GOD BIRTHED THE DREAM; LET IT BREATHE

I am a dreamer. Once my eyes close, my mind begins cycling through the day and the dreams begin.  I dream sad, happy, fun, crazy and serious, but every now and then I dream a dream that sticks with me and troubles me until the meaning is revealed.  Yesterday morning, I awoke from such a dream.  I meditated, prayed and wrote it down.  Finally, I thought I had the answer. Then, I closed my eyes last night and I felt God speaking to my spirit.  I didn’t have the answer at all….now it all makes sense.

THE DREAM:

I was standing in a crowded building when a woman carrying a heavily wrapped baby followed by two boys walked by, glancing around furtively.  It seemed that every time someone came close, the two boys would cause a distraction and take the attention off her.  She seemed so lost and confused; finally, I went over to help her.  As I approached, she clutched the “baby” tightly to her chest and turned her head away.  I asked if I could help her, then if I could see the baby.  She said, in a panicked voice, “No.”  I continued to pull the gauzy blanket open as she said, “Please don’t.”  Finally a beautiful plastic doll was revealed.  I said, “It is beautiful.” She screamed, “You haven’t really seen the baby.”  I continued opening the blanket until a beautiful little face was revealed with a horrible skull deformity.  I said to the woman, “Yes, I have and she is beautiful.”  To the baby, I whispered, “Jesus loves you” and was rewarded with the most angelic smile.  The baby was not an infant but was tiny, underdeveloped and immature because it had been kept swaddled and carried close for its entire life.  As I took the woman to find help, I woke up.

All through the day, the dream would not leave me.  I thought about hurts, scars, dysfunction, bitterness and all the things that are hidden and held close but they didn’t seem to fit this dream.  Just before drifting off to sleep, I felt God’s Spirit surround me and whisper, “I have birthed something beautiful in you but you keep it swaddled and hidden because you fear that it is not “normal.  Because you have not allowed it to breathe and mature, the call I have birthed in you has remained tiny and underdeveloped.”

The Bible contains so many accounts of people allowing the dreams that God had birthed in them to mature and bear fruit.  We don’t read many stories of people who swaddled the dream and held it close until it died.  WHY?  Because there is nothing to tell!!!  If Joseph had not taken the chance to interpret dreams to a butler and baker, his own dream would have died in prison and Jacob would have mourned him, never knowing Joseph had not been eaten by wild animals.  Daniel would have been just another slave in Babylon, Joseph would not have been such an integral player in the Christmas Story and Peter would not have preached a powerful message at the Birth of the Church.  They would have all faded into history, unknown, along with their tightly swaddled dreams.

What has God birthed in you?  Is it still tightly wrapped and clutched close as you struggle along the journey?  There are so many reasons we do not allow our dreams to breathe and mature; most of them have a root in FEAR or PRIDE.  Perhaps like me, the thing God has birthed in you doesn’t seem quite “normal;” it just does not follow the “normal” methods.  It could be that you are afraid if the wrappings are pulled back, revealing your dream, it will be met with laughter and derision. Maybe you are afraid you have misunderstood God and if you unfold the blanket all that will be revealed is a “plastic doll.”  Whatever is holding you back is choking the life out of the dreams that are fighting to breathe and mature.

It is time to remove the security blanket and realize Jesus loves you and whatever He has birthed in you is BEAUTIFUL.  Take control of the “Distractions” that follow you to take the focus off your dream.  If God is calling you to do the “ABNORMAL,” remember you are unique and God has a unique plan for you.  WHO EVER THOUGHT ANYTHING GOD DID WOULD BE NORMAL?  If you are afraid of doing the wrong thing and messing up, here is a word of encouragement from Thetus Tenney, a very wise woman of God, “If it lines up with the Word of God, is edifying to the Body and glorifies God, GO FOR IT!”  If the crowd laughs in derision, you won’t even notice as you will be blinded by the Glory of God in your life. GOD HAS BIRTHED A DREAM IN YOU; LET IT BREATHE!!!

NIGHT VISION

The two most terrifying experiences for a child are being separated from a parent and darkness.  We understand the horror of finding yourself in a crowd of people and not seeing a familiar face, unaware that Mom is merely 2 steps to the right.  A terrified wail sounds an alarm and suddenly Mom is at your side, holding you close and drying your tears.  What about the darkness?  What makes shadows turn into monsters as the light fades?   It is all about clear vision.  As the night descends our ability to see things as they are, lessens.  The silhouette of a stuffed animal becomes a giant tiger, suddenly a breeze stirs a piece of clothing and it moves closer, every creak and bump is magnified until you are sure something is lurking directly under your bed.  Morning dawns, our vision is restored; the tiger becomes a “Beany Baby,” the monster, a shirt and you find there is nothing more menacing than a couple of “dust bunnies” under your bed.   If only we had Night Vision.

The terror by night doesn’t disappear with age, as adults we go through dark nights that sometime stretch into dark days.  It may be a sickness that has attacked your body.  Physicians have found that during an illness, symptoms are worse and seem to magnify during the nighttime.  Perhaps there is a situation in your life you are dealing with and it seems there is no solution.  It is so dark and you just wish someone would shine a small light your way.  You may find yourself struggling under a dark cloud of depression.  Not only do you fight the darkness but now a heavy load threatens to descend, crushing the life giving breath from your body.  You need Night Vision.

Our youngest son, Phil, was fascinated with gadgets.  We purchased our home in Saginaw, when he was 6 and the most exciting news he had to share with his teacher was “it had a garage door opener.”  So it was no surprise that when he got a little older he was sure his life would be awesome if he only had a pair of Night Vision Goggles.  I am sure his amazing imagination was going wild with all the adventures he could enjoy with goggles.  No, he never obtained a pair and his life has turned out pretty awesome without such an acquisition.  But stop and think…what if….What if during your darkest moment, God handed you a pair of Night Vision Goggles and you realized the tiger was just paper or the menacing noise was just wind blowing through the trees.  What if the night became as clear as the day?  What if we had Night Vision?

Very early, one morning, I was awake praying for a precious lady and her family, who are facing some dark nights and days.  God placed this series of scriptures on my heart to share and I realized that through Him we can have Night Vision.

Psalms 139:7-12 Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.

My spirit thrilled at verses 11 and 12, especially the last line, “The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”  What hope, what a Mighty God we serve; He even provides us with Night Vision Goggles!!!  Whatever situation you are facing, even if the wind is howling and the storm clouds are pressing down; when the darkness threatens to distort your vision, meditate on these words, “The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Psalms 42:8 says, “In the night, His song shall be with me.”  So grab your Night Vision Goggles and start singing the “Song of the Lord.” It may begin as a far off twinkle but keep singing.  Soon you will find that the night has become “Light about you,” because “The darkness and the light are both alike to Him. God has given you Night Vision.