. It’s a cry inside of us that we often don’t even understand. That part of us that is desperate and empty.

Many times on the road we must travel we find traps, some are subtle and some are obvious but always there is a choice. Will I sell out for this? Will I stop the journey of my passion and first love for the Lord for this? The traps are loaded with what seems like wonderful things, money, position, power, friends, soul mates, signs and wonders and acceptance. They all seem noble and acceptable on the surface but we had to get off the road to seek them. We had to focus on them instead of the Lord of our passion and when we turn our heads something weakens in us; something in us begins to die. Our heart can have only one true master and it will be whatever takes our focus, and our time.

Some years ago the Lord gave me a vision. In this vision I was standing in a large cave. I had a huge python snake wrapped all around me completely engulfing me, with it’s large head poised ready to bite my head off. I had my hands on his head. Holding this snake back took every ounce of my strength and focus. Suddenly I became aware that the Lord was some distance behind me in the cave (which stood for earthly things). He spoke to me, “Look at me.” He said.

I said, “Are you crazy. No offense Lord but I can’t look at you. If I take my eyes off this thing for a moment he’s going to bite my head off. Can’t you come help me?” I whined.

“Look at me.” He said again firmly.

I was very exasperated. The Lord evidently saw the predicament I was in. Didn’t He care that I was in such a battle and weakening. Why didn’t He help me? But as He kept saying, “Look at me.” I determined to be self-sacrificing and look at Him. Quickly I jerked my head to glance at Him and then immediately back at the snake. The Lord was looking very earnestly at me. He seemed very sad. What was I missing? He kept saying, “Look at me.” Each time He sounded sadder. My glances were not enough. Now I had a real choice to make. If I took my eyes off the snake I would surely die but then my life is the Lord’s or is it? If my life is the Lord’s I must do as He says no matter what. It took every ounce of courage and determination I had but I turned from the snake and fixed my gaze on the Lord. “What?” I asked somewhat exasperated, waiting for the snake to bite.

“What are you doing?” The Lord asked.

“What am I doing? I’m…” I looked around to point at the snake but the snake was gone.

“You give power to what you look at.” The Lord said, “And you worship what you fear.”

That had been the enemies plan all along to cause me to be afraid and not look at the Lord. How noble the battle seemed but where was my passion and my focus? What did I fear, the enemy or the Lord? Where was my trust? Sometimes we actually get off the Lord’s track thinking we are doing it for the Lord, for example we should all want to raise the dead and heal the sick. But what are our real motives. Do we want to impress people? Is their pride? The Lord will know. But regardless of how wonderful it is to do these things, we must never give “it” our focus and our passion.

Isaiah said, “And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.”

Sometimes the Lord has to smite us to heal us but the healing is not in our body but in our ways. Isaiah 57:18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

Once the Lord showed me a little girl with many clothes. I knew the girl represented me and the clothes represented the good things of my life. There were party dresses and pretty dresses and many nice things. I was very happy to have them. But the Lord asked me, “Do you trust me?”

“Yes Lord.” I said. The Lord began to take scissors and cut the dresses. One after the other my beautiful dresses were cut up. Most of the dress would be thrown away, very little of it would be laid aside to be used. I was heart broken to see my beautiful dresses ruined. Finally I stood there with only a small pile of odd shapes and pieces of cloth. That was my life and it was a mess. There was nothing there wonderful or beautiful to use, just torn scraps. The rest had been thrown away.

Finally the Lord spoke. “You don’t understand now but I can’t use what seems good to you. I have a plan for your life and a pattern for your cloth. You must trust Me.” I nodded but I couldn’t imagine what He could ever do with such a pile of tattered pieces. I felt devastated and forsaken. Like all of the Lord’s promises had been taken way and ripped apart with my pretty dresses. He sat down with a needle and drew a golden thread from the Father God, which stands for the divine intervention of God, and with that He began to sew the pieces together. Not into a dress that I could wear for myself only but a quilt. Now I could see how carefully He had cut each piece though it had seemed to me at the time that He had simply torn them apart. They were all cut to fit His pattern and anything that couldn’t fit into His pattern was removed.

Time went by in the vision. The Lord’s work was meticulous and tireless. Each stitch was with such love and care. I was ashamed that I had questioned Him. Finally the pieces were together. What a beautiful pattern it was; the shape was like the hand of the Lord. Then it was laid on its face and covered with the glory of the Lord. It was thick and soft like batting in a quilt. But as a quilt it needed another side. What would be used for the other side? It was then I saw that the other side of the quilt was the Lord’s life. He had formed my pattern to match His. Everything that could not match up to the pattern of His life was removed. Then carefully the Holy Spirit began to stitch it all together in a way that made it one. The edges were finished with the Father’s touch, woven with golden threads that could not be resisted or hindered.

When it was done I wept to see that my life had been woven into the Lord’s so wonderfully. The carefully planning and patience used in preparing it over such a long period of time. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Each one of us was made by God and for God, planned and designed before time began. In order for us to have life God took a piece of Himself and gave it to us. Somehow that piece is ever linked to Him and to His blueprint and plan for our lives. We can run from it and try to fill it in with other things but we will never be happy without it. We build walls and things in our lives to protect ourselves and build what we think is good and strong. But the Lord allows it to be torn down. Why? Because when we are out of His order we are destined to fail. We will miss our destiny and our joy. He knows that.

From our perspective and perception it seems one way but really it is another. It looked to me as though the Lord were just tearing up everything good in my life when really the Lord was rescuing what He could of it out of what I had built myself. So that I could fulfill my destiny and be once again in a flowing stream linked with Him. What did I really give up? Was I crying over lumps of coal when He had true glory and destiny for me? Sometimes He has to allow what we have built to be torn down and then the rubble removed because under all of that is our Godly Heritage waiting to be restored.

Next week I will continue talking about our perception and perspective. I pray this blesses you.