hello, reader. I have to work today. it is 4am and I have to work 2 jobs today but I am here writing to you. I do not have insomnia, I do not like to stay up this late, I am not here intentionally but by happenstance because the enemy attacked me in my sleep.
last night was small group night and we had a holy, anointed meeting where God poured into us exactly what we needed to hear. I finished my night watching a Christian podcast on youtube and just feeling good. feeling full of the Spirit. while I slept, I had a nightmare that startled me out of my sleep. there are a few takeaways from this experience that I would like to share in hopes that it sheds light on your experiences, knowing that this experience is not rare. it is not abnormal or isolated. there are some of you out there that might have this encounter nightly or maybe even multiple times a night so please bear with me while I explain a few things. disclaimer: this post will probably get long.
the outcome of the event has nothing to do with the attack itself but everything to do with your response to it.
the first thing I wanted to do when I was jolted out of my sleep was to call my mom. would she have answered? probably. if there’s one thing about a mom, when their baby is in distress – they’re there. would it have solved my problem? maybe temporarily. I would’ve gotten comfort in their presence. in that moment I chose to ignore what my flesh wanted to do and act on the needs of my spirit. I opened up the Bible app. coincidentally (knowing nothing that God does is a coincidence), the very first thing that popped up – the scripture of the day – was John 10:10 [AMPC] – The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
let that sink in for a minute in light of the day that I had. I had a close encounter with God in various ways throughout the evening and then BOOM – the enemy comes to disrupt my joy in my sleep. he saw me being uplifted in the presence of God and he came to steal, kill, and destroy it. lets talk about the reality of that for a minute and look at some common questions that might arise from my situation and yours.
if God is sovereign, can’t he protect me in my sleep? if I’m supposedly so close to him, why wouldn’t he stop the enemy from attacking me while I slept? does God’s protection stop when I close my eyes? the answer is that God will allow certain things to happen – even unpleasant things – if it allows for revelation about something related to the spirit or if it aids in your personal growth and development over time. many people ask why such evil things happen in the world and there are a few different answers to that question (that we can unpack in a later post) but one of them is what I just mentioned above. God does not cause evil things to happen but at times he will allow them to happen knowing the future and knowing that if certain things didn’t happen, you wouldn’t grow to be who you are called to be. you wouldn’t find that joy and fullness of life that he has for you.
the enemy attacks when he gets scared, so know that when things like this happen – an uncharacteristic disruption of your joy when you’re actively seeking relationship with God – it’s a good sign. he attacks when he’s threated. he’ll try anything to cause separation between you and your power source. I’m reminded of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. do you remember what happened before that? how he got there? he had just finished a 40 day fast! he was intentional in spending time with God, hearing from God, seeking his instruction, growing in relationship, and as a result his flesh was weak. the Bible says he was hungry. the Bible also says that the HOLY SPIRIT led him to the wilderness to be tempted. does that mean that God wants to lead us to ruin? no! he recognized that Jesus needed to be exposed to a threat and resist the temptation to strengthen his spirit. he allowed Jesus to encounter the devil – even so much as leading him to encounter the devil – for his own benefit (and ultimately ours) in the long-run.
the promise of provision! when Jesus arose from the wilderness after successfully overcoming Satan’s temptation, the Bible tells us that God sent angels to care for him. God had a plan for restoring Jesus before he even went into his challenge. isn’t that encouraging? we are promised to go through tough times in life but assured that so long as we are in Christ we don’t have to go through them alone. there is a plan for replenishment and restoration on the other side. we will emerge from this better than we entered.
how do I know that this was a nightmare sent by the enemy and not a warning from God that something terrible is about to happen? God is love and he operates accordingly. God is not going to jolt you out of your sleep with images that make you want to sob uncontrollably. God will deposit his warning with an overwhelming sense of his peace. if his fruits of the spirit and whatever dream, instruction, or teaching are not aligned then you know it didn’t come from him. if you have a dream and there is no love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, or self-control involved then it did not come from him. further along your faith walk, when you have enough discernment to know beyond a shadow of a doubt when God is speaking to you, he may give you visions as dreams of tragic events to come as a warning so that you can intervene but he will make his presence known. he will not put that burden on you before he’s knows that you’re spiritually mature enough to discern the origin. God is a loving, gentle God and he will not put a greater burden on you than you have the tools to combat.
anyway family, I’m going back to bed. I thank God for using this opportunity to pour into me like only he can. I’m grateful that he utilized what was an attempted attack to increase my wisdom and hopefully yours as well. I may or may not add scriptural references to this at a later date.
Walking With, Like, and In Christ 
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