THE GOLD COVERED BOX – Ron McGatlin
A Make-Believe Story of Truth
In a time and a place not so very far away, there was a young woman named Sheelah that lived in a very poor country among a tribe of very fierce warring people. There was almost constant conflict between the tribes in the area and even within the tribes among the familiar groups and families.
Sheelah had lived on the streets most of her life, and was now heavy with child. She had no money and no one to help her in this desperate time of darkness and war. She knew that to remain in the dark strife in this sordid city was certain death when her location was discovered.
In desperation she gathered the small amount of food and clothing that she had and slipped out of town in the wee hours of the morning darkness, walking on back roads to avoid being seen by the wrong people.
She kept walking all day not knowing where she was going. She only knew that any place was better than where she had been. In the late afternoon she realized that the road she had last taken begin to grow smaller and less traveled. By early evening it was just two ruts with grass and weeds growing in the middle and she was now entering a forest. The tiny road ended at a small creek in the forest.
She drank from the small stream and ate the last of the food that she had brought. As she was refreshingly washing her face and hands in the stream, she noticed a worn walking trail coming out of the stream on the other side. In the dim light of the setting sun, she started walking up that trail.
After the turmoil of the stressful life of constant fear and strife in the city, she was strangely at peace even in this very different unknown place in which she now found herself. She walked another several hours through ups and downs and turns as the sandy light brown soil of the trail was barely visible in the almost total darkness.
She was a bit concerned about where she was now, but still not truly in deep fear even in this strange place and conditions. After all, even if she and her unborn baby died out here it would not be as bad as the horrible death, they would have surely faced in the war-torn city she had left.
As night air settled in, the forest became filled with night sounds of birds and animals. Wispy bits of mist were visible in the tree tops in the little bit of moonlight coming through the tall trees. The sounds were pleasant to her ear and only a bit frightening as a few sounds of larger animals were mixed in with the constant melody of the forest night sounds.
She thought about how different the sounds of the forest were from the harsh noisy sounds of the city streets with shouting, occasional gun shots, traffic and almost constant sirens every night.
The forest sounds were extremely different from the more recent sounds of the city is siege. Constant gun fire, explosions, men shouting, women screaming, children crying and fire and smoke seemed to come from everywhere. Her very bad life on the mean streets had instantly become far worse, literally as hell on earth.
But now the sounds of turmoil were far away and replaced by the peaceful natural life surrounding her here in the deep forest. Sheelah’s legs and back were getting very tired, yet there seemed no place to sit and rest. So, she kept going as best she could. Just ahead the trail took a somewhat sharp turn to the left to avoid going through a small clear stream. The trail was not visible to her beyond the curve.
As she approached the turn something began to arise within her that was like a bit of fear or anxiety or maybe excitement of something unknown around the bend in the trail. Her heart began to beat more rapidly and strength began to come into her tired body. She no longer felt as tired but strangely more alert and alive.
Her baby within her jumped and was highly active as she walked through the turn in the trail. She stopped suddenly and gasped at what she saw.
On the right side of the trail up ahead a few yards off the trail was a quaint cabin that looked almost like part of the forest. It was made of logs with moss like growth on it that blended it into the forest. A dim golden light flickered through windows and out of an open front door. The front of the cabin was now also draped in moonlight.
On a small ground level porch, a pleasant looking and somewhat motherly and middle age looking women sat in a plain wooden chair.
Sheelah felt some peace along with the shock in what she saw. She began to slowly and cautiously walk closer to the cabin. The golden light in the cabin morphed into a bright clear white almost slightly blue light. The woman stood and turned toward Sheela and called out to her by name, “Sheela, welcome, I’ve been waiting for you.” Then she opened her arms wide toward Sheela and said, “Come my dear. You are welcome and safe here.”
Something in her voice caused Sheela’s racing mind to settle down and she began to almost run toward the open arms of this strange person in this strange place that felt like a dream that warmed her heart and body with something she had only dreamed about in her 19 years of hard life.
As they were coming together their eyes met and Sheelah was further drawn to the person with the deep blue bright eyes that seemed to speak of purity, love and wisdom. As they embraced Sheela felt years of stress melting away and leaving her body and mind in peace like she had never known before.
As they lifted their heads while still holding on to each other, Sheela asked, “who are you, what is your name?”
The woman spoke as she led her into the cabin where a pot of tea was hot on the small wood stove and cups with fixings were ready on the small table.
“I am Dr. Carol Lyn Marcia I am sent from God to serve you as your mid wife. For next week about this time your son Joshua Manuel will be born.
Sheelah was astonished, “I did not know that I was having a son. How do you know these things and which one of the gods sent you and told you these things?” Her questions sort of trailed off as her voice was growing week and her mind was exhausted from all that had taken place over the last twenty-four hours.
Dr. Carol Lyn spoke in a peaceful loving voice as she poured the tea and reached for some delicious home-made pastries, “I will tell you about God and how that these things were made known to me tomorrow and over the next several days. Just now, know that you are safe here and everything, we need is here for us.”
While they sipped the warm tea, Carol Lyn began to tell her a little about the wonderful God that loves her.
The small cabin was very comfortable, even though small. There was one single bed at one end and another at the other end both with clean sheets, pillows and comfortable home-made quilts already turned back. Everything they needed for cooking, eating and other needs was there and even a mountain stream of clear clean water not far from the back door of the cabin.
However, to Sheelah the most wonderful thing about the cabin was the feeling of peace and happiness that seemed to fill the air and gave her a sense of security and rest. She slept perfectly the whole night, something she had not done in many years. She awoke to the smells and sounds of breakfast cooking and to the sound of Carol Lyn quietly singing beautiful songs about her love for her God.
Over the next week they spent almost every minute talking about God. Carol Lyn answered all of Sheela’s many questions, often reading the answers from the Bible, and helped her to know the one true God in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit, in her own heart. She taught Sheelah some of the songs about God and gave her a Bible to read. They prayed together often during this week of the constant presence of God filling their lives with spiritual love and wisdom. For the first time in her life Sheelah felt that she had come into the life that she had only dreamed might exist.
Carol Lyn also shared with her how God had brought her here to this cabin to help her to know God and to help with the birth of her son Joshua Manuel.
She told Sheelah that she had grown up in America in a Christian home and went to a big university to study medicine to become a doctor. Her plans were to help people while at the same time having a very nice life in a beautiful home with a good husband and at least three children. Her focus was more on her success and being the best in her class or in her field than on God and the needs of the people of the world. Church and God were for Sundays, weddings, and funerals and going to heaven someday.
She went on to say, “All in all I had a near perfect life in a secure environment of plenty of everything. Until one day, in just twenty-four hours my near perfect world crumbled and ended.”
“It was discovered that my dad had fallen into severe difficulties. He had been discovered to have affairs with some other women and had made some shady business deals to cover the expense of his folly. The authorities had discovered his criminal activity in business and his secret promiscuous ways were exposed. There was even suspicion of murder involved. Charges were filled and all was revealed publicly. Our home was lost, family torn apart and my heart broken as my near perfect life was found to be empty and broken.”
“My education was almost complete but was not yet finished. I did not have the doctor’s degree and final training that I needed. I was so discouraged and ashamed that it seemed reasonable to just quit. There seemed no reason to go on striving to achieve a dream that can all be taken away in a day.”
“A friend named Bonita Marquita, that I had met in medical school came to me and began seeking to comfort me. Bonita was a kind and very stable person that seemed to not be greatly moved by anything that came her way. She began to tell me about God that was bigger than the Sunday church God that I had known from my youth. She talked of God that cared about my shame and bitter discouragement. A God that loved me and my dad no matter what had happened, and a God that had a greater purpose for me than the “American dream” that I had sought for my life. She prayed for me and my heart was touched, tears could not be held back as I began to see a ray of hope, in that maybe there was something more real and more powerful, more loving than I had even thought was possible.”
Bonita asked me, “Will you come with me to a gathering of people of God tonight?
I replied, “Do you mean a church service, I am not sure that I want to be with people that might know of me and my family situation?”
Bonita said, “It is not like that. It is not just a church service, some of these folks have been in past life situations as bad and even worse than where you are now. But God has come to them in a special way and they are filled with God’s love and forgiveness. It will be great. I will pick you up around 5:30 and we can get a bite to eat on the way.”
Carol Lyn, went on to tell Sheelah of the love and power of the praise, worship and the people gathering around her laying hands on her and speaking forth the very life of God flowing into her filling her with His Spirit life, and lifting her to heavenly places.
She went on to say, “Sheelah, from that time on God is so close to me that we are as one. I know His heart and He knows mine. He speaks to me in my heart and I hear and obey.”
Carol Lyn, went on with her story. “I finished my degree and training as God provided all that I needed as I continued to gather with the precious people who daily walk in the Spirit of God.”
“God led me to some mission minded people who had a heart for a small nation that is not far from the city where you lived. These people provide for me to move to the nation not too far from here, and I have been there for several years. Many of the people there have been changed to live and walk with the one true God through Jesus our Lord and Savior, that is now known as our King, the King of Glory, the King of this world now living in us by the Holy Spirit of God.”
“While I was there, one night God sent and angel to awaken me and tell me about you. He told me to come to this cabin and wait for you. The people of the nearby nation have provided all the things you now see in this cabin and transported them here. God had spoken to them to supply all that was needed for me to be here to help you in this time.”
“Your son that will be born tomorrow about this time is a special chosen vessel to carry the greater word of life in love with God changing the city where you have lived from chaos to a city for God. And many more of the cities and nations of this world. So that the people need not suffer the pain of chaos and trauma that you have experienced in your life.”
Sheelah wept tears of gratefulness and love for the overwhelming miraculous love of God for her, her son, and the broken cities of the world.
Even as she wept tears of great joy and gave thanks unto God, the first tinges of labor pains began to be felt in her body. MORE LATER.
SO, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO D WITH A GOLD COVERED BOX?
(First, I need to say that to this point, this story is not from any one’s life or story. It is all fiction and any similarities with anyone in real life is purely a God coincidence. The names are also fictitious and do not refer to anyone with similar names. If there is any similarity it is again a God incident. However, the rest of this is from the word of God and real life today in this world.)
Now back to the gold covered box: 
As you have probably guessed the term “gold covered box” is taken from the ark of the covenant that was in the Holy of Holies behind the veil in the tabernacle of God.
In the Old Testament, God could not personally dwell among the people because Christ Jesus had not yet come and died on the cross to remove the penalty of sin and open the way for God to be with man again as He was in the Garden of Eden. At the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, the temple veil was rent and the people could come to God.
SPIRIT GOD IN CHRIST IN US
Now in this New Testament era, mankind can, by the Holy Spirit be filled with Christ and walk in the Spirit of Christ.
Romans 8:9-11: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
This opens the way for all of life and governance of the entire world to be redeemed and restored from all evil and all sin and all the darkness of sin.
All facets of the life of God can be released into all of the world. Changing it into the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
The world is changed by the love of God in man that opens the way for the full power and wisdom of God to flow into and through man. Man and God can walk as one in Christ and Christ in us. (Colossians 1:26-27).
However, Christians have not in the past received nor understood this plan of God for the New World in which God reigns in pure holy love.
We created a building and an organization and covered it with the gold of God’s word and called it a church, “a gold covered box” to contain all the things relating to God. In our hearts we put God in the box and separated Him from the world.
The very world of people that God sent Christ Jesus to redeem and restore are left to their own understanding without God to try to govern life and this world. God was not allowed first place in the family or the business or the educational systems or entertainment systems of the world.
A NEW GENERATION IS BEING BIRTHED
Now the walls of the boxes are coming down and God is getting out from the box and into all and every facet of life in this world. The world will be redeemed and restored to God as the people receive the revelation of God and His kingdom coming, manifesting, now in and through a new people who will not allow the restraining of God and His wonderful works inside a golden religious covered wooden box.
He is calling out and raising up a people of love to bring the much better, much more truly prosperous and glorious way of God to every nation, every city, every tribe and every nook and cranny on earth.
Miracles of God and the willingness of the people are coming together to return the world to the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. God is speaking directly to His people and guiding them into the greater works of Christ in His people proclaiming the kingdom of God, the kingdom of love aligning this world with the plan and ways of our God by the power of our God. All things are possible with God in the whole world outside the box.
More Later
Ron McGatlin
basileia@earthlink.net
openheaven.com