On Thursday the 9th of July 2015, I had a dream. In my dream, I was walking with a few people in company. There was a sense of urgency in the moment. Decisions needed to be made quickly with purpose and resolve. We needed to cross the river to get to an ancient castle that was on the other side. There was a pier kind of jetty that we had to walk out and get on a boat. I was wearing stiletto heels and had to tread carefully. I knew I had to tiptoe through so that my shoes didn't get stuck in the gaps on the jetty. When I got to the boat, I had to take off my heels so I could get on the boat to cross over to the other side. Once I was on the other side, I knew I had to leave the shoes behind. If I wanted to keep them, I would have to go back for them. Then I woke up.
There is a powerful message of what God is saying to those who have ears to hear it. In this dream, I find myself walking with others. These are my friends, family and those I have been walking through life with.
The shoes I am wearing are stiletto heels. Shoes are representative of ministry and high heels are speaking of a raised ministry, on a kind of platform. This speaks of having a raised influence. I had to walk carefully and tiptoe through so I didn't get stuck or lose my ministry. Yet, I had to leave my ministry when I went as far as the jetty could take me.
I had to step out of what I had and off of a grounded, stable, predictable life into a boat with less stability, ungrounded and unpredictable. It was only then that I could cross over.
The destination is a better place. It's a heavenly homeland, whose maker and builder is not of this world. There is an ancient castle which tells of an ancient kingdom where the Ancient of Days dwells.
We are living in such a key moment of history or HIS-story. A significant transition is happening and we each have a choice. We can keep walking in the way we have been. Or, we can leave the familiar behind and launch across the waters to an ancient kingdom.
In Hebrews chapter eleven, it says of the saints of old that they saw something by faith but weren't able to receive it.
“All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.
But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
In my dream, I was so conscious of the choice to stay or go back. I knew there was a decision to be made. I knew I could have gone back, but I could not have both. I could either have the shoes or crossover and have the adventure of exploring the castle. That castle represents the heavenly homeland, the city God has prepared. A little bit further down in that chapter, it goes on to say this about these same saints of old.
“They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.”
"Yet none of them received all that God had promised." Wow! They saw it, but could not receive it. Why is this? Actually, this is because God saw a much bigger picture. He looked through time and saw the future generations, He saw us.
“For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”
God was waiting for us to come and work together with them. This is how they will receive what they lived and hoped for. And the joy is that we also get to receive what they saw. They only receive it when we obtain it. We now live in a powerful time in history.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
I love how this passage goes on to unpack our part in this whole picture. They heard what God was saying and responded to the call. They heard it by faith. They saw it by faith. And they responded by faith. Yet, even still God would not allow them to step in to the fullness. And here we are in a place where we have been given the extraordinary invitation to step in. Not all hear it, and not all who hear it will follow it. But the truth remains. God has given this exciting invitation to us to leave the familiar behind and to strip off every weight of care and worry, especially the distractions that slow us down and trip up our walk. Then we may follow Him into the exciting mystery of the unfamiliar.
