Lies and Snake Eyes

The Lord speaks to each of us in different ways. Some people get words or thoughts that pop into their heads. Some people get “signs”, like a bible verse, a word from a friend, or some other clue. Some get a feeling or a knowing that a message is from God. Some people hear an actual audible voice. I, personally, have visions or dreams. My messages don’t always come in the form of a dream but most of the time they do, He knows that gets my attention.

One night last week I had a dream I just can’t shake. It was very obviously a message from the Father and one I needed to hear. I had been thinking about it for days, mulling it over, processing the message, deciding if I was going to share it on this blog. Then yesterday morning the speaker at church asked if anyone had ever had a dream that they just couldn’t stop thinking about.  Talk about a sign!

The dream started with me at a haphazard campground in the wilderness. For those of you that know me you’re thinking this must be a nightmare if Whitney is at a campground – I agree. In the dream I came out of my tent and was looking for something in the foliage around it. All of a sudden a rattlesnake sunk its teeth into the underside of my arm, in the triceps area. I lifted up my arm and this snake was attached, fangs dug in, and hanging from my arm.

I obviously freaked out and took off running for help. The first person I came to I held up my arm and said, “Can you help me?” This person recoiled in horror and began to back away. She said, “I’ll pray for you!” and ran the opposite direction.

I continued on and found a second person. I approached this woman, rattlesnake dangling from my arm, blood beginning to drip from the puncture wounds. I said, “Can you help me?” She looked at me with pity and said, “I’ll pray for you.” She bowed her head and prayed then looked up and smiled. She said, “It’s taken care of. The affliction is gone.” I lifted my arm higher and stared at this snake squirming in the air and said, “No, it’s not, it’s right there.” She patted me on the shoulder and said, “You just have to claim it” and walked away.

At this point I was getting desperate. I kept running until I found a third person. I said, “Can you please help me?” She looked worried and said, “Let’s pray.” She laid her hands on me and said a powerful prayer. She then looked up at me said, “Ok, I know what the Lord wants me to do” and proceeded to grab the tail of the snake and start pulling on it. I began to scream as the pain got worse and she just kept pulling. I finally just turned away from her and began to run again.

I came a little further along the path and saw a campfire. As I got closer I could see a man sitting by the fire and even closer yet I realized it was Jesus. He stood up and was waiting for me. I ran to Him and said, “Can you please help me?” He smiled lovingly as He reached over and pushed the jaws of the snake, quickly and deftly removing it from my arm and tossing it into the fire. Then He wrapped his hand around my arm and I could feel the healing. He said, “Why didn’t you come to Me first?”

I sat down next to Him by the fire and I said, “You were too far away, the others were closer.” He said, “I’m always the closest to you” and he pointed. I looked and realized my tent was right next to the campfire. I had run to the right and made a huge circle back. If I had run to the left I would have found Him immediately. In my frenzy I had turned the wrong way.

“When you need help, come to Me,” he said. “When you need direction, come to Me. When you need answers, come to Me.”

I couldn’t even say anything. I could feel the love He has for me, the desire to help me and take care of my problems. But I knew He was saying He couldn’t do it for me, I had to ask. I had to give over the control.

He continued, “You need to stop relying on PEOPLE for answers. I AM the answer. You need to stop asking PEOPLE to pray for you and expect the solution to come from them. I AM the solution. You don’t need someone to stand in the gap for you, child, THERE IS NO GAP. I live inside you and you know my voice. Ask me directly and I will respond.”

“But I’ve felt blocked from you,” I admitted. 

He smiled again, that beautiful loving smile. “Any block you feel is from the outside. I am on the inside. Remember that.”

He then handed me a piece of paper with several verses written on it. I will include them at the end of this post. 

To some people this may sound harsh, but it wasn’t. Our Father corrects us when He needs to but it’s always in a loving manner. As far as the three women that prayed, honestly, I don’t know what to make of it.  The message for me on a personal level was that it doesn’t matter what type of prayer someone says for me, if I’m putting my faith in them and not God then it’s a misplaced belief. 

Another interesting tidbit – most of us associate a snake with the Devil or sin. In researching this a little I discovered that in prophetic dreams a snake represents a lie.  I’ve been learning a lot about root lies. Seeds are planted and take hold effecting every area. A seed like self-worth, for instance, but that’s for another post. The point being there’s only one that can remove the lie from your life and replace it with something beautiful.

Psalms 32:8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you. (NASB)

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (NASB)

Isaiah 30:21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. (ESV)

James 1:5 If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking. (CEV)

Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord will be with him to give him understanding, wisdom, and insight. He will be powerful, and he will know and honor the Lord. (CEV)

Job 33:14-15 God always answers, one way or another, even when people don’t recognize his presence. In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds—God opens their ears. (MSG)

John 10:27 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, (CEV)