Yesterday I was attacked in the spirit. I have been praying and fasting and I have been looking into the spirit and have been cognizant of a warfare being engaged in for my sake. But the attack came, not as a physical manifestation, but in the battlefield of the mind, where the apparent reality of loss and failure looms larger than life as the screen of the mind comes alive with vapours of smoke and ash. Darkness comes upon the face of the deep recesses of the soul, and the Spirt stands ready to affirm that light is come, save it be that he waits upon that anguishing soul to see what the determination for victory will be...whether we will agree with God or take the side of the devil in agreeing that we are in failure mode and that the fight is not only over, but was never worth fighting in the first place...

So I had, not a mere pity party, but a severe spiritual migrain and a meltdown of the proportion that is not my usual endeavour..complete with cursing and swearing and pretty much telling God that if this is what it is all about, then for all those things I have been asking and believing, take them and shove them where the sun doesn't shine because it is not worth the hassle. I was reminded in the midst of my tirade, of the disciple known as Peter...

Luk 22:53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. Luk 22:54 Then took they him, and led [him], and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. Luk 22:55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. Luk 22:56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. Luk 22:57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. Luk 22:58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. Luk 22:59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this [fellow] also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. Luk 22:60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. Luk 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Luk 22:62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

About then a whispering voice came alive within me in the shallow breath of the moment in which I was catching my wind for the next lava dome of expletives that were rising to the surface. The voice was that familiar, gently urging, peaceful, yet commanding awareness of God playing "Malcom in the middle" on my spirit...And the voice said, "You are so close, and you do not even know it."

Then I saw in the spirit a small suitcase, not large enough for more than an over night trip. It was literally bulging at the seams and looked as if it would explode open at any moment. It must have been hurredly packed for a long trip and there were items of apparel sticking out from the seam of the closure zipper and from around the straps which bound it all together. I can still see it in my mind's eye as I write. It had one red shirt in particular which stood out from the rest of the clothes, and the long armed sleeve of one arm lay hanging out on the ground.

I had time to muse upon the meaning, and am as yet unsure, but the fact of the suitcase being small seems to fly in the face of the normal interpretation of a Christian having excess baggage to deal with in his walk before the lord. It seemed to speak of an abundance, a hurried packing job for a long trip, nice clothes stressed by the lack of time to prepare and the swelling of the suitcase somehow reminding me of the silver stacked behind the temple of Solomon.

'The greatest temptation to quit comes just before the end'
I love that, 'you are so close and you do not even know it. You sound like me just last week.
But, His love and grace were so prevalant that I could not ignore it. Thankfully, no one showed up to my party. That way, no one could see the sugar buzz from all the cake and ice cream. Lord help me.
My behaviour was horrid. It's nice to see others put it out there.
Your honesty is refreshing.
Red can refer to blood or to life. The fact that it was a long sleeve shirt says to me that 'the blood covers...'
As to the suitcase, I'm not sure. You mention excess baggage. Maybe you don't have as much as you think you have. Or, perhaps it does refer to travel. Not sure if this bears witness with you at all; travel and all.
Sometimes, we're called upon to get up and go now!
???

Dreammoods says below:

Suitcase
To see a suitcase in your dream, indicates that you are a very together person. You keep attitudes and behavior in check. Alternatively, it is symbolic of a much needed vacation or break. You need some changes in your life.

Shirt
To dream of a shirt, refers to your emotions or some emotional situation. The shirt you wear reveals your attitudes and level of consciousness about a particular situation.

To dream that you are giving a shirt to someone, may be a metaphor or "giving the shirt off your back" and refers to your self-sacrifice and generosity.

Red

Red is an indication of raw energy, force, vigor, intense passion, aggression, power, courage and passion. The color red has deep emotional and spiritual connotations.

Red is also the color of danger, shame, sexual impulses and urges. Perhaps you need to stop and think about your actions



But you know what? Most of that stuff up there I don't believe applies in this case. You'll have to forgive me - but this could go on for quite a while.

I reckon - (and I've got my itchy head on today and have had it there all day so He is trying to tell me something...maybe this will give me the nudge) - it's a passionate dream - yes. If you think of the colours we 'paint' hearts to be, they will either be pink or white. Pink to me seems an innocent color - even hot pink. Red is for passion.

You wear your heart for God on your sleeve ( in this case -your red sleeve:) ) You are so full of Love for God and Jesus that it's one of those things that are obvious.

The downside of this is - I suppose - that where we are passionate about good - about God, and His love - we can also get very passionate about something that isn't. How do I explain this? Okay - I think - think of that old saying - the line between love and hate is very thin. I feel the more passionate that feeling is - love or hate - the thinner the line. NOT saying you're wanting the dark side or anything...it's more - your 'earthly' or worldly anger is truly passionate, just as your love for the Lord is. You love Him with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul.

Christians all want to be perfect. We strive for perfection we will never achieve. The closest thing we can come to it is that perfect love we feel for the Lord. Agape love (?). As people in general, when we feel we are failing - however small - we get angry.....passionately angry. Like trying to knit a jumper and always messing it up - if we keep on trying and failing - soon we will hate knitting. When what it is that we hate is our failure.

Maybe - somewhere inside you, you feel that you are failing - even if it is only just the teensiest bit. Satan - knowing how to take advantage of the minutest of cracks - has stuck his toe in there to make it wider - and get you angry. YOU RECOGNISE that you are being spiritually attacked. That shows the strength of your faith.

Every person on this earth, is part of a journey. In your case - as with other Christians, the journey has an added dimension that those who are not Believers in Christ do not have. You may well be right about the 'excess baggage'. But - doesn't it make you think firstly - that it is a small suitcase...therefore your excess worldly baggage is a trifle compared to what a lot of people who are Christians are carrying. You have managed to shed so much that is not of the Lord, that is not worthy of Him....that you only have these few things left. God will work on those with you. The arm of the shirt - your obvious love for God - for all to see - the impression of hurried packing - could be that you've started working on it - been distracted, so stuffed it back inside to deal with later.

When we die - when we meet our maker - what and who we are is all that we take with us. In our hearts - we carry the emotions and stuff of our lives. I like to say that's where our guilty conscience lives -coz that's where I feel it when I know I've done wrong - and I've always felt it there. The suitcase can also symbolise our hearts - filled with our feelings. YOur feelings for God are spilling out. The only thing that we take with us when we die that is worthy of God - is our Love of God. All else is irrelevant and useless junk....maybe - all you really need in that suitcase is your red shirt - cover yourself in the Love for God with Love for God and that is all you'll ever need.


Hmm - sorry if I waffled - but sometimes that's the only way I can get things out Myh head is still 'itchy' - it always gets like that when God is trying to tell me something. Makes me walk round and round in circles until I get it worked out.

Cheers

The first thing l thought of when you said "You're so close and don't even know it." Is an affirmation. Your close to him and you don't know it? Why not? What lie will you believe? You are close! but for some reason you don't know it. Who's report are you believing?



This reminds me of John the Baptist in prison when he questioned God....

Rest in peace. Be content to be led down the rough road of victory.

The days ahead may be dark but the light of his love will remind us...

A side note thought.

Just because you (we) are close to him doesn't mean you (we) are right about everything. I can hold my child's hand in the grocery store and he can still have a temper tantrum over something. Maybe he want's candy...Maybe he is just tired...But he's still close to me.

This reminds me of something that happened not an hour ago.

School started again for my five year old daughter, Zoe. She attends kindergarten at my church. We were running late (as we are 1/3 of the time). We hurried upstairs to her classroom where she has to take off her coat and hang up her backpack before entering. She was really excited to be back after the hiatus, so she hurriedly hung up her coat, handing me her backpack, to dash to her teacher waiting at the door.

However, she had forgotten to take off her gloves. I said, "Zoe" (as loudly as I could- I have no voice from being sick) and she instantly knew she had forgotten to take off her mittens. She yelled, "Damn-it!" and shoved the gloves at me.

I was shocked. I had never heard her cuss before... and I almost didn't believe that those were the words I heard. But- I got down on me knees, said as gently as I could (I was whispering because of the laryngitis), "Zoe, what did you just say?" She made something up like, “here you go” (she lied about it). Well, then I knew she HAD cussed, so I gently scolded her, said we'd talk about it later, gave her a kiss and hug and left.

Miki is right. Abba Father is still there.

Little children carry little suitcases.

They may not be packed exactly right but they are all bundled up and secured with straps.

But you're right ferv...There's more meaning then just that. God gives a word or vision and it's packet with meaning. Even something as simple as a suitcase.

Sorry you haven't been feeling well Julie.

One time l got a note from school saying that my youngest said "Oh ---" in school. He insisted he said "Oh ship" ...even to this day. He said nobody believed him. lol

...very close indeed. 16 more days.


Children in the wilderness...

That's really cute. I believe him!

It's okay that I am sick. A whisper... is enough.

And God just loves to whisper doesn't he.

Larry,

While l was away l had a vision. One of the clearest l've ever had. Usually l have to grasp them and hold on tight in faith. This one was clear and certain.

I saw a small purple velvet suitcase with black leather bound edges. It was closed and sitting on top of it was a small crown. I saw two hands come and open the suitcase and put the small crown inside and close the suitcase again. It ended.

I immediately thought of your vision and wondered in awe.

I think the context of the above applies some how.

The suitcase has to do with things He is dealing with me in I would say...bulging with hurriedly and ill preparedly packed clothes....the red shirt in particular was an event to note..the "understanding" of that red shirt in that suitcase is that the long red arm of the sleeve is dragging on the ground...the ungainliness of my flesh...I somehow see it as an very odd shirt..red in colour representing the blood of Christ, but also representing my anger and the mismanagement of that anger...hence His word to me to tone me down and His scripture reference to Peter in his time of denial....

I see somehow the shirt with this long arm and somehow that the other (right arm) of the shirt is stowed inside the suitcase...and that the right arm is a short sleeved arm on the shirt, making the ungainly long arm and the short arm a total mismatch in the natural sense, but then the short arm within I sense is to be realized as that portion hidden from view, the blood of Christ which covers all sin and also the righteousness of God which is hidden within me.... PS You are blessing me in this!

Miki - beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

The crown the Lord gives you, no one can take away. He is the finisher of our Faith, hold on to Jesus and let his light shine through you, but guard your heart. Put on the full Armor of our Lord and Savior Jesus..you are our strength.

Rest in his Peace....we gladly cast our crowns at his feet.
The LORD is our Rock and our Foundation...blessed be the name of our Lord.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, in your rising up and in your lying down...in your going out and in your coming in...Hold on to His WORD.
The Lord is our Sheperd I shall not want...Wait I say wait upon the LORD.
He leads you, down that rough rocky road...and brings you to the Springs of the Living Water.
Many Blessings to you and all here.

Thanks Linda.

Ok Larry...this is for you l guess. I'd been thinking of googling for the type of small suitcase in my vision but just hadn't got around to it. Then l saw an ad for the Movie the Titanic... The unsinkable Molly brown was carrying a bag almost like it...but different color...Remember the movie and her character!

In reality it say:

http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/brow-mol.htm

I say to you that the only treasure we can take with us is the crown of life!

Let his name be praised forever!!! Jump for Joy!!!

QUOTE

While l was away l had a vision. One of the clearest l've ever had. Usually l have to grasp them and hold on tight in faith. This one was clear and certain.

I saw a small purple velvet suitcase with black leather bound edges. It was closed and sitting on top of it was a small crown. I saw two hands come and open the suitcase and put the small crown inside and close the suitcase again. It ended.

I immediately thought of your vision and wondered in awe.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FSWbcpT8m2s

Watch this

All of us have suitcases we are only guests in this earth. We are almost home guys!

I liked that, LR...I'm unloading my bricks