I realize that I haven't posted a blog in quite some time and that was mostly due to my focus being directed to opportunities and decisions I was presented with in 2020. Admittedly, last year I was pre-occupied with the challenge of those decisions and I allowed myself to be paralyzed with the "unknown" that came along with those opportunities. I knew where God was leading me but I was not trusting Him with the outcome because I was giving room to the voice of "worry". Because of worry, those opportunities became a battlefield in my mind. So instead, I sat there debating (fighting) what I knew I should do and I got stuck in the rut of indecision and doing nothing at all. That is not His intention for us, so in a unique way and over the course of six months, God spoke to me through a series of dreams to prepare me for the time when a decision needed to be made. I decided to share these series of dreams out of a hunger to write and in doing so I could also exercise my desire to teach through my experiences and have the opportunity to share some cool dreams along with it. I recently asked a close friend of mine if he felt me sharing my dreams in a blog was appropriate, he replied with what seemed with much enthusiasm, "why not share? I think it would be pretty cool." So I decided to do something different and just go for it.
One of the most powerful and effective ways I have seen peoples lives be touched, changed and encouraged, is by sharing and teaching through our testimonies (experiences), especially ones that they can relate to. I believe God teaches us and strengthens us in our experiences so we can share those experiences to help others through similar situations. In doing so, it leaves people with enough thought provoking information that it stirs them into thinking and considering the beauty, creativity, ability and willingness of our God to help us in every situation we face. The dream I am about to share is one that God used to stretch (encourage) my faith, while fulfilling a promise spoken over me in 2013 that said "Son, I've made you strong in the natural, I'll make you strong in the spirit!" A level of faith that I would need months later to make the right decision without fear stealing it. This strengthening process has been going on for years. God will present us with opportunities and our faith is required to receive all that He has for us and what he has for us goes far beyond our imagination. What I and many of us go through during these times is spiritual exercise and much like physical exercise or training, spiritual stretching and training needs to be built up as well. As with physical training, it can be hard work, there is muscle soreness and pain that occurs in growth. So as it is with spiritual growth. We must understand that the outcome is always good and we are stronger for the next steps in life, as we go from glory to glory, positioning ourselves to receive all that He has for us. For if we receive what He has for us too early, we might not be strong enough to handle it or we might not be ready for it. He knows what is best and His timing is perfect.
Matthew 6:34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Our focus on the unknown, can easily turn into a paralyzing roadblock of worry, as we allow the improper use of imagination to produce negative a outcome.
Luke 12:28–29 TPT “If God can clothe the fields and meadows with grass and flowers, can’t he clothe you as well, O struggling one with so many doubts? I repeat it: Don’t let worry enter your life. Live above the anxious cares about your personal needs.”
When we listen to the voice of worry over the reality and promises of who God is, we can't see the obvious fact that He cares for us so much more than anything else he created.
Isaiah 43:2 NLT "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you."
God is with us through all circumstances. He will never leave our side and He will catch us when we slip. He did not cause our problems or negative situations but He is always ready to see us through them and make us stronger and wiser on the other side.
The Dream: Worry River
I remember walking through a vast open plain, a desert, heading towards a destination in front of me that I could not see yet I knew I needed to go to. It was a destination of something very good that God was giving me, it offered me freedom, my desires, my needs and much provision. It was all the things that I had been praying about and asking for.
This may be unusual but I like to interject with nuggets of knowledge that I have learned in life. This particular nugget is a piece of wisdom that I picked up from my spiritual father. It involves looking up the meaning of key words in our dreams, our reading or messages. Words can be very interesting and their meaning may surprise you. Here is what I found out about the word "desert".
The desert is symbolic of all the obstacles and hardships that stand between people and their dreams. Because they are wide and open without covering vegetation, they represent brutal honesty. Other definitions say, deserts are free from distractions, isolated, silent and they give you time to meditate or clear your head to make good decisions. Desert was also associated with the two words "listen and repeat" because you have time to listen to what was or is being said without distraction and those thoughts have time to repeat in your head due to the long journey. In fact, the word for “desert” in Hebrew means “the place of speaking.” Does that not make the interpretation more meaningful?
As I continued walking through the openness, I somehow knew the name of the desert was called the "Unknown". I kept walking on this journey through the Unknown desert for quiet some time and in the distance I saw a river and somehow knew the name of that river was "Worry". Worry River was the only thing between me and the destination that I knew I needed to go to. From a great distance the river did not look very big yet because it was the only thing I was approaching, so it caused me to think about the unknown aspects of it. Was it too wide, was it deep, was the water flowing to quickly to be able to cross it. My thoughts were no longer on my destination. In fact, I forgot all about my purpose and every bit of my attention was now on what was in front of me and the difficulty and trouble it may cause by continuing in this direction. Sure enough as I approached "worry river" it got bigger and bigger. It had the appearance of being wide, fast flowing and of course without knowledge I presumed it was too deep and impassable. Fear had taken root so deep as I allowed my negative imagination to consume me. This was a huge roadblock and I would drown or be swept away for sure if I stayed my course. Was this journey really worth it?
As I continued on towards Worry River I heard the Lord say to me in the quietness of the desert "Don't stop, keep going, I will get you through it. Wait until you see what I have in store for you." With much concern but even greater determination by His encouragement, I pressed onward however, fear returned yet again and when I reached the river bank I found myself paralyzed. I had a decision to make. Will I trust the Lord and move forward through worry river despite what I see, hear and feel, or will I listen to my natural senses and give up what God had for me? The voice of worry (fear) seemed to be defeating me in the moment. Hanging onto what God said "I will get you through it" and knowing how he has come through a countless number of times before, my faith increased and produced a perseverance in me to move onward.
It is important in the times of trouble to recall or recount all the amazing things God has done for you and then thank Him for it, this would be a form of exercising your faith by building yourself up in confidence from past experiences.
I found myself looking at the river bed where the water met dry land; I saw my feet step in the water onto smooth river rock stones beneath it. I felt the coolness of the water and the wetness of its touch and as soon as I did, the water was gone. God stopped the flow of worry river much like He did with the Red Sea and the Jordan River. He allowed me to pass through it on dry ground and destroyed all those worries and concerns that I built up to be so big, He kept his word and He kept His promise of getting me through it!
Coming out of the river was not a part of my dream. I did not see a wall of water on each side of me as one would hope to have seen, nor do I remember any details of the river bottom or its depth. What I do remember is turning around after some time to look at the river again and seeing it from a good distance away, the thought in my head was "Worry didn't look so big now. What was my concern all about?" God's perfect love had removed worry from my life and He replaced it with peace in the process. Now I could continue in the direction of the promise land that He had waiting for me.
You may say, "Randall, that was only a dream". Yes, it was but it addressed what I was going through and truth be told, it was very accurate months later when it became even more real. God used a series dreams to prepare me, encourage me, stretch me and teach me so when the time actually came to make my decision, I was able to respond in faith because I could look back at the things He was speaking to me up to that time. The point I am trying to make is, pay attention to the different ways He communicates to you. If you are seeking Him in something, you will certainly hear from Him. He's talking, but are you listening to all the ways that He is doing it?