Hugging the Father Vision
Angel Mercy
On 17, October 2019 I was listening to a sermon by Judah Smith with my husband and our friends Spandan and Mahesh. In his message titled “Does God help those who help themselves,” he teaches how God ignores our speech when we say how worthless we are.
When the prodigal son returned home, he wanted to remain in a state of feeling unworthy. He was prepared, and even content, to be a servant in his father's house. The unconditional love of his father would not listen to any of it. Instead, he embraced him and restored him back because his connection with the father wasn’t dependent on what he did or didn’t do or have done. It was dependent on the finished work of Jesus.
Our connection with God is not related to our weaknesses, strengths, or accomplishments. Just like the prodigal son’s father embraced him when he returned, God accepts all of us, weaknesses and all.
When Judah Smith said, “hug God without thinking about yourself,” I had a vision from God. In the vision, I was wearing a maroon shirt that I really own and I gave God a huge hug. The moment I wrapped my arms around, I was submerged into God’s tangible presence. It wasn’t just a vision. His love was gushing into me.
I love the way this maroon shirt fits me in real and the fact that I was wearing this shirt just a couple days before I saw this vision speaks to me that no matter what I’ve done or where I’ve been I am still connected to God the Father and nothing can ever separate me from his love. Roman 8:36-38
And this doesn’t give me permission to sin but it empowers me to know who I am and to live by Godly standard.
It was like God made a movie trailer of the sermon for me personally. Maroon can symbolize sin and cleansing and freedom from sin. Fire, infilling of the Spirit, which is how the Holy Spirit’s presence came gushing into me.
Maroon also represents new wine, praise, worship, love, royalty, or identity. I love the way my maroon shirt fits. It’s snug and comfortable. It does not feel old and worn out. God was showing me that with his help, I have reached a place in my life that I am comfortable with who I am and I have accepted the new I have found in him (new wine). Matthew 9:17; I Peter 2:9
In the sermon Judah Smith also said we are not just the sum of our strengths, nor are we are the sum of our weaknesses. We need to accept who God says that we are, but also see ourselves how he sees us. Jesus doesn’t identify me by how high I’ve gone, or how low.
We are not perfect and if I have learned something in the past few years, that is to run back to the Father like the prodigal son did and to trust God with ourselves. I believe this act of running back to the Father is not a one-time thing. I believe we should do it every single day. In fact, the minute we feel distant from God we should run back to him.
I never have to be concerned about the Lord turning me away. The Lord accepts me as I am. I never have to feel shame to embrace him. He is always present, he loves me, and he will always love on me.
Paul says he boasts in his weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). It is our weaknesses that take us to the feet of Jesus. Jesus doesn't see shame, nor does he shame us. Therefore, we have nothing to be ashamed of.
God wants us to be completely dependent on Him as it states in Proverbs 3:5,6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
Don't beat yourself up by what you’ve done. Stay in the warm embrace of God’s love.
The story of the Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-32 (MSG)
11-12 Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’
12-16 “So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.
17-20 “That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.
20-21 “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’
22-24 “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.
25-27 “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’
28-30 “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’
31-32 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”
Related posts: Visions; Cindy’s Vision of Rest; The Name Vision;
Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash
