Unrequited love
April 16, 2020
Last May, I had a vision during a worship gathering that I wrote about in the May 22/19 GHPL. I was reminded about it today, and I’m feeling I should share it again. The focus of worship was on returning to our “first love” (Rev 2:4) and lingering in the Garden with the Lord. Suddenly, I saw in my spirit a series of pictures. First, I saw a man wearing a long, hooded beige cloak. I thought it was Jesus so I ran up to look at his face, but when I peered under the hood, all I saw was blackness. Then demonic eyes appeared. Immediately, I saw myself clinging to His waist like a little child, not wanting to let go of him. Then I saw myself climbing up on him to peer again inside the hood, but I could only see glimpses of a garden, and I didn’t know how to get there.
This vision troubled me for days. Why couldn’t I see his face? Why was there blackness there instead? Why were his eyes evil? Was the Lord trying to show me I’d lost my first love? My pastor helped me discern the meaning of this vision. It was not about me; rather, because I am an intercessor for Muslims, God was showing me what Muslims experience as they seek Him. And He revealed it within the context of Christian worship in which God was expressing His desire for our love.
The god of Islam doesn’t want relationship with people. In the vision, I represented Muslims who are seeking God, but when I ran to someone who I thought was Him, it was an imposter. Nevertheless, I clung to him and tried even harder to see his face. My desire was so strong that evidence of evil did not deter me.
The Qur’an uses the Arabic word Jannah (meaning “garden”) for Paradise. In Islam, Paradise is a garden in which the earthly lusts of Muslim males (unlimited wine, food and sex) are satisfied. (This paradise is not designed to appeal to women or to those truly seeking God, but it’s preferable to eternal torment.) Paradise is guaranteed to martyrs who kill or are killed for Allah’s cause, but for the others there’s a lifetime of performing the rituals, never knowing if they’ve earned Allah’s approval. Insha Allah (if God wills). The garden I glimpsed in the blackness may have been a mirage.
Having just completed Passion Week, our awareness is heightened, and our appreciation deepened, of what the Father did for us through Jesus in order to cancel the effects of sin so that ALL who believe can live eternally in His magnificent Presence. The contrast between our privilege and Muslims’ captivity in hopelessness should drive us to prayer – for the Lord’s sake and for theirs.
Lord, we pray for countless Muslims whose hearts are seeking relationship with the Living God, but who are deceived by an evil imposter and whose religion offers them only emptiness and torment. They know there is a God, but they don’t know how to find You. It is You who has set eternity in their hearts (Ecc 3:11). Surely, Lord, You will answer their hearts’ cry for a God they can see and who sees and hears them in their afflictions (Ge 16:11, 13)!
- You are the Merciful God. Show them Your mercy (Ex 33:19)!
- You are the Almighty God. Show Your power and break through the stronghold of deception to reveal Jesus (Mt 16:16-17, 11:27, Jn 1:14)! Show them Your face (Ge 16:13)!
- Lord, they are desperate. Rescue them from the kingdom of darkness and bring them into the Kingdom of the Son You love (Col 1:13)!