Awakening: The Deep Sleep (The Deep Sleep Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

As if in response to her unspoken questions, he motioned out over the endless scene and asked, “Will you help us?”

“Us?” Beloved questioned.

He seemed surprised at her question. “Yes, us,” he answered as he bent down and tenderly held the hand of one sleeping woman. “We are the angelic who serve those sleeping here.”

Suddenly, Beloved’s eyes were opened to the extraordinary assembly of angelic beings all around her, waiting as he had been. Now in sight were thousands of beautifully bright elysian beings towering over her, radiating confident peace in spite of their concern for those asleep.

Some of the angelic knelt down to speak to those sleeping. Lovingly, yet earnestly, they tried to awaken those held captive by the deep sleep. The great care they expressed for those sleeping stirred a compassion in Beloved for them as well – she wanted to help if she could.

Looking again to the being who had addressed her, Beloved asked, “How can
I
help
you
?”

He rose and stood again beside her and said, “We’ve been unable to wake them because we cannot enter their world of dreams.”

As she approached each precious person, her spirit felt the impressions of what their lives were like. Beloved thought for a while, then realized she had been given grace to decipher the hearts of man, yet seeing only what the Father wanted to show her. She could see glimpses into their past, present and future, and sensed the pain they’d experienced in the world they lived in.

Sitting down in the flowers near the woman whose hand the angel had clasped, Beloved was drawn to help this very sweet and gentle woman. She brushed the woman’s hair from her face and felt a wave of peace as her hand grazed her face.

Beloved was then gripped by a rapid succession of pictures that flew through her mind. The woman had been an avid follower of Jesus as a child but had fallen in love very young, and an abortion in her teens had aged her and injured her heart. She still wanted God, but grew cynical and mistrustful of Him.

Though the woman grew up and eventually married, Beloved saw that she never regained the passion for her First Love. Instead, she kept up with what she felt was
expected
of her as a Christian woman and hid her true yearnings. Subsequently, she was led astray – finding her worth not in her heavenly Father but in a temporal world of power and importance.

Beloved could feel the longing in the woman’s heart for something more – something real that had eluded her in her pursuits. But she had been unable to shake the sleep of the world she believed was her reality.

As Beloved knelt by the woman, she dropped her head in her hands and cried. Turning to the awaiting angelic and shaking her head, she exclaimed, “She was so close.”

“Close to what?” he asked her.

“True reality,” Beloved cried.

She then turned and touched the hand of a man asleep near her on her other side. She saw a large building filled with people who admired him, yet he felt empty. He was so busy running and working continually, trying desperately to attain a satisfactory measure of peace that seemed to elude him. It appeared no level of success would ever be enough to ease the force in his life that was recklessly driving him from one project to the next.

From one need to another, this man gave himself to his work. Only occasionally in his downtime would he question himself as to what was driving him. He wondered, “Why am I still so empty?”

Beloved went from person to person, and each individual had a history of trials and successes, driven by unseen forces within them. Yet all had the internal
question in their heart they had not given themselves time to dwell on: “What is this life really about?”

As they worked and lived in their perceived realities, questions drifted in and out of their thoughts only occasionally in their busyness. The questions seemed to come as the heavenly creatures tried to awaken them.

Unfortunately, as soon as they would attempt to struggle with their slumber, they were captivated again by the poisonous fragrance of the wildflowers of the world and, again, busied themselves in what they believed to be of true importance.

Overwhelmed by the seemingly beguiled condition of those caught in the deep sleep, Beloved wept. She wanted to run away but was surrounded by a crowd of the angelic who were anticipating her help.

Her face sank into her hands once again as she suddenly realized, “This is the Lord’s last-days army!”

These poor, cleverly deluded people were those He was counting on to fulfill His great mandate. These noble warriors of immense importance to God were presently living in a dream reality – a distraction from their true life and purpose. Increasing her anxiety, she knew these essential warriors did not even realize they were at war.

She could see it was a clever lie for, effectively, they had forgotten who they were. They had lost sight of
heaven and the reality of its realm and were, indeed, held captive in a temporal world apart from their eternal Source.

Heaven and earth are indeed one, separated only by an expanse of sky. Yet so much of the earthly world is believing its own reasonings and has rationalized its own “truth,” that it belongs only to itself, existing independently from the realm of its Creator.

Unfortunately, many of this world’s inhabitants found out too late they had believed a deceptive version of reality, as if living in a dream world. They lived their lives serving an illusion that this earthly life was all that mattered, without really considering its origin, and thus were driven by a tricky delusion keeping them isolated from the truth of its blessed union with heaven.

Beloved considered all she was discovering, yet it only deepened her sadness and seemed to increase the terrible difficulty she was faced with. She needed help; she could not fight this battle on her own. It was too much for her.

Sensing her burden, the angelic host drew near and comforted her with their support.

“You are not alone,” they informed her.

“I’m not?”

“No, Beloved. There are other seekers just like yourself who’ve discovered true reality is not found in this earthly realm; they are like you and they know of you.”

“Why, if they know me, do they not show themselves?” She felt frustrated and befuddled, almost angry at hearing what he had told her.

He placed his hand gently on her shoulder and she could now see a vision of what had previously been hidden from her. “A prophetic host!” she exclaimed with whispered excitement.

She could see in the spirit realm a relatively small but intensely powerful army of the King’s seekers who were hidden in plain sight. They were concealed for their protection as well as for the significance of the battle they were to fight. Many of them were even unaware of the destiny that lay before them; they had no idea of their importance.

The angel answered her thoughts, “Yes, Beloved. They are hidden. The Father has hidden them for the next great battle … the battle to awaken His Son’s precious bride.”

Now, seeing them through the eyes of the Spirit, she no longer felt alone. For the first time since awakening, she felt hope rise in her heart.

You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.

—Psalm 31:3 NLT

AS THE VISION
faded, she dropped to her knees. She began to pray for the prophetic and the army of the Lord, but especially for herself. For she knew great difficulty lay ahead of her and she would need God’s strength.

Beloved prayed with all her soul, venting her worry through the deep travail that poured from her heart. She lay emotionally exhausted on the ground, interceding throughout the night until at last she felt the peace of God fill her, and she finally rested in the place she’d fallen.

When she rose from her rest, determined compassion surged inside. It was of the utmost importance she try and find the hidden host she’d seen in her vision. Beloved didn’t know exactly where to begin, but had a mysterious sense she would be guided. She was compelled to find them and, however long it may take her to get to them, she had determined to succeed.

Saying goodbye to the angelic she’d met guarding the sleeping army, she ventured on toward fields of golden wheat just outside the region of the toxic flowers. Though she felt deeply for the sleeping souls, she knew help for them would not come from her alone and was grateful to be finally leaving to find that help.

As she entered the fields, she suddenly felt such indefinable freedom, filling her with the desire to run. Away from the oppression of the sleeping army she ran with hurried strain. Wanting to run away from her worry, she wasn’t sure where she was going, but was compelled to run – to put distance between herself and the upsetting burden she felt for the sleeping army.

The fields were beautifully golden and glimmered as the warm sun hit them. It lifted her spirit to be released to follow the leading of her heart, to be following the purpose she knew God had given her. Running through the tall stalks of wheat, it seemed to brush away her sorrow from the night before. She wanted to feel the joy
the wheat seemed to possess, but was still caught up in the determination she felt in her assignment.

In her heart, she knew she would experience many trials in her journey, and there was a great distance to be traveled before she would encounter any sign of the host. Still, it felt good for her to begin.

As she ran through the fields, a song began to fill her heart. It was a song she remembered the angels singing over her while she rested with them, and it encouraged her. “Come to the table … the Savior wants you to join in the feast...” (Michael Card lyrics) – over and over in her mind and spirit the special tune resonated.

Running through the fields, she was captivated by the scene surrounding her. She was completely caught off guard when it seemed something had suddenly reached up and grabbed her foot.

With a thud, she landed on the ground. Turning to see what had tripped her, what she saw puzzled her. It was a rock!

Completely surprised and bewildered, she looked all around it to see if someone had hidden behind it, but there was no one there … there was no one anywhere.
Beloved stood alone in the field staring at an amazingly large rock in the middle of the vast field.

“A rock? How could a rock
grab me
?” Beloved wondered.

Attempting to convince herself she had, in fact, only tripped, she sat in the middle of the large, open field and stared at the rock. In her bemusement, she pulled up some stalks of wheat and threw them toward the rock. Suddenly, she felt an outburst of laughter flood the atmosphere around her.

“Who’s there?” she demanded, nearly coaxed into laughter herself, much to her own surprise.

Still and quiet, waiting to hear if someone were near her, she again heard nothing. She looked back at the rock and puzzled over it. Tilting her head to one side, she studied it curiously, noticing that she felt strangely drawn to it.

Beloved sat for a moment, then cautiously reached up to touch the rock. When she did, she felt a sear of pulsating power go through her hand. The current went up into her arm and flooded her heart. It was an amazingly powerful sensation that made her feel tremendously alive.