Nightmare About Damnation

It was one of those gripping I can't escape dreams, the kind that has me praying as soon as I shake loose and come awake. I have tried, without too much effort, to remember what I dreamt. I don't really want to recall what terrified me in slumber, so I write, not to share what I saw and heard, but rather, to impart the lesson I came instantly away with that had me praying with zeal. 

I learnt about damnation. In the dream I was trapped, held hostage to things that horrified my soul. That is how nightmares work: you see what you never want to see, feel what you never want to feel, and just can't seem to make a get away because arms and legs are somewhat immobilized during sleep, and rightly so, otherwise we would be a hazard to ourselves and others in dream states. Sleep is an oddity, a thief of consciousness, and when it is done just right, it restores, rebuilds, revitalizes. Bad dreams, however, traumatize, demonize, and leave one feeling somewhat wrecked upon waking. 

Back to the damnation. For the first time in my life I was truly terrified for the damned. There are people in this world that are hell bent on proving they belong to the devil. It is as though they have preordered their trip to hades; like it is a hot vacation location, to be looked forward to and counted on as the best place they have ever been. If my disturbing headache causing nightmare mildly approaches the horrors of hell, I am afraid for those that will go there. This is why I started praying with fervency; I don't want anyone to arrive in the inescapable place, where never ending torment and torture are the rewards for breaking God's commandments, and having the gal to perpetually and often publicly, go against our Creator. 

It occurs to me that perhaps sleep is a warning to all humans to heed and acknowledge, how very vulnerable we are to one another, to circumstances beyond our control, to perpetrator's and predators of the nocturnal and demonic variety, that aim to seize control of the senses, when rest is what we require to face the next, new day. Sleep is also a wonderful gift that lets us know that we cannot be on perpetual duty, on guard vigilantly protecting ourselves and our families, and that God is watching over us when clearly, we are made inept and incapacitated. When sleep blankets us in the night, it is meant for everyone to partake and participate in, without our choosing. Sure, we can decide to delay sleep, ignore our need for it and pretend we require very little, but that is a self-told lie. Eventually, sleep will "catch up" with us, taking us to the land of slumber, whether we want to go or not. 

Yesterday, a new person in my life said: There's nothing like a nightmare to make you appreciate what you have. This struck me as a simple and powerful statement, and stuck with me. This morning I am appreciating what I have, namely: Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. In my waking hours he is my light, my life, my all in all. Jesus is my King, my God, my delight, my favourite Name. When I pray I have peace and my heart is whole. Nightmares steal what in the daytime, I know is mine, when I am lucid; and dear reader, I fear that the day is drawing near for the wicked, the day when they awake from this wonderful place, this wonderful God created world, to a perpetually dying damnation, a hell from which there is no escape, no waking up and shaking loose from the sharp tooth and nail gripping on their soul. 

Prayer was on my lips for those in my immediate sphere of perception that are vicious, self-serving, God denying, and damned if they do not repent of their sins, plead for forgiveness from God, and from those they have grievously injured. Jesus is the only one that can chase away the nightmare of hell, because he has the keys to hades and he is the one that sets captives free. 

Revelation 1:8

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 

I am learning the meaning of praying for the enemies of God and man. This is what I have resisted, wanting instead for them to pay for their persecutions of people that they want to hurt and maim in their service to the wicked one. The thought of eternity in hell is still fresh and lingering this morning, and I am recognizing why God, the all powerful all knowing God of the universe, wants none to be lost. 

Luke 23:24

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

The men that killed Jesus were the very men Jesus prayed for, requesting mercy for them from the Father. This is what we must do too, plead for mercy, for hearts tenderized by God's love, so that they are forgiven and can be with Jesus in paradise for all eternity. This, dear reader, is the work of intercessory prayer. We have a ministry of reconciliation when we are in Christ, and by God, my night is affecting my day, and I am chastened and humbled to the point of wanting what God wants: 

Matthew 5:44-48

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 

It is easy to love the lovable, and quite the challenge to love those that display their hateful inclinations. God gives breath, life, sun and rain to all his creatures, no matter their dispositions and intentions. He gives each of us abundant time to thank and praise him, and also to look away and pretend, if we so choose, that he is not there and that we are self-made and can live independently from his care. This thought has me chuckling! Try to hold your breath for five minutes ... you just can't. Try to stop your heart from beating for ten seconds ... you just can't. Try now, to stop the sun from rising and then exchanging places with the moon ... you just can't. Make the rain stop and the snow start, go ahead, try ... you just can't do it, dear reader. 

What you just can't do, God can. You can't save yourself, but Jesus surely can save you. 

That is all from this cat this morning. I pray your nightmares are scared away and your daydreams are filled with the Light of the world.