Back in 2018, when I was praying alone in my room, I had a vision of a human heart and a worm crawling into its valves. In no time, I received the knowledge that it was the heart of our pastor’s sister, and the worm stood in for an ungodly thought that was infecting her spiritual life.
When I briefed the pastor, he said, “Okay, could you be more precise as to what that ungodly thought is?” He’s sensible. Nobody likes being pointed out. Carrying the question onto my knees, I asked the Lord to present me with a clear meaning, and then he’d shown me—a girl’s hair hanging, scissors coming flying, and the ends of the hair being cut.
Incident in-line with the Vision
Though the context was unclear, I decided to pass it on to the pastor. To my surprise, he was fully convinced that it was from God. And then, he told me that his sister had a messy and indecent haircut, causing ethical imbalances in the family. Then, I understood that God had shown me her actions and love for beauty.
Well, while it might sound like what’s wrong, God might not be pleased to see his child, who’s a worship leader, be inclined towards self, beauty, and the world. The worm in the vision signified the thought of being physically attractive, discouraging the idea of modesty as described in 1 Timothy 2:9.
Positive impact on my faith
Whatever her shortcoming might be, God would have taken care. For me, all of these fulfilling visions were faith-boosting tablets. That being said, over the years, God has always led and taught me to rely on his word rather than on visions or dreams, because Satan actively mocks them during our prayers.
So, in any context, spiritual conclusions reaffirmed by the word of God are fruitful and unshakable.
Three Anecdotes on Visions:
This is the first letter in the Letter Series. I’d like to remind you of three biblical thoughts on visions.
- Visions and fulfilment
- Visions and Lively experience
- Visions and confusion
1. Vision fulfill in it’s time
Habakkuk has a burden for his people to be saved from their sins when things get worse in his days. Then the Lord showed him a vision and said, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end, it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:3
You see, the Lord said, “Wait for it!”
This vision is about God’s plan to free his people from sin. In simple words, it’s about Jesus and the crucifixion. It took hundreds of years for the vision to be fulfilled, but Habakkuk wasn’t even alive to witness it.
A divine vision will come to pass at the right moment and be perfect. We may or may not see the vision happen, for our faith is not just about life on earth as written in Hebrews 11:13. God treats us as eternal beings, so his discussions include revelations from the eternal future. Tough to digest? See John 3:12. What a mysterious God we serve!
To sum up, Godly visions will be fulfilled in their time, and we need not necessarily see them happening with our own eyes. Learning to wait with faith is the lesson here.
2. How Lively Are The Visions?
Visions are so lively as if they were real.
In Acts 12, Peter was in a prison, and God sent an angel to deliver him from the chains. The Angel says, “Arise quickly.” Gird yourself and bind on your sandals. Cast your garment, follow me.
After all of this, Peter escapes the prison and thinks that it was not true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision Acts 12:9
This shows us that the experience of seeing visions is very realistic to differentiate it from a lively action. Peter mistook an ongoing reality and concluded it as a vision. He should have seen such lively visions in his life, and so he concluded in such a way.
Even the Apostle John recorded the smallest details in revelations, like the number of people, colours, sizes, sounds, movements, and so on.
Personally, I’m blessed to have the gift of seeing God’s visions. I must say that I experience both lively and blurry, black-smoked visions. Again, I won’t rely on them alone, but instead, I’ll ask for a word.
3. Confusion with visions
While some visions are exciting and on-point, many are confusing to the human mind. Confusion with visions is not a problem, but acting on a confusing vision is.
In Acts 10:11-16, Peter saw something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners onto the earth filled with all kinds of animals and reptiles. A voice said to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
Peter was perplexed to see the unusual and questioned himself about what this vision he had witnessed. Let me be honest. If it was me, I’d have thought that vision was from Satan. Some visions from God might look weird, but they carry weighty meaning in the sub-context.
While Peter was still in confusion, God led Cornelius to arrange a prayer gathering with gentiles, and Peter was invited to minister. That is where his confusion was answered. Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”, Acts 10:34-35.
Bear the confusion, study the word, and examine the circumstances to understand what God is trying to teach. The wise move would be to ask about the vision’s meaning to a pastor who prays in spirit.
A Point To Remember:
A vision must be in line with the word of God. The Spirit of God never shows something that’s contrary to the scriptures. Jesus said when the spirit comes upon you, he will remind you of the words I taught. John 14:26
A vision reminds, guides, corrects and alerts us. Out of all, I understood that God’s word is the ultimate rock to rely upon and an unshakable way of knowing God’s heart.