“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”(Psalm 91:1) |
I’ve always felt that living in a gated-community would be a bit pretentious for me personally. Too insular, pampered and isolated. I suppose my view has been that those behind tended gates only use the many built-in protections of their environment to avoid riff-raff and inconvenience while those outside in regular neighborhoods live closer to life the way it really is.
On the other hand I would like to live in a gated-community—even pursue one–if we’re talking about my “spiritual” neighborhood and the environment housing my soul. I want as much isolation from wicked riff-raff as I can get. A recent book convinced me all the more.
A little background. I’ve been reading the account of a woman who was trapped in a deceitful cult for near thirty years before finally breaking free. She foolishly handed her life over as a young adult and nearly lost it in the process. Through the years she endured horrific treatment at the hands of the organization but she was somehow always convinced that it was she who had done something wrong; it was never them.
The events that led to her freedom highlight our need to protect our spiritual environment. N. had a total psychotic break while using the cult’s proscribed system to enlightenment. Rather than help her, the group pretty much abandoned her and laid responsibility for the break in her lap.
Since she flipped out in a public setting she ended up in the psych ward of a local hospital and afterward was released to her husband. She was mostly dysfunctional for well over a year and experienced deep depression, hallucinations and nightmares. Her head was in a continuous dark fog. The worst: she often crossed over into a demon-infested dimension.
One night the demons were attempting to take over her body for their own ends. It was the middle of the night and her husband was quietly holding her as he often did. If not for him she might have committed suicide as others she knew had done. She became aware of a great battle going on and then light began to glow in the darkness and it seemed the battle shifted.
She became aware of angels and the darkness receded. They told her that her part in the battle was over and even though it would go on elsewhere they would stay and help protect her. The interesting thing is afterward she nudged her husband and asked him what had happened. What had he just been thinking? He told her that during this time he was praying for her that she would get well. From that night on, gradually, she did. She continued to feel the presence of angels as she slowly healed.
N. did not just stumble accidentally into the demonic realm; she literally put a welcome sign on her front door. Proverbs 14:15 from The Message says, “The gullible believe anything they’re told, the prudent sift and weigh every word. The wise watch their steps and avoid evil, fools are headstrong and reckless.”
What attracted her originally to something so destructive? Utopian goals written on a window poster initially struck her as matching her desire to help the world become a better place. Though friends warned her that the group was mainly money motivated she ignored them. Then at an open house event she discovered something that excited her a great deal: this group claimed to actually help people recover memories from past lives. She was hooked! As she submerged herself more and more deeply into the cult that has strong roots in the occult there were plenty of red flags that could have helped her exit the organization short of the final mental meltdown that she barely survived.
The book has been a struggle for me to read. Often I had to put it down in exasperation. As she continuously strained to make sense of what was happening to her life it was perfectly clear to me. Why did it take her nearly thirty years to see it?
There is a way to dwell safely inside God’s loving protection. Admittance is free. His Word and his ways are like a Divine Gated-Community where we can abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Any that are willing can avoid a lot of trouble and heed this, “But he who listens to me (meaning wisdom) shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil” (Proverbs 1:33). AMEN to that!
Note: I don’t know N. personally, but sadly my interest in her story is more than casual. I have direct knowledge of the particular cult she was deceived by because my own family has been negatively touched by it over many years. I unfortunately know first hand the devastation and heartbreak their false system causes. The ripples cast a wide circle affecting not just willing partners but innocent parties as well.
Here are two related articles you may enjoy:
Delivered from Evil: An Ounce of Prevention and Safe Beneath His Wings
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