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{Addendum_1} WHY YOUR HEART KEEPS BEATING - Divine Encounters with God's Sustaining Power
- Jan 12
- 16 min read
Updated: Jan 23
Chapter 3: The Hand of Jesus - Intervention and Rescue
"And He will extend His hand to you from on high; He will take hold of you and draw you out of deep waters."
— Psalm 18:16 (NASB, paraphrased)
There's a moment in every crisis when you realize you cannot save yourself. A moment when your own strength fails, your own wisdom runs out, and your own efforts prove futile. In that moment, you have two choices: despair or reach for the hand that's always been extended toward you.
In my vision of hell, that moment came when I felt my heart failing. Gabriel had been protecting me, yes. But protection wasn't enough. I needed intervention. I needed rescue. I needed the hand of Jesus.
The Reaching Hand
I saw it before I felt it—a hand reaching toward me through the darkness of hell. Not the hand of an angel. Not the hand of a prophet. Not the hand of a saint. The hand of Jesus Himself.
It was scarred. Nail-pierced. The same hand that was wounded for my transgressions, crushed for my iniquities. The same hand that bore the marks of my salvation on a Roman cross 2,000 years ago.
And that hand reached for my heart.
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." — Luke 19:10 (NASB)
Jesus didn't come to observe my struggle. He didn't come to sympathize from a distance. He came to intervene. He came to touch what was failing and make it beat again.
The Touch That Changes Everything
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus touched people:
He touched lepers and made them clean (Matthew 8:3)
He touched blind eyes and made them see (Matthew 9:29)
He touched deaf ears and made them hear (Mark 7:33)
He touched the dead and made them live (Luke 7:14)
The touch of Jesus is not ceremonial. It's not symbolic. It's transformative. It's resurrection power in physical contact.
When Jesus touched my heart in that vision, it wasn't a gentle pat of encouragement. It was divine intervention. It was the Creator reaching into His creation and restarting what had stopped. It was God refusing to let me go.
Why My Heart Beat Again
I asked Jesus later, after the vision, "Why did You do it? Why did You reach for me? Why didn't You just let my heart stop and bring me home?"
His answer was simple but profound:
"Because your work is not finished. Because there are people who need to hear what you've seen. Because your heart beats for a purpose—not just to keep you alive, but to keep My message alive through you."
Your heart doesn't beat by accident. It doesn't beat because of biology alone. It beats because God has a purpose for you that hasn't been fulfilled yet. Every beat is a reminder: you're still here for a reason.
The Theology of Divine Rescue
The Bible is filled with stories of God's intervention:
God rescued Noah from the flood (Genesis 6-9)
God rescued Israel from Egypt (Exodus 14)
God rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the furnace (Daniel 3)
God rescued Daniel from the lions' den (Daniel 6)
God rescued Peter from prison (Acts 12)
But the greatest rescue of all? The cross. When Jesus hung between heaven and earth, He was rescuing you from sin, death, and hell itself. His hand reached across the chasm of eternity to pull you from destruction.
"He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." — Colossians 1:13-14 (NASB)
What This Means for You
If you're reading this, your heart is still beating. That means:
God's hand is on you. He hasn't removed His sustaining power from your life.
Your purpose isn't finished. Whatever you've been called to do, you haven't completed it yet.
There's still hope. No matter what you're facing, no matter how dire your circumstances, Jesus can reach into your situation and change it.
The same hand that touched my failing heart can touch yours. The same power that restarted my heartbeat can restart whatever has stopped in your life—your faith, your hope, your joy, your purpose.
The Difference Between Protection and Intervention
Gabriel protected me in hell. But Jesus intervened. There's a difference.
Protection keeps you safe from external harm. Intervention addresses internal failure. Protection is defensive. Intervention is restorative.
Sometimes God protects you through circumstances. But sometimes, when what you need isn't protection but resurrection, He intervenes directly. He doesn't send an angel. He doesn't send a prophet. He comes Himself.
That's what happened to me. And that's what can happen to you.
The Scars That Save
I keep coming back to the scars on Jesus' hand. After His resurrection, Thomas wouldn't believe until he saw them:
"So the other disciples were saying to him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.'" — John 20:25 (NASB)
Jesus kept His scars. Even in His glorified resurrection body, He kept the marks of His sacrifice. Why? Because those scars are proof of His love. They're evidence of His rescue mission. They're the permanent reminder that He gave everything to save you.
And those are the scars that touched my heart and made it beat again.
A Prayer for Divine Intervention
If you need Jesus to intervene in your life right now—if something has stopped beating that needs to start again—pray this with me:
"Lord Jesus, I need Your hand on my life. Not just Your protection, but Your intervention. Touch what has stopped. Restart what has failed. Resurrect what has died. I can't save myself. I need You to reach for me the way You reached for me on the cross. By Your scars, by Your power, by Your love—intervene in my life today. In Jesus' name, Amen."
In the next chapter, we'll explore what happened after Jesus touched my heart—the moment of resurrection power, when death was defeated and life flooded back in. But for now, know this:
The hand of Jesus is reaching for you right now. Will you take it?
Chapter 4: Divine Dialogue - Why God Shows Us Hell
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." — Luke 24:45 (NASB)
When I woke from the vision, I was trembling. My heart was pounding. Pumpkin, my kitten, was still sound asleep on the electric blanket, completely undisturbed by the spiritual earthquake that had just occurred.
But I wasn't alone.
The Lord and His angels were there with me—not visibly standing in the room, but present in my spirit. They're in me, so they hear my thoughts and respond to them in real-time. It's like having an ongoing conversation in the innermost chamber of your soul.
And immediately, the questions started flooding my mind.
Why did this happen?
What was that black hand?
Why did it grab my feet?
Where was I going?
Why wasn't I scared?
The Lord began to answer, one question at a time, unfolding the meaning of the vision with patience and clarity. What followed was one of the most profound teaching sessions I've ever experienced with God.
This chapter is about that divine dialogue—the conversation between me and the Lord in the aftermath of the vision. Because the vision itself was only the beginning. The interpretation, the application, the transformation—that all came through what God said after the vision ended.
Biblical Precedent: God Interprets His Own Visions
Throughout Scripture, when God gives visions, He often provides the interpretation. He doesn't leave His people confused or guessing.
When Pharaoh had dreams about seven fat cows and seven lean cows, seven healthy heads of grain and seven withered heads of grain, he was troubled but didn't understand. God sent Joseph to interpret: seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine (Genesis 41:25-32).
When Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a great statue made of different metals, he demanded that his wise men not only interpret it but also tell him what he dreamed. When they couldn't, God gave Daniel both the dream and the interpretation (Daniel 2:31-45).
When Daniel himself had visions of bizarre beasts rising from the sea, he was troubled and didn't fully understand. So God sent an angel to explain the meaning (Daniel 7:15-27).
When Peter saw the vision of the sheet descending from heaven with unclean animals and heard the voice saying, "Kill and eat," he was confused. But the Lord immediately explained: "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy" (Acts 10:9-16). And then the Spirit spoke to him, giving further instruction (Acts 10:19-20).
When John saw the apocalyptic visions recorded in the book of Revelation, angels repeatedly explained the symbols: "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches" (Revelation 1:20).
God doesn't give visions just to mystify or impress us. He gives visions to teach us. And teaching requires explanation.
That's what happened after my vision. God became my teacher, and I became His student.
Question 1: "Do You Know Why It Touched Your Feet?"
The first question the Lord asked me was about the black hand grabbing my feet.
"Do you know why it touched your feet?"
I thought about it but had no idea. "Why, Lord?"
He said, "Because you were running from them."
That answer hit me like a thunderbolt.
Running from them.
The Lord was revealing something about my spiritual state that I hadn't fully acknowledged. There were things in my life—responsibilities, callings, assignments from God—that I had been avoiding. I had been "running" spiritually, not in outright rebellion, but in subtle procrastination and avoidance.
And when you run, what gets tired? Your feet.
The symbolism is profound. In Scripture, feet often represent one's walk, one's path, one's direction in life.
Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
Proverbs 4:26-27 instructs, "Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil."
Romans 10:15 quotes Isaiah: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!"
Ephesians 6:15 describes part of the spiritual armor as "having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
Our feet represent our obedience, our ministry, our responsiveness to God's leading.
When the black hand grabbed my feet, it was symbolizing that my avoidance, my spiritual running, my hesitation to fully obey was creating an opening for the enemy.
Jonah's Example: Running From God
The most famous example of someone running from God is the prophet Jonah.
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. But Jonah didn't want to go, so he ran in the opposite direction—he boarded a ship heading to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3).
But you can't outrun God.
A storm came. The sailors cast lots to find out who was responsible. The lot fell on Jonah. He confessed that he was fleeing from the Lord, and he told them to throw him overboard. They did, and God appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah (Jonah 1:17).
Inside the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed—finally. And God had the fish vomit him onto dry land. Then God gave Jonah the same command a second time: "Arise, go to Nineveh" (Jonah 3:2).
This time, Jonah obeyed.
The point? Running from God doesn't lead to freedom—it leads to darkness, confinement, and eventually, forced obedience. It's better to obey the first time.
That's what the Lord was teaching me through the vision. My spiritual "running" was dangerous. It was giving the enemy access to my life. The grab at my feet was a wake-up call: Stop running. Start obeying.
Question 2: "Do You Know How Hot It Was When You Were There?"
The second question the Lord asked me was about the heat.
"Do you know how hot it was when you were there?"
I answered honestly: "No, Lord."
He said, "I'm not letting you go any further."
I hadn't felt any heat during the vision. I had seen the swirl, felt the spinning, heard my own voice echoing, but there was no sensation of burning or intense temperature.
Why not?
Because Jesus limited how far I went. He stopped the descent before I could experience the full horror of hell's torment.
This reveals something beautiful about God's character: Even when He disciplines or teaches through difficult experiences, He sets boundaries to protect us.
1 Corinthians 10:13 promises: "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."
God measures our trials. He knows our capacity. He never allows us to be pushed beyond what we can bear with His grace.
Some people have been given graphic visions of hell—visions filled with flames, screaming souls, demons tormenting the damned, vivid depictions of suffering. Those testimonies are valid and serve a purpose. They shake people awake to the reality of eternal judgment.
But my vision was different. Mine was merciful even in its severity. God showed me enough to understand the danger, enough to light a fire in my soul to witness, but not so much that I would be traumatized or broken.
Why?
Because Jesus loves me and doesn't want me to feel unnecessary pain.
That's what He said to me after the vision, and I'll never forget it: "Jesus loves you and didn't want you to feel any pain."
The Purpose of the Vision
So if I didn't see the full extent of hell, if I didn't experience the heat or the torment, what was the point?
The Lord explained: He let me experience hell in order to write about it.
Not to terrify me. Not to punish me. But to equip me with a testimony that would warn others and draw them to repentance.
This is consistent with how God uses testimonies throughout Scripture.
The Apostle Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus, encountered the risen Christ, and spent three days without sight (Acts 9:3-9). That dramatic experience became the foundation of his testimony for the rest of his life. He recounted it multiple times (Acts 22:6-16; 26:12-18) because it authenticated his apostleship and demonstrated the power of God to transform even the worst sinner.
The man born blind in John 9 was healed by Jesus. When the Pharisees interrogated him, trying to discredit Jesus, the man simply said, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25). His testimony was undeniable because it was rooted in personal experience.
The Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20) was possessed by a legion of demons, living among the tombs, cutting himself with stones, out of his mind. Jesus cast out the demons and restored him. When the man begged to follow Jesus, the Lord said, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you" (Mark 5:19). His testimony became a powerful witness throughout the Decapolis region.
God gives experiences—sometimes dramatic, sometimes painful, sometimes miraculous—so that we will have a testimony to share.
My vision of hell is my testimony. And this book is the fulfillment of God's command: "Write about this."
Question 3: "Why Wasn't I Scared?"
One of the most puzzling aspects of the vision was my emotional state during it. I was spinning, falling, descending toward hell, and yet I wasn't afraid.
Why?
I asked the Lord, and His answer was simple and profound:
"Because I was with you."
Three words. That's all it took to explain the peace that surpassed understanding in the midst of terror.
God's presence eradicates fear.
Isaiah 41:10 says, "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
Psalm 23:4 declares, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
Deuteronomy 31:6 commands, "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
Matthew 28:20 records Jesus' promise: "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
It's not the absence of danger that removes fear. It's the presence of God in the midst of danger.
I was descending toward hell, but Jesus was with me. His hand was already positioned to intervene. His angels were present. His love surrounded me.
And perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
The Difference Between Righteous and Wicked in Trials
The Lord also explained to me that there's a difference between how the righteous and the wicked experience trials and judgment.
For the righteous—those who are right with God through faith in Jesus Christ—even difficult experiences are tempered by God's mercy. We may face trials, but God limits their intensity (1 Corinthians 10:13). We may walk through valleys, but God walks with us (Psalm 23:4). We may be tested, but God provides a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
For the wicked—those who reject God and persist in rebellion—there is no such mercy in the final judgment. They will experience the full weight of God's wrath without relief, without comfort, without hope.
Psalm 37:12-13 says, "The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees his day is coming."
Proverbs 11:21 declares, "Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, but the descendants of the righteous will be delivered."
Romans 2:5-6 warns, "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds."
The testimony of someone who is right with God may not be as graphic or terrifying as the testimony of someone who was far from God and experienced the full horror of judgment. But both testimonies serve a purpose.
My testimony says: It's better to be right with God and experience His mercy even in trials than to be far from Him and experience His judgment without restraint.
The Lord's Instructions After the Vision
After explaining the vision, the Lord gave me specific instructions about what to do next. Some of those instructions were personal—between Him and me—and I won't share them here. There are sacred things that should remain sacred.
But the public instruction was clear: "Write about this. Share this testimony. Witness to everyone."
And that's exactly what I've been doing since that day.
I've witnessed to family members who thought they knew everything about my faith. I've witnessed to strangers in the grocery store. I've witnessed online. I've even witnessed to my cats (and yes, I know that sounds crazy, but when the fire of God is burning in you, you'll tell anyone—or anything—that will listen).
2 Timothy 4:2 commands: "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."
In season and out of season. When it's convenient and when it's not. When people want to hear and when they don't. The urgency of eternity demands constant readiness.
Ezekiel 33:1-9 — The Watchman's Responsibility
One of the passages that has taken on new meaning since the vision is Ezekiel 33:1-9. God speaks to the prophet Ezekiel about the responsibility of a watchman:
"Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, 'If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head... But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.'"
The message is clear: If the watchman sees danger coming and warns the people, and they don't listen, their blood is on their own heads. But if the watchman sees danger coming and doesn't warn the people, God will hold the watchman accountable for their deaths.
I have seen the danger. I have glimpsed the descent toward hell. I have witnessed the reality of judgment.
If I stay silent, God will require the blood of the lost from my hand.
That's why I can't stop witnessing. That's why I wrote this book. That's why I'm pleading with you right now to take eternity seriously.
I'm blowing the trumpet. I'm sounding the alarm.
What you do with the warning is between you and God.
Revelation 12:11 — The Power of Testimony
There's a verse in Revelation that explains the power of testimony in spiritual warfare:
"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." (Revelation 12:11)
Three weapons against the enemy:
The blood of the Lamb — Jesus' finished work on the cross
The word of their testimony — sharing what God has done
Not loving their lives unto death — being willing to die for the truth
My testimony is part of the spiritual battle. When I share what God has shown me, it weakens the enemy's grip on people's minds. It exposes his lies. It reveals the reality that he desperately wants to hide.
The devil doesn't want you to know that hell is real. He doesn't want you to know that Jesus can save you. He doesn't want you to know that time is running out.
But my testimony declares all of those truths.
And in the spiritual realm, that testimony is a weapon.
The Fire That Won't Go Out
The most lasting effect of the vision has been the fire it lit in my soul.
Before the vision, I was a believer. I loved God. I had a relationship with Him. But I had become comfortable, complacent, even a little lazy in my witness.
After the vision, everything changed.
I can't be silent. I can't watch people go about their daily lives, oblivious to eternity, without saying something. I can't scroll past someone's post on social media without wondering if they know Jesus. I can't have a casual conversation without steering it toward eternal things.
The fire won't let me rest.
Jeremiah 20:9 describes this perfectly: "But if I say, 'I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,' then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it."
That's the fire the vision gave me. And I pray it never goes out.
The Question for You
Now I have a question for you, the reader.
What will it take for you to have a fire for witnessing?
Do you need a vision of hell like I had? Do you need a dramatic encounter with God? Do you need to see someone you love die and face eternity unprepared?
Or can you simply believe the testimony I'm giving you and let it ignite a fire in your own soul?
The reality of hell doesn't require personal experience to believe. Jesus described it clearly in Scripture. Countless others have testified to visions and near-death experiences that confirm it. The evidence is overwhelming.
The question is: Will you let that reality change how you live?
Will you warn the people in your life?
Will you share the gospel with urgency?
Will you live like eternity matters?
Because it does.
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever felt like you were "running from God" in some area of your life? What was grabbing at your feet?
How does knowing that God sets limits on our trials (1 Corinthians 10:13) change your perspective on difficult seasons?
Read Ezekiel 33:1-9. Do you feel a responsibility as a "watchman" to warn others about judgment? Why or why not?
What would it take for you to develop a "fire" for witnessing like the author describes?
Is there someone in your life right now who needs to hear about Jesus? What's stopping you from telling them?
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for limiting my trials according to Your mercy. Thank You for being with me in the dark valleys so that I don't have to fear. Forgive me for the times I've run from Your calling instead of obeying immediately. Give me a fire for souls—a burning passion to witness with urgency and love. Help me to be a faithful watchman, warning those who are in danger. And Lord, give me the courage to speak even when it's uncomfortable, even when I'm afraid of what people will think. Let my testimony be a weapon in Your hand to rescue souls from darkness. In Jesus' name, Amen.
