Women On The Frontlines: A Call To Courage预览

No More Fear

One night, the Lord gave me (Michal Ann) a dream that dealt with intimidation—how strong of a force it can be and how it can tempt us to do things that we would not otherwise do. In this dream, my oldest son, Justin, and I were in China running food, clothing, and other items to needy people.

As I was preparing to leave one house, the authorities broke in and grabbed me. I was taken to face the enemy leader. He wanted to punish me by torture—hanging me by the neck, not until I died but long enough to choke me and leave rope marks on my neck. It was a very intimidating situation.

I almost consented to the punishment when all of a sudden, a light went on inside me. How foolish of me to entrust my life into the enemy’s hands! Once the noose was around my neck, I would be completely at his mercy. How could I trust the word of the enemy?

In the dream, rather than giving in to the intimidation and agreeing to the punishment, I began preaching the gospel to the enemy leader.

As I continued preaching, I pulled from my pocket an uncut, unpolished purple gem, like an amethyst. As I spoke, the gem grew larger and brighter. The enemy leader reached out to take the stone in his hand. It continued to grow as I continued to preach the Word. He was holding a miracle, a wonder of God in his own hand, and with his own eyes watched it grow and glow.

It seems to me that the gem in this dream symbolizes the Word coming forth from within. When we are on the verge of a breakthrough, the enemy will come and try to intimidate us and make us settle for something less than we should. If we press through, confronting the enemy of intimidation and allowing the boldness of the Holy Spirit to come on us, we become like the stone—growing and glowing with the truth and power of God’s Word.

The time has come for us to do business with God and with the enemy. It’s time to decide to not let intimidation and fear strangle us any longer.