Recently I was having a very hard day. I hurt physically, I didn’t sleep well and I was weary emotionally. Not a good combination. I felt discombobulated, weak and vulnerable. It was hard to think clearly. I bought a healthy peanut butter-banana smoothie and went to the park. I sat in my car, drinking the smoothie. At some point, I happened to look up and stared at the tree in front of my car. I saw the face of lion. Somehow the various bark markings looked like a lion to me. I smiled and felt this was a “wink” from the Lord that He saw me and my suffering today. An old worship song came on the radio and it helped me feel better.

I decided to play my favorite worship playlist on YouTube, hoping that would help me shift to a better place. I put in my ear buds and got out of the car to go for a walk. Near my car was a small bridge that crossed a canal and joined a tree-lined walking path around the park.

As I crossed the bridge, I felt such powerful “energy” emanating from my back, between my shoulder blades. As though flames of fire were shooting out into the world around me. As I walked, the feeling increased. I could sense the fear of the Lord and the presence of God intensely. I wanted to worship to the songs I was listening to – I wanted to sing loudly and raise my hands, but I kept encountering other people walking on the path and I felt it would be rude to do this. I sensed someone joining the path behind me and I sensed darkness. I turned and a man was just crossing the bridge to walk on the path I was on. I walked off the path quite a way and turned my body so that my back was away from him. Somehow I knew that it would hurt him to get too close to the flaming energy emanating behind me.

After he passed by, I joined the other walkers on the path again. It started to sprinkle. I paused – watching the rain fall over the ball field nearby. It was beautiful. I heard thunder in the distance. I put my arms out to feel the rain – not much reached me under the trees. I smiled and I noticed the pressure of the energy within me kept increasing.

I suddenly realized no one was on the path around me so I decided to sing along with the worship and raise my hands. As I did, it began to rain harder. I sang, motioning with my hands to the music and felt such power released through me. I slowly walked back across the bridge exhilirated, clapping my hands to the music. It felt like a butterfly was breaking out of a cocoon – it was arduous but freeing.

I felt GREAT! I went back to my car in the pouring rain, dried off and combed the wet hair out of my face. When I glanced up at the tree in front of my car, I saw the face of Jesus. He was beaten with one eye squinting and a crown of thorns on His head. I blinked several times, trying to find the previous lion face I had seen. It was gone. I couldn’t find it at all! All I could see was the crucified face of Christ. I knew this too was a sign from Him that He saw me and what I was suffering.

Lately He has been emphasizing to me that we are One. Maybe that’s what this experience was about – becoming one in His crucifixion and feeling the power of His resurrection. Today’s verse of the day said to me (pronouns changed): She made herself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of women. She humbled herself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross of Love. Philippians 2:7-8 paraphrase

He asks us to take up our cross and follow Him. It is the cross of Love – dying to selfishness, self-centeredness, self-ambition. We let go of our reputation and become a humble servant who obeys whatever He asks us to do, even if it makes us suffer terribly … because He is worth it all.

Unfortunately the great feeling disappeared and I was left once again weak, in pain and now hungry. I drove to Panera cafe nearby and got a sandwich. I wondered why – why feel and experience such power on a day when I am feeling so weak and shaky? How did that help anyone? Isn’t the power of God meant to heal the sick and cast out demons? Why did I know that information about the man on the path, but nothing about anyone else I passed? Oh, except there was one other instance that was comical. While I sat in my car with my eyes closed before I went for a walk, a white van parked in front of my car. I didn’t hear it arrive. When I opened my eyes, I saw the van and immediately knew there was a man in there in desperate need of the restroom. As I watched, a man left the van and walked quickly in the direction of the park’s restroom. LOL What was that about? What was the point of knowing that information about a stranger? 😂

The Lord told me to focus on Him and not on my misery. This feels like an attack from Baal, the spirit of destruction at work in the sons of disobedience. The spirit that is behind the hate, violence, abuse, bloodshed, lust and greed. I am not a helpless orphan – I am a Much-Loved Child of the Father. 💗

A couple of days later I spoke to a fellow intercessor – she said she felt very strange and discombobulated too. She also experienced the presence of God and the fear of the Lord intensely. She too had no idea why it was happening. So at least I know I’m not alone. And now I’m sharing it here so that if/when it happens to you, you’ll know you are not crazy. 🙂