Dinah pressed her forehead to the floor. The Voice of God reverberated throughout the entirety of her being. She felt as though He was everywhere, but she dared not look upon Him. The blaze before her was too bright to take in, even had she wanted to. Her senses were completely overwhelmed, to the point that they were so acutely sensitive they may as well not have worked at all. Dinah wasn’t sure what emotion she was feeling anymore either. It could have been fear, but it was so profoundly different than the state she normally lived in that it seemed more likely to be joy. It wasn’t a sensation she was familiar with. A sense of calm, and peace, and power emanated from the flame. Dinah struggled to wrap her mind around the possibility that this was actually happening. Disbelief would have been an expected reaction, except that it was belief that formed the basis of everything that was occurring. Yet somehow she still had trouble believing God would reveal himself to her. Who was she to come face to face with the Great I Am?
“Did you not call upon me child?” The voice was like a multitude in one. It sounded like the entire world was speaking to her at once. “I need your help, Lord. Desperately! Forgive my unbelief, but I never expected to hear your voice.” Dinah couldn’t control the tremors that shook her from head to toe.
“I don’t measure your faith as a man would. I have heard the prayers you couldn’t speak, and know your heart.” God’s voice soothed her fear.
“Thank you Lord! I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything. The Holy Spirit has called out to me on your behalf. I know that it is your cousin that you worry for. Your worry is needless.” God’s authority was absolute and evident in every syllable, yet Dinah still wanted reassurance.
“Lord, what do you mean? Nobody has seen Dylan. We have no idea where to find him or how to help him. How can you tell me not to worry?!” Dinah regretted her angry outburst the moment the words left her lips.
“You needn’t worry because I know where to find him, and how to help him, and have already done both. Trust in me and you needn’t worry ever again.” His words were not harsh but they revealed where the lack of an intentional relationship between them had left Dinah with an insecurity that could be steadied in no other way.
“I want to trust you. But I don’t even trust me.” Dinah whispered these last words, shame burning her cheeks.
“I trust you.” The Lord spoke a wholeness into Dinah with three simple words, “Now, let me show you what you cannot see.” The blaze in the center of the room was extinguished. Blackness overtook the room and Dinah covered her head, not knowing what was to come next.
“Still you cower. I will give you reason, not just to trust me, but to glorify my name.” The Lord’s voice grew in intensity with every word spoken, until it blinded Dinah and drowned out her consciousness. It was as though she dissolved into nothing and became everything all at once.
When she opened her eyes again she found herself in the middle of a marbled foyer. Sunlight streamed through high windows. The effect of dusky hues on the surrounding marble was an ethereal glow that left Dinah wondering if she was actually in heaven. As she took in her surroundings a robed figure appeared at her side. Despite his instantaneous approach, Dinah felt no fear. She could see everything as it was meant to be seen, and could immediately discern everything about her surroundings, including the robed figure’s intentions. Omniscience blossomed in her mind. It was overwhelming. Dinah gripped the sides of her head unsure her mind was built to comprehend so much at once. “This is how you were created to be. You will grow accustomed to it.” The robed figure communicated directly with her by thought. The sound that reverberated through her thoughts was richer than any voice she had ever heard. It’s beauty left her gasping for breath. “I don’t know if I can control this. It’s too much.” Dinah reached out with her mind toward the being. Toward God. She recognized from the vastness of the being’s consciousness that it could be none other than the creator. The impulse to look upon the face of God grabbed her and she turned toward Him. Knowing what she wanted, he slowly lowered his hood.
Dinah faltered as she stepped back, her hands clasped over her mouth. Shock reverberated through her soul. Tears of joy escaped her wide eyes and she shivered violently. God reached out and caught her with her father’s hands. It was her father’s face she saw. “Who were you expecting?” The familiar smirk she had grown up with tugged at the lips of the Almighty.
“Daddy?!” Dinah wasn’t sure if she spoke the word or simply thought it.
“Yes, Sweets.” The term of endearment washed over her.
“You’re God?!” Bewilderment colored her tone.
“Why would I not be? Does He not dwell within the hearts of all his disciples? Are we not all made in His image?
” The questions rang of truth that she had never really considered. She examined the curves of his face, the krinkles around his eyes, and could find nothing but her father. Even the familiar smell of his soap and aftershave filled her nostrils. Dinah threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. She had never felt such relief, or comfort, as she did in her father’s arms in that moment.
“Now, let me show you what you seek.” Her father, God, showed her an image of Dylan, kneeling next to a cross-shaped platform in the middle of a pitch black room.
Understanding exploded in Dinah’s mind. Immediately she made her way down a marble staircase toward a basement room she knew would be there. There was no way to explain how she knew, she just did. The further down she went the darker it became, until she was unable to see where to place her foot next. She knew all she needed to do was think light into existence and it would be so. In that moment, light flooded the stairwell. Shadow disappeared from in front of her and every detail was thrown into sharp relief. Dinah was astounded by the power flowing through her. She knew it was God, not her, making this possible.
“This is what it looks like when you trust me.” Her father stood right beside her, his whisper echoed down the corridor.
“Yes, Daddy,” was her response.
Dinah searched for the source of the light and was astonished by what she found. She saw the light shift with her movements and realized that the light was emanating from within her.
“Be like a light on a hill,” her father intoned, “You have taken the bowl off of your lamp stand.”
Dinah rushed down the rest of the steps and into a broad corridor. Her hands found rough concrete as she used the wall to keep her balance while she ran toward a door at the end of the hall. Its gold hardware glinted in her light. The rich mahogany seemed to soak up any not reflected. She fumbled with the handle, impatient to get it open. The door finally succumbed to her flailing and Dinah nearly fell into the room. It looked just like the vision she had been given upstairs. The cross-shaped dais stood at the far end of the room, bathed in the glow of her spirit. Tentative steps carried her forward, her breathing shallow as she drew closer to where she should find her cousin, if the rest of the vision she was shown held true.
Dinah walked around toward the head of the cross, her eyes drawn to the shadowy outline scorched into the stone. Images burst into her mind as she felt the sting of a whip across her back. When she spun around there was nobody there assaulting her. Turning back to the cross, she clasped a hand to her mouth as she realized what she was looking at. Her father appeared in that moment to wrap his arm around her waist and keep her from collapsing.
“Don’t worry, Sweets. It’s finished.” The warmth in His tone dispersed the searing pain across her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry! I don’t know how you could have taken this for me.” Her voice was a choked sob.
“How could I not? I love you.” His voice was soft as a breeze but strong as a hurricane all at once.
“I can see that now.” Dinah clung to her father for support and he smiled. “I know you can. Now your cousin needs you.” He turned her and Dylan lay on the floor at her feet.
Check out all the chapters of The Mountain by Duane Deats
