A testimony of saving faith - in a very literal sense (undeniable)

Hi ATS,

Once upon a time, in 2011, I became unwell - I had what people have historically & colloquially referred to as a 'nervous breakdown'. This came about as the result of excessively stressful events in my life which became a point of crisis & a resulting breakdown after many weeks of problem piled on top of problems, it was very severely stressful, traumatic even.

Ultimately, I had to go to hospital where the plan was to help me relax & recover bit by bit. Family members pitched in & resolved the problems which had been my downfall, after some concerted effort & deft teamwork. It was too much for one person to bear, as the results demonstrated. With the crushing pressures removed, I was given space to start my recovery, and it went reasonably well, though overall it took around a month to get right again. I learned a lot about myself, the world, and the need for good, strong people around you, in those thirty or so days.

While in hospital, I was conversing regularly with a guy who had a similar problem to myself, he also was recovering from a breakdown. He was much older than me, but we shared several interests in terms of religion, philosophy & esoteric writings. One day we were discussing the famed 'Bible Code'. Now of course many claim that the phenomenon described was a plain & simple hoax; however, I'm not so sure. It's a long time since I've looked into it, but on a semi-related note there is an author who has written a wonderful book about the esoteric & hidden meanings of the Hebrew language - look him up (Stan Tenen). Amazing theory - some of his conclusions are a bit off, but the work itself is remarkable, and the phenomenon is gripping, if you're into that sort of thing.

Anyway, we were discussing this in one of the corridors which led only to patient bedrooms, which were all automatically locked whether someone is in there or not (only so nobody breaks into the room without permission - residents are free to enter & exit the rooms at will, using a key). So we were discussing the Bible Code, very deep in thoughtful conversation, when one of the other residents barged into us & started mocking & slapping my aquaintence around the head - the guy is bald, so he was winding him up, though it was aggresive, not welcomed or playful. He (the aggressor) had been drinking (which isn't permitted, but of course it sometimes happens anyway..) So I stand in the way of my friend (who was a timid guy, would never fight) & make a gesture to my friend not to worry, as the guy has been drinking. I made the 'cup swigging' gesture to emphasise to my friend that the other guy had been drinking & that was why he was behaving like this.

Well, something sparked in this guy when I made that gesture. Bear in mind that he was blind drunk, but as a big & powerful guy you really wouldn't want to be on his bad side. He basically snapped, his expression went to blank violence in a heartbeat. I knew he was going to leather me (I'm disabled, don't have much strength & can't walk very well - so clearly the guy was out of line for wanting to start a fight..) So as he bears down the corridor towards me, I started backing up, backing up, hoping he changes his mind about attacking me. I weighed my walking stick in my hand, to see if it would make a useful weapon - of course this enraged him further, and I'm absolutely serious in saying that he probably would have killed me, in that state. He was a nasty guy even without being blind drunk, so I appear basically doomed.

As I was backing up, with no escape possible as all doors are locked, I remember becoming enraged about the injustice of the situation. I reached the end of the corridor at that point, knowing that I was doomed, unless a miracle took place. In that transient moment of rage against the injustice, I spun round 180 degrees & faced away from him, my back to him as he continued to advance.

In that moment, as soon as I spun round, I bowed my head, banged my walking stick on the ground in front of me, and shouted: "In the name of God!" I am a Christian, and you'd have thought I'd say "In the name of Jesus" but in the moment my thoughts weren't 100% rational according to my normal customs in prayer & whatnot. Now in that very moment, in that very second when I banged the stick down & shouted, I became peaceful for a moment, resigned to what would probably cause me serious injuries, possibly even death as nobody capable was on hand to pull him away.

One of my friends in there was a girl, very nice, very pleasant to talk to, and in that moment I described above she had come to the end of the corridor, planning to walk to her room. She saw what was unfolding & screamed at the guy, before very bravely jumping on his back to distract him, which she had no chance of doing as she was quite small. But afterwards, she said that when she saw me, that was the very moment I'd spun round & shouted, while this guy was trying to attack me. But she said that she saw an incredible thing - the guy who wanted to attack me was moving around the back of my body, snarling & pushing against what she described as an invisible barrier, like a dog snarling & growling at someone trying to bite but unable due to the length of the leash being too short to reach you. She said his face was animalistic & savage, like a beast more than a man, in that moment, he was snarling & pacing, repeatedly trying to advance aggressively to attack.

He was completely - COMPLETELY - unable to attack. He really tried, but 'something' was literally preventing him from doing so, like a literal invisible barrier that he simply couldn't pass through. By providence the very last door of the bedrooms was open, but I wouldn't have managed to get past him to enter in the moments before I turned round & shouted - he was blocking my way. When this girl jumped on his back, he was distracted for a moment, and because I knew he could kill me I darted into the room & shut the door. He had already made it plain that he wasn't going to attack the girl, on principle (remarkably) so I didn't feel off for having taken myself out of the firing line. As I went into the room one guy, a member of staff, came & intervened, trying to restrain & subdue the attacker. Sadly, during the struggle the staff member got quite a nasty beating, though thankfully he was trained to a level which meant that he knew how to protect his most vital body areas, how to resist & minimise the effects of an unbalanced struggle, between a more powerful person & oneself. I believe that saved him from horriffic injuries in the two minutes it took for the alarm to be raised. It only stopped when several staff members flew into action, the alarm having finally been raised.

Afterwards we even laughed a little, amazed at what seemed to be a literal miracle, saving me from a potential murder.. We (including the male staff member who intervened) all joked a little, unnerved but thankful, at that the way I slammed the walking stick down in the very moment I made my statement in such a loud voice, that it was exactly like the movie, 'Lord of the Rings', where Gandalf slams his magical staff down & confidently shouts "You shall not pass!!" to the wicked attacker, in a stereotypical 'powerful wizard' voice.

I'm no wizard, but I do believe that God, the Supreme Being, stepped into our reality in a powerful way & Himself restrained the attacker from his murderous quest.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment
Interesting experience. Thanks for sharing it.
I have heard/read similar stories throughout my life from different faiths. Christian, Muslim, Pagans, etc. I find them quite interesting. I think most can be explained as just how the circumstances unfolded, but some are more compelling in my opinion.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

Beautiful story. We are spirits in human flesh.

I have seen these "manifestations of anger" spirits as well

I bowed my head, banged my walking stick on the ground in front of me, and shouted: "In the name of God!" I am a Christian,

You said it with emotion and power - that's why "miracles" happen.

I used to be a christian then went pagan. I have been assisted by acts of power when a christian as well as when a pagan.

Whether God or Us - we are god/s anyway or used to be gods; you reclaimed your power.

Please don't take my words as attacking your faith.

Don't you play those games on me

Don't you lay that blame on me

Cause baby......IT'S YOUR SAVING GRACE......

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

Thank God for little girls.

She is the one who saw the miracle after all.
===========

Thank you.
I needed that.

a reply to: Klassified

I have heard/read similar stories throughout my life from different faiths. Christian, Muslim, Pagans, etc.

What if God cares about something other than religious World views?

In that case miracles don't prove the superiority of one over another.

a reply to: pthena

I believe that God makes Himself evident all over the world, wherever faith in Truth is evident,,,

Justice, nercy & humility - that is all that God requires of us. It is the central evidence of His presence & activity on Earth, and is recorded in the Bible as the literal character standard for humanity which is supposed to be required of us*, supportively evident of His truth & power the world over, manifesting the law of His grace which is in effect everywhere, as you say, yet without direct evidence that He is present, hence 'faith'..

* Perhaps He was showing Himself to you in that moment; becoming apparent as the Supreme law of nature everywhere..

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

Justice, Mercy, humility, and caring in sympathy: yes, virtues well nigh universally valued.

* Perhaps He was showing Himself to you in that moment; becoming apparent as the Supreme law of nature everywhere..

I was beginning to think, based upon what people post, that most people take it for granted that miracles never occur. I needed to read about a miracle right about then.

So thank you for sharing.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

That read like a good chapter in a book. Very interesting experience you had. Thanks for sharing!

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

i had posted my road to redemption but for some reason it disappeared so here it is again.

Back in 86 a friend of mine had returned to his faith and was going to a Charismatic Fellowship. He invited me to go, I hadn't been in a church since I was a child. The speaker was a missionary who ministered in the Marshal islands. He told a tale of his wife being abused by a native islander and how he wanted retribution fior what he had done. He told us that he clung tight to a tent pole to keep from attacking the person, he had been witnessing to him about the love of God. At this point I began to get a since of conviction about my life and my separation from God. At that point I got up and went out to the lobby. There was person in the lobby who sensed my situation, he lead me to a janitors closet, where he lead me in prayer to confess my sins and my separation from God and my desire to bridge that gap by asking Jesus into my life.

I was addicted to 90 proof Peruvian marching powder, my connection was getting it from Medina Arkensaw. This was in 86 the height of the epidemic. I was physically addicted to the stuff, we so strug out I was hearing DEA agents on the roof of my house.

This was August 10th 1986, when I got up off my knees there was this sense of peace, i had partook of my addiction that morning to calm my nerves, i hadn't seen my connection in about two weeks and had been out for a few days. I was going threw withdraws. Since that day I've had no desire to partake in my addictions, which I had been doing since I was 14 in one form or another., I had been doing the hard stuff for about 3 years.

All my fair weather friends came by one time, I told them of my deliverance and about Jesus, they said that's great and they never came back. That was 34 years ago and I'm still clean and sober. It was a true deliverance no withdraws no desire to partake in my former addiction to this day.

a reply to: pthena

What if God cares about something other than religious World views?

I don't have any belief in deities, but on this...

...miracles don't prove the superiority of one over another.

...we can agree.

a reply to: Klassified

Belief or non-belief in deities indicates a difference in worldview.

so those things that happen (notice italics) don't prove the superiority of one over another.

That's very interesting, thanks for sharing.
Just to be clear, you didn't actually see anything out of the ordinary yourself, but the girl told you that she saw the strange invisible barrier?

I do believe in miracles of a kind, though I don't think they break the laws of nature. I think they follow laws of physics and consciousness that we haven't discovered yet.

a reply to: thesearchfortruth

Correct; I was myself standing calmly with my head bowed, eyes closed, after shouting & banging my walking stick on the ground. She said that for something like twenty seconds she witnessed him butting up against some invisible 'force-field', which seemed to be a shield through which he could not pass, not his hands, feet, or any part of his body. He was growling & snarling, it seemed to be a full-on demonic manifestation.

She jumped on his back & was yelling in his ears. I turned round at this point, and because everyone could see that he still intended to attack me, they shouted at me to enter the room which had its door ajar. He threw my friend off his back & at that point the male staff member came down the corridor to try to restrain him.

Unfortunately there was a heck of a scuffle, he was taking kicks & punches around the head & ribs, but thankfully before it got too dangerous a group of around four male staff members came running through the door adjacent to the corridor & managed to restrain him (but it really did take all of them to keep him pinned down).

I look back on this event & see it as a pivotal moment in the development of my faith, I knew that God had stepped in, because what else could it have been? Something supernatural went down when I called on God - God answered. My life now, as a disabled person, has been very difficult for over ten years (degenerative neurological disorder causing severe pain throughout my whole body every day) - but inwardly, I am being renewed in the way I perceive my life, the blessings I'm gifted with, the way my sons are growing up into fine young men, my wife is so caring & devoted.

I have become isolated due to the restrictions on my mobility, but just these past couple of years I've been working to develop a design consultancy of sorts, and in recent months I actually started a partnership with two associates who have great contacts in the local & national business communities, they're helping to get my work in front of powerful decision-makers, and it's starting to look very likely that we'll be celebrating successes in the next few months.

I thank God as often as I'm reminded of the blessings I've received, and I know that Christ is Lord of my life, and that He is with me, even when I turn my thoughts inward to pray, He is immediately present, which is the greatest blessing of all.

Maybe he was possessed and you created a spiritual barrier? Maybe the man could’ve penetrated the barrier as there was nothing physically there but the demon couldn’t invade the space you had deemed holy?