The Hungry, The Feast & Stopping for the One
In a dream on 11/5/23, I was in what looked like the courtyard of a prison. However, as I looked around, I was amazed by the diversity of people, people of every generation, both men and women, and all wearing old dirty, tattered clothes. The whole scene struck me as a refugee camp and the needs were great. The men, women and children were lined up pressing forward to pass a long row of tables for food.
On the opposite side of the tables, there were people who seemed hired to serve the food. Their faces were blank and their movements mechanical. They seemed like human robots that would plop a spoon of food onto the plate in front of them without eye contact, warmth or any kind of presence or intention.
And then in the dream, I was informed that I was designated to serve food at the tables and that I was to start immediately. They told me that I was to serve each and every person one by one.
When I looked up and saw the hungry eyes of all the people, I felt overwhelmed. This would surely take forever, and the line was so long. But something happened when I walked up to the first person in line, a weather-worn and middle-aged woman and took her plate.
My eyes were opened. And I saw this was simply about stopping for the one and loving her well. And I realized I could do that one by one. And in that instant, my overwhelm and trepidation was replaced by compassion and a yearning to reveal Jesus.
I started to tell this woman just how precious she was to God. When I served her plate, oddly the first thing I placed on it was a cigarette. It was white with a yellow stripe. This part of the dream ended as I placed organ meats and other food on her plate as I ushered her through the line.
God is awakening His bride to the unthinkable power of stopping for the one.
In an information age that perpetually dulls the senses because of the sheer magnitude of NEWS and NEEDS, the Body of Christ often feels powerless to affect much change. But God is saying, “Come closer! Let me pour my heart into Yours! Because once you hear my heartbeat, you’ll never see your neighbor the same!”
There are two types of urgency pressing in on the church. These will intensify in the days to come so it’s vital to discern the difference. One kind of urgency leads to overwhelm and fear. It becomes a frenzied and reactionary existence that lives from EARTH to heaven.
But there is a SUPERIOR urgency. It’s an urgency to come up higher! It’s an urgency to be present and move with the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives. (Romans 8:14-17) It’s a call to ascend to where we’re already positionally seated (Ephesians 2:6 - lives from heaven TO earth) and from that place to be radically incarnational in the spheres God has called us. (Luke 4:18-21, 1 John 4:17, Romans 8:29-30)
Put simply, we’re invited into friendship with God and we GET to move WITH Him. And it can’t be judged by mere externals. It’s not meant to be. It’s an altar of the heart that has it outworking in a million different ways but it’s marked by love, intentionality and a yearning to reveal the heart of the Father.
Let’s address the cigarette. :)
When I woke up from this dream, I was struck by the cigarette I had placed on the woman’s plate. To be honest, I kind of wanted to conveniently eliminate this incy-wincy detail but knew that would be compromising the integrity of the dream. As I prayed, I realized this cigarette spoke to meeting people where they were.
A couple days after I had this dream, I was talking to my friend and she told me about how at her CROSSFIT gym, all the weights are color-coded. They do this so that newbies don’t overdo it and people develop a healthy awareness of what they can safely lift without undue injury. She proceeded to tell me that new females at the gym start with weights with a YELLOW STRIPE, just like the cigarette in my dream.
This reminded me of Matthew 23:2-4 when Jesus said, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger.”
And so our invitation to reveal the Father is meant to be unfettered by the trappings of religion that prizes behavior modification over heart-level transformation. People will be hungry and there is a harvest coming, but will they find us ready to embrace them at His banqueting table?
Jesus, search our hearts and uproot anything that would keep us from revealing YOU. Shine your light on the ways we’ve come into agreement with pride, religion, favoritism, prejudice or fear so that we can repent and be transformed into Your likeness. Empower us to see with YOUR EYES and move with Your heart for the glory of Your great name.
This post is the 2nd part of a 3-part dream I had on 11/5/23. The first scene was about catalytic mothers and the returning of prodigals and you can find it here. All three parts of this dream are very connected (3rd part coming soon), but I’ve chosen to share them separately so they’re easier to digest.