I am not the dreaming type.  It is rare that I remember any of my dreams, and when I do, they are never anything more than silly night images.  This is why, when I work up one morning with a vivid memory of a very strange dream, I couldn’t put it out of my mind. 

In my dream, I was traveling with my two boys and my beautiful Sheltie, Elsa.  As it was getting late, I stopped at a guesthouse for the night.  My boys were given a room, and I put Elsa with them in her crate.  For some reason I wasn’t given a bed, so I curled up on the floor in the hallway.  During the night, as was my habit, I got up to let Elsa outside.  I didn’t bother to turn on the light, and when she had finished her business, I put her back into her crate. 

You can imagine my surprise when I woke up the next morning to find Elsa was still outside!  What had I put in the dog crate during the night?  I rushed into the boys’ room, only to be met by a mangy-looking male Sheltie.  Where had he come from?  How had I managed to let the wrong Sheltie in?  Why?

As I looked around for answers, I noticed a group of strangers who had stopped at the house during the night.  The mangy Sheltie was their dog.  Then a strange thing happened.  My boys and my dog disappeared into the distance, and the strangers dragged me into their car!

This only seemed to bother me for a few moments, however, and after driving for an hour or so, we stopped somewhere for breakfast.  I fully intended to tell my companions about the dog mix-up during the night, but somehow, the memory of my children and my dog were rapidly fading.  Then a strange cry rang out from a truck across the way.  Instantly, my companions assumed a trance-like stare.  One of them took his glass and broke it across the table, then picking up a carton of milk, he poured some into the broken glass.  I stared in surprise as he forced the truck driver to drink, and then my astonishment changed to horror when the driver assumed the same trance-like state as my companions.  Then they began converging on me, snarling:  “It’s YOUR turn!”

I turned and ran, but to my dismay, they chased me until they had me cornered in an empty room.  “NO!” I cried.  “You’ve made a mistake!  I’m NOT the one you’re after!”

But their response was clear: “There is no mistake.  You accepted our Sheltie, and by accepting him, you invited yourself to travel with us!”

I started to scream, but a voice inside of me resounded over all of the commotion: “I am the way” (John 14:6)—“You . . . are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world!” (1 John 4:4-5)

I started to pray fervently: “Lord, I feel an evil presence in this room!  These people are being controlled by something that is not from you!  Lord, I know You are the strongest.  Fill this room with Your Holy Spirit!  Drive away the demonic presence I sense here!”

Instantly, the people came out of their trance-like state, and I woke up. 

My first thoughts were: “I’ve been watching too much Sci-Fi!”  But in truth, I hadn’t.  I rarely watch TV at all! 

The dream haunted me as I got ready for the day, but it wasn’t until I was biking to work that I began to understand.  I had let the mangy sheltie into Elsa’s crate because the other sheltie was too similar to Elsa, and in the dark, I couldn’t see that I didn’t have my own dog. 

I began to wonder at how easily I had forgotten my family and how quickly it had become natural for me to travel in the wrong car.  Then I recalled how Isaiah 59:19 describes Satan and his forces as coming in “like a flood”.  If you’ve ever been in a flood, you know that the floodwaters swirl around a barrier, looking for the tiniest crack.  Once a drop of water has gotten through, the water rushes in, widening the crack until it is a gaping hole.  The mangy sheltie was the “drop” of floodwater I had allowed in.  After this, it became easy for me to abandon my family and travel down the wrong road with strangers. 

Then I realized that the deception could have been prevented.  I could have turned on a light, and I would have seen that I had the wrong dog.  It occurred to me that the darkness of my night was like the darkness of sin.  Just as I had a light at my disposal in my dream, I carry the Light of the World in my heart—Jesus!  When I try to do things on my own, purposefully choosing to ignore His help, or when I give in “just a little” to temptation, I am giving an open invitation for the “wrong sheltie” to come into the “dog crate” of my heart.  Only by following the Biblical instruction to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17), can I safeguard my heart from Satan so that the wrong spirit cannot overcome me.  Never ceasing to pray will ensure that Jesus was will wash away any sinful ideas or thoughts before they can slip past me and deceive me in the dark. 

My thoughts turned to praise at this point, as I remembered the last part of my dream.  Even though I had caused my dilemma, Jesus was still there to help me overcome.  The last part of Isaiah 59:19 says that when Satan and his evil forces come in like a flood, “The Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”  All I had to do was accept His help!

I thank You, Lord, that You never cease trying to help me come home.  Help me to “Pray without ceasing,” that I may never again let the wrong “sheltie” into the “dog crate” of my heart! 

Lyn Chaffart