Separate From the Will I Gave Them

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” -Acts 2: 1-4

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These are extremely troubling times for everyone, especially those who are vulnerable to the effects of COVID19 from exposure to coronavirus. While potentially deadly and a serious physical threat, this virus may also create damaging effects to the mental psyche as well. This piece will be addressing those effects, and I would like to discuss an option for those who may also need the spiritual support I needed.

In order to do my part to encourage safe health practices that I believe can be of great assistance, I wanted to share a spiritual experience that I had yesterday on April 3, 2020. This experience has shaped how I will approach communication with others and myself from now on as we all face an uncertain future due to this virus. 

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While in a very anxious, fearful and questioning state of being, I had decided that I needed to simply go straight to the source. This is something that I think is important for every believer to understand. Whenever you are in doubt of the state of your life or the world around you, the only real option you have is to literally look up to the sky—the direction of earth that, unlike the ground, is free and open and endless. 

So I did this. First I held my hands up to receive, and as I prayed I spoke in tongues, a gift that I received after earnestly answering an alter call at a local church in San Diego. The moment I received the gift of tongues was something I can’t describe. I knew it was going to probably be the most special day in my life, and it turns out it really was. You see, I was always a skeptic of those who claimed to be “speaking in tongues” and those who claimed to receive it as a gift. Although I strongly understood and respected the gift of speaking in tongues as referenced in the Bible (specifically in the Book of Acts), I always thought the real life practice of this gift appeared fraudulent.  

How do you know if someone is really speaking in tongues and how do you know if they are just babbling?

Speaking in tongues is a practice that requires two key elements: a speaker and an interpreter. This is so that the words that are being spoken can be confirmed as actual words from God. This is truly one of the most complex and fascinating elements that I have explored since studying the Bible, and I always was confused as to how you could prove God’s existence or how an interpreter could even verify that the person who was speaking in the foreign tongue was speaking the same message. But even with these doubts, I still persisted in practicing this without a translator. I started to understand my feelings and my thoughts and got direct reassurance from God that He heard the cries from my heart and confirmed that He would see everything through. This continuous experience is where my hope and solace for myself and the world lives. 

However, even though I had a new speaking relationship with the direct source and found personal comfort in that, it still wasn’t being translated via an interpreter and that is what I ultimately wanted. I felt like if I could not only communicate and receive, but also find a way to share the foreign tongue to others, then I wouldn’t be sounding like a babbling fool to the outside world, which is truly how it must sound and appear to others. 

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 Real results 

Yesterday, in a place of pure determination and desperation, I called out again to the Lord, but this time I felt like I had to establish proof of this conversation and these messages and revelations I have been receiving.  They were numerous and it was too much for me to remember it all, but the last sentence stood out so intensely that I suddenly stopped, put my hands down and rushed to my notebook to write it down immediately.

I knew it had to be quick because a message of this magnitude can be just as easily lost as it is discovered if you do not bury it inside your heart. Delighted by the success of contacting the Holy Spirit, I started to understand it all: I was speaking in tongues out loud at the same exact time I was reading/interpreting the message in my mind in English. This experience was nothing short of spectacular. Miraculous, absolutely, but more importantly this exercise showed me how with just a small step of faith and action God will give you the untold pleasure of His confirmation.

The message was easy and simple: “Separate from the will I gave them.”

It has an absolute direct and personal message for me, and I am using this as a strong command in my life in order to reassess the direction I am moving and how I may be influencing others around me. 

I believe the beauty of this message, and the overall beauty of having not only someone who speaks in tongues but also an interpreter, is that it takes the secretive thoughts and revelations of an individual and collectively gives that critical information to the community in a miraculous process which greatly benefits everyone. 

It is my solemn hope that through these tragic times someone will be blessed by this story and will look into acquiring this magnificent, miraculous gift for themselves.

To learn more about the gift of tongues as referenced in the Bible I would cite the Book of Acts as a great starting source. *Also read 1 Corinthians Chapter 14