Exceedingly Abundantly Starts With Letting Go

I had a dream on 8/19/23 that my husband and I were in a white delivery truck/plane. Ty was up in one of the seats in the pilot area and I was looking toward the front of the plane and in front of me was several crates of produce. The only kind I saw was store-packaged shredded iceberg lettuce on top. We were speeding up on a runway and the crates of produce started to rattle in their crates/cages. I realized in order to lift off, we needed to let go of the capsule that held our produce. I knew we just needed to get into the air so we could get where we were going. I moved up to the front seat with Ty and we let weight in the back go.

In the next scene, I was at a table in a school cafeteria full of tables that was completely empty except for me, Ty and one other person at a table. We each had a meal that was a simple bowl of rice, a couple veggies and chicken. There was no buffet line, no leftovers but we had exactly what we needed in that moment. I felt some grief about showing up with just us and yet in our emptying, we sat their grateful for God’s provision in our simple meal and grateful we had let go so we could come, even if it didn’t look like what we were previously expecting.

But then at the end of the dream, I was being taken on a tour of a large working farm. We looked upon rows and rows of the most amazing fruit and produce. There were banana trees, avocado trees, various orchards, a wide variety of grown food from both tropical and moderate climates. The colors were vibrant and there were workers in the fields tending the land and harvesting fruit. And I knew that in this new place, this was all local to us and everyone here worked and shared the bounty together. Tears filled my eyes at what I saw, so much more than I had ever dreamed, or thought possible.

Interpretation

Planes in dreams often have to do with ministry or destiny. The produce represents the striving to PRODUCE. It represents our accolades, anything we feel we’ve accomplished, or what we feel we have to bring to the table to be of value.

It was clear from the dream that this paradigm about PRODUCING  could not go with us where we were going. The pre-packaged efforts and fruit from days gone by (packaged store produce is usually weeks old) had to be dropped along with the weight of keeping up appearances and an independent spirit that feels the need to say, “This is what we achieved and what we can bring to the table independent of others.”

And then we took off and found ourselves in the empty school cafeteria. A school is a place of learning and I believe this represents what God desires for us to learn in the emptying. For many of us, we’ve dreamed dreams of running with other brothers and sisters in Christ and then found ourselves in a wilderness in which we experienced the opposite of what we were hoping for, or at minimum a sort of manna of community, only enough to get by but not sustainable or in God’s heart for us long-term.

And this is the place where we learn that we ourselves are the offering, that He’s worthy of whatever we need to let go of, and that He is a good Father who will not abandon us in our time of need. It’s where the table becomes the main thing again, where He meets us with what we need and where gratitude grows in leanness and surrender.

It’s interesting that in the dream there was no thought of, “now what?” There was a resigning of a heart posture to yield to His process no matter what it looked like to others and a deep gratitude for having the honor of counting Him worthy of all. And that’s when the scene shifted to the working farm.

This tour was showing us what we had access to, but I noticed there were no fences or labels. Everyone shared in the good of the land, both in labor and harvest. There was a lightness and joy to the workers and they seemed to all know that what each of them were doing – no matter how big or small it looked – was vital to the health of the community. Even the fruit of the ground represented a beautiful cross pollination and variety of vegetation from different places in the world.

The dream ended with a sense of awe, wonder and gratitude. Here I was a little sad to let go of our own produce at the beginning of the dream: pre-packaged lettuce basically empty of both taste and nutrition. But letting go, going through emptying and transformation, postured us to be partakers in incredible local produce – full of both flavor and nutrition. And this is making me hungry.

There’s so more I could share about this and perhaps will in coming days but I’m reminded of Ephesians 3:20:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

If I were to survey people about where Christ’s power was evident in the dream, likely the first thought would be on the working farm at the end. But I believe it’s crucial that we see that God’s power was at work in every scene - the plane, the table and the farm.

It’s the working of God’s power in us that brings us to a place where we realize there are things we need to let go of.

It’s His grace that empowers us to say yes to Him.

It was His power that lifted the plane up, provided the meal and brought transformation to the way we perceived what was in front of us.

Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God working in you, giving you the desire (will) and the power to do what pleases Him.”

This is what He’s doing in you, in me, in His bride so that we can come into the fullness of Christ.

Notice the wording in Ephesians 3:20, “To Him be the glory in the Church to all generations.” The Western church in particular is guilty of so personalizing scripture that we miss the big picture and God is expanding us to be able to see beyond our own calling or “destiny” to see our collective call as the Body of Christ: to reveal Him. I believe His work within us comes into greater context and clarity when we realize it’s never been about us. We are sons and daughters and our flourishing personally and as the Body of Christ has been and always will be from the inside out. Exceedingly abundantly starts with letting go, grows through gratitude, and becomes manifest in His Body as we hold fast to the Head, Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

What mindset or weight is God calling you to let go of?

Write them down and spend some time with Him. Ask Him to show you what He desires for you in this season. Journal His voice as He reveals His heart for you.