The Pot of Boiling Acid

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"For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword." (Job 33:14-18, NIV).

In a dream I saw an angel standing with a large vat in his hands. The vat was filled with what appeared to be acid. A man came and stood before the angel, who then began to pour the acid upon the man's head! "What are you doing?!" I exclaimed. The angel continued pouring as he looked at me and solemnly said, "These are the curses with which he has cursed others, now being poured out upon his own head!"

The sight was so riveting that I woke up and lay still in my bed. I wondered first if I was the man, and quickly started blessing everybody I could think of! Next, I questioned if what I had seen in the dream could even be true, for it seemed so sinister. And yet it also had a sobering sense of Divine justice about it. I found the sight to be deeply disturbing. I got up and began searching through the Scripture for an answer. My search was not fruitless.

"He loved to pronounce a curse - may it come on him; he found no pleasure in blessing - may it be far from him. He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil" (Psalm 109:17-18).

I clearly saw the lesson that Lord was illustrating through this dream: The man who curses others will himself be cursed. Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matthew 7:1-2).

As it applies to cursing, so also does it apply to blessing. The man who blesses others will himself be blessed. Whatever measure you mete out will be measured back to you. In yet another text Jesus said "bless those who curse you!" (Matthew 5:44).

Could it be that the blessing we speak to those who are cursing us is for the purpose of keeping us from coming into the place of cursing ourselves? I think so. How solemn to think that cursing another postures you to receive that very curse upon yourself!

But then, how wonderful to believe that by blessing another you inevitably inherit the blessing yourself! Despite the bewildering images of this night vision, one thing is certain: Since having this dream I have been very careful with my words.

As for me and my house -- we are going to BLESS others; that we might inherit a blessing.
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