A while back, I was on holiday in Wales with a group of friends. We had been out all day and just arrived back at the cottages where we were staying. Before firing up the barbeque and preparing for dinner, I decided to amble down the rocky cliff path to the beach below. The sun was still shining, and I was looking forward to finding a rock and perching quietly for a while.
The beach was deserted. The sound of the waves crashing onto the shore was just the therapy I needed. Throwing off my shoes and feeling the sand on my feet was both liberating and irritating, as it rubbed between my toes.
I soon found a boulder-sized rock that was flat on top. I laid my towel on it for a soft landing. Woohoo! With the whole beach to myself, I curled up under the warmth of the sun.
Sometime later I awoke, my heart beating hard. I felt threatened by a presence and a panting noise close to me. I kept my eyes shut, hoping the presence would leave and I would be left alone with the elements to enjoy the early evening sunshine and waves. Instead, I was disturbed by heavy breathing drawing closer to where I lay. My body remained still, but as my eyes opened, I saw a large, greyish, scruffy-looking, wolf-like dog, salivating as he circled me. With my head in a spin and, to be honest, feeling a little fearful, my eyes surveyed the land to see if I could spot the dog’s owner. Surprisingly, he stepped out from behind the dog. He was probably in his fifties, dressed in rather drab colors, with an oversize beige jacket draped around him. He didn’t smile or speak; just stared – eerily void of any emotion.
I looked intensely towards him, hoping to show my discomfort. However, no reaction was forthcoming. I was now too agitated to stay in a prone position, so I lifted myself up into a crouch on the rock. Without warning, the dog barked loudly and lunged toward me. Again, I eyeballed the man, who just stood there, watching. I looked back at the dog in dismay and mumbled along the lines of, “Are you going to do something about controlling your animal?”
Meanwhile, from the clifftop, I could hear the faint cries of my friend, back from his fishing trip, calling down to me. The dog’s eyes were now angry and confrontational, the man still quiet and distant. I decided to hold my ground, hoping the pair would get bored and move on. After what seemed like an age, the man put the dog on a lead, still in silence. They began to make their way down the beach by the water’s edge.
Shaking and trying to gather my thoughts, any peace shattered by the traumatic encounter, I slowly got up. I found my shoes ten feet away from the rock, where I had thrown them off without a care in the world. As I bent down to do up the Velcro straps, I had my back to the departing man and dog. Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of fear forced me to my feet and, twisting around, I saw the same dog racing toward me at warp speed! The man stood still, not calling the dog to return. Not whistling. Everything within me wanted to run, but I knew I wouldn’t be quick enough to make it up the cliff.
Frozen to the spot, I heard the Lord’s inner voice, like a whisper upon the wind: “Stand your ground and face it head on!”
With my heart beating wildly, my legs like jelly, and my hands sweating profusely, I turned around to face my fear. The dog was approaching at speed, and I knew the sheer size of it would knock me for six.
A wave of indignation washed over me. I remembered the biblical story of David and Goliath. The boy David refused to wear the King’s armor and went into battle with five stones and a sling. Yet it was his words that rang out into the atmosphere and became so alive in me at that moment: “Who are you, you uncircumcised Philistine, to defy the armies of the living God?” One stone was all he needed to flatten the giant.
I rose up, all five feet of me, and stood there in defiance. No dog would take me out, for greater is He on the inside of me, than he that is in the world! Ha! I heard the familiar voice of my Father: “I want you to ROAR!” For a split second, my eyes rolled in disbelief. Is that it? The giant is coming to take me out, and You ask me to roar?
I looked straight into the eyes of the oncoming animal, who was now seven or eight feet away, opened my mouth, and roared from the very depths of my lungs.
What happened next will be ingrained in my memory forever. It was like something in a movie. The dog flipped on its side and skidded the last few feet, stopping one inch from me. Then, head down, tail between its legs, it whined, turned around, and trotted back up the beach!
On the outside I was shaken, but inside I rejoiced at the victory. That day taught me that fear can only take hold of us if we let it. I learned that we never go into battle alone. The Lord of Heaven’s armies is our defender. Whatever mountain we are facing, He gives us the courage to overcome and not go around it, because, for every victory, your faith gets stronger. You have the Greater One on the inside of you. Know who you are and whose you are – a son or daughter of the King.
There will be shakings and obstacles to overcome. However, when we are fastened to the Rock that cannot move, we can stand with our heads held high, courageous and bold as a lion, and ROAR!
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Nicky Freeman is a prophet and a life coach with a passion to see people walking in true freedom and victory. She enjoys writing poetry, short stories, drama sketches and general life ponderings! She is currently based in West Sussex.
Please feel free to contact Nicky via her email address nicky@nickyfreemancoaching.com
Love this Nicky, very powerful x