Out of the Whirlwind

In June of 2010, about two months before we gave up our house and set out on the road, God gave me a dream telling us how we were to go about our ministry.

In my dream, I was standing in our living room and, from the ceiling came a swirling wind that enveloped me. It continued to moved in a circular motion around me, resembling the funnel of a small tornado.

I was mesmerized by the movement of air around me, yet on the inside, it was peaceful and still. Then, out of the wind, I heard a voice speak:

“Your job is to tell those that already know.”

In the last three years, we have done exactly as were told. We have been sent to numerous people, all of which claim Christianity, but don’t live it. God has sent us to remind people of their commitment to Him. Some people pledge their lives to God at the time of salvation, or when God has brought them through some great trouble.

Just like the children of Israel in the Old Testament, when things were going good, they forgot their commitment to God, and He had to send a prophet to remind them that they were His people. Our mission, it turns out, has not been that different.

Since God spoke to me out of the whirlwind, I thought it would be interesting to see what else a *whirlwind was used for. (*In Hebrew, the word is translated as tempest.)

In 2 Kings, Elijah was taken up to heaven alive in a whirlwind.

In Job 37:9, we are told that the whirlwind comes out of the south. South, in Hebrew, is chamber. Does that mean that a whirlwind comes out of God’s chambers?

In Psalm 107:25, God commands a ‘stormy wind’ to come upon the people.

In Isaiah, there are three instance of ‘whirlwind’. In 5:28, Isaiah compares the turning of chariot wheels to that of a whirlwind. In 17:13, a mass of people running away from God are compared to a tumbleweed being blown by a wind storm. And 66:15 tells us that God uses a whirlwind ‘to render His anger in fury.’

In Jeremiah, there are two scriptures dealing with whirlwinds. In 23:19, God uses a whirlwind to show His fury against the wicked. 30:23 is a repeat of the same scripture.

Ezekiel uses some of the most symbolic imagery in Scripture to describe what the whirlwind was made of.

In Amos 1:14, God uses a whirlwind and fire to destroy palaces.

In Nahum 1:3, it says that ‘the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.’

It would seem that most of the Scripture about whirlwinds is about when God is about to pronounce a judgment upon someone. That has been our experience in our journey thus far. Everyone that has rejected what God had to offer very soon had many troubles enter their lives.

If God ever speaks to anyone from a whirlwind, take heed. If the Scriptures are anything to go by, God means business.

Attenborough Black

The above image was given to me in a dream on the morning of March 15, 2013. I drew this sketch as soon as I got up to try to capture the message it seemed to convey. It seemed that I was looking at a picture~a very old picture. The man in the picture seemed to have somewhat of a Johnny Depp in the character of Jack Sparrow look about him. His shirt seemed to be made out of burlap fabric, because the weave was very coarse and rough. Even though the clothing was very prominent, it was the eyes that seemed to stand out the most. As the image faded away, the words spoken into my ear was “Attenborough Black.”

All that morning, I struggled to figure out just what ‘Attenborough Black’ meant. The only ‘Attenborough’ I knew of was David, the English narrator of nature shows. So, I googled the name, to see what popped up. I ended reading all about David and his brothers, Richard and John, but nothing really jumped out at me, so I mulled it over for the next two days.

The one thing that I had watched that first day that kept coming into my mind was a video of David Attenborough narrating a segment about underwater thermal vents, and the role they play in the oceanic environment. I had watched several different videos, but nothing really ‘spoke’ to me. But, at that point, I knew I was on the right track, so I kept searching. After finding nothing in search after search, I typed ‘David Attenborough’ one last time and looked through the list of websites that came up. I realized there was one I had not previously clicked. Within the first few seconds of the less-than-3 minute video, I found what God was leading me to find. (follow link below)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/Hydrothermal_vent#p00fff1y



Mr. Attenborough explained how life was sustainable for certain oceanic animals, even at high temperatures, and with no light from the sun. Until these creatures were discovered, scientists thought that no life could sustain without sunlight. It was then that I knew what the dream meant.

My daughter had met, about four months prior, a young man named Johnny that was just checking himself into a drug rehabilitation center after 14 years of heroin use. He had tried several detox centers during those years, but this time he had a new attitude, because he had asked Jesus into his heart.

The Lord led us to minister to him, which we did for 3 months, and he has become a new person. While he still has ‘urges’, God is helping him overcome all the temptation thrown at him.

As David Attenborough pointed out, life can be found in even the deepest, darkest places, even if others never thought it was possible.