December 16, 2010

Well interestingly enough I had somewhat of a mini-lab in the lesson of giving thanks in all circumstances. Last night I had an extremely bad nightmare, full of evil, to an extent that I woke up sweating and with my heart racing. Immediately I started rebuking the enemy and saying the name of Jesus. As I lay there in the dark I was reminded of what I had been reading, which also included the book of Daniel.. In Daniel, chapter 7 he had a dream that greatly disturbed him and just as in the previous chapters the Lord gave him the interpretation to the dream. I began praying and thanking God for my dream and for the opportunity to spend time crying out to him in the middle of the night. I reflected on scripture that I had on note cards near my bedside.

Philippians 4:6-9, “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Psalm 62:8 “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

Psalm 143:8 “Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Psalm 121 “ I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your food slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed he who watches over Israel will neither sleep nor slumber. The Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

After reading these verse aloud and praying through them I asked God to help me “see the good” of my dream and lead me in how to give thanks for it. (Even if we are unable to see the “good” in something we still are called to give thanks. Remember that there is nothing that escapes his participating presence. When you don’t know how to give thanks just ask him to help you) So anyway, I lay there replaying the dream and he revealed it to me. In my dream I was fighting an evil, evil man who violently attacked me over and over again. I would fight back and then retreat realizing that he was much stronger than I. But I was determined and over and over again I would muster up all my strength and run at him again, doing anything I could to harm him but it was all in vain. I could not win. Towards the end of the dream as I retreated I fell onto some stairs and he came to try and punch me over and over again. Each blow he threw was seemingly in slow motion and as if someone else was controlling my hands to block the blows. Soon he shouted out in frustration and said, “its as if someone else is controlling your hands, I can not hit you no matter how hard I try.” The Lord spoke to me through this and showed me that, just as I cannot do what he has called me to do in my own strength, I cannot fight the enemy, the evil one in my own strength. This may seem like a very simple concept but it is a very powerful one. On my own I am not strong enough but greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world! After realizing the meaning of my dream I just began praising God and singing worship songs until I fell asleep. I know that these “classroom” life lessons are building my faith and dependence on God and that they are in preparation for what lies ahead. I may not know what the future holds but there is One that holds me and just as he knows the number of hairs on my head, he knows what is in store for me. And he will grant me the peace that surpasses all understanding.