Religious Experience Pt. 2

A timely dream and counseling effectively reset the course of Ellen’s spiritual life. Her powerfully moving dream concerned a meeting with Jesus. With a smile, He touched her head, saying, “Fear not.” He also gave her a green cord, representing faith. She said of the dream, “The beauty and simplicity of trusting in God began to dawn upon my soul.”

This new sense of courage enabled Ellen to freely discuss her long-held fears with her mother, who suggested she visit Levi Stockman, a trusted pastor.

After Stockman heard Ellen’s story of her dream and deep fears about an angry God, he said: “Ellen, yours is a most singular experience for one of your tender age. Jesus must be preparing you for some special work.”

Then the pastor gave her a clearer picture of God as seen in Jesus Christ. Of that experience, Ellen wrote: “During the few minutes in which I received instruction from Elder Stockman, I had obtained more knowledge on the subject of God’s love and pitying tenderness, than from all the sermons and exhortations to which I had ever listened.”
 
This newfound understanding — that God is like Jesus, her best Friend — prompted Ellen to share her insights and gratitude with others: “While relating my experience, I felt that no one could resist the evidence of God’s pardoning love that had wrought so wonderful a change in me. The reality of true conversion seemed so plain to me that I felt like helping my young friends into the light, and at every opportunity exerted my influence toward this end.”

Next: Two Great Disappointments