The Burning Bridge, The Wild River & The Crossover
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
I awoke with this dream at 3:30 am the morning of 8/11/24.
We were driving along a street or highway and came to a huge metal bridge that ran perpendicular over the road so that you had to cross under it to drive forward. It was on fire as flames spewed up from its structure but I knew crossing this part of the highway was a very important threshold. I also felt the dream would soon collapse and once driving to the other side, there would be no turning back.
I saw a man hanging up on the bridge with harness and he was frantically trying to put out the fire with buckets of water. Somehow, I knew he had helped build this bridge and he said he would give his life trying to put out this fire. He was also trying to take pictures of it because he thought it was such a great bridge and wanted to preserve the memory of how great it was.
We were trying to decide whether to go through with it or not but quickly opted to go through because we knew a flood was coming. As we crossed, I was immediately in the next scene.
I walked amongst tall green trees on a paved park trail that winded to the right and crossed over a raging river. In the dream, I knew this place was familiar to me but I’d never seen it like this.
I looked over the bridge walkway and sure enough, what had been tame, serene stream was now a rushing, gushing river.
The sound of the waters filled my ears.
As I looked down at the rushing torrent, I saw someone from the park and recreation service trying to do their routine check of the ecosystem and measure the water, but they were overwhelmed and realized that all their measuring and recording felt quite irrelevant and silly in these conditions.
I noticed that people started coming along the walkway with about 5 women in pretty dresses who had planned to take pictures down by the water. Their picture perfect hair was ruffled and tossed in the wind and their many colored dressed would not stay put in the wind that swept through and at least for me, brought its own feeling of exhilaration along with the sound of the water.
I was caught up in awe as I took it all in, but the people who had hoped to take pictures were annoyed and disappointed that the river was too wild to be the backdrop for their pictures and they looked at me surprised that I was so wowed by it all. They never really stopped to take it all in but rushed off to find a place that would be more serene and predictable for their pictures.
In the last scene, I saw a grown up version of a young classmate I had named Jordan (he’s actually the one who shared the baptism of the Holy Spirit with me in real life and I received that baptism there in my class) was sitting in his wheelchair on the edge of a vast body of blue water. He gazed out over the waves and said he wished that he could see it from up above. He had a reflective look on his face. I felt that he wished he could see it from above to remove some of the uncertainty and I felt that he was considering if he’d be able to cross with the weakness in his legs. The water could only be gone THROUGH, not over.
I woke up struck by this picture of crossing a threshold that requires the relinquishing of all self-preservation and a deeper trust that if I’m to cross, even if I die, He will raise me up.
If this quickened something within your heart, I encourage you to take this to prayer. God has impressed on my heart that this is one that is not meant to be explained by man. This dream represents an invitation to get synced up with God’s heart and what He’s doing.
Draw near. What is He saying to you?
Draw near. What is He doing IN you? What heart posture, what surrender, what obedience is He looking for?
That clarity only comes through intimacy with Jesus. He’s so eager to meet with You.
Make space. Clear out the clutter. These are glorious days. May we not miss them.