subtitled: Roll with the Changes
A while back, I posted this blog about a dream that had not yet come to be fully revealed:
Now, I'm finding potentialities are being defined through the bizarre imagery of that dream...Specifically, I was working in a room with a woman who is a friend and prayer partner of mine. Suddenly in that room appears a rack of coats that we've been given charge over. I ascertain that the coats should not get wet from the water that had suddenly begun spewing out of me as I was suddenly like a fountain. We moved the coats into another room we could see through an interior window. In that room sat a ridiculously bug-eyed young man who was "bad" in my dream-self's estimation. We returned to the room where we'd been working after giving the coats over to him. We were satisfied that we'd done the right thing. Then suddenly, a man who was my principal last year but is no longer employed by my school re-appeared in the dream, sitting in front of that interior window. I sat down next to him to say hello, and he leaned over and kissed me. The point of the kiss seemed to be that the man on the other side of the window should see it.
Many hesitate to share such dreams, expecting pop-psychology psychoanalysis to make anyone and everyone see the symbolic revelation of my own most personal darkness, things that one would rather keep secret from the public at large. Such is the nature of modern-day dream interpretation. I've learned not to be so worried whether my personal character becomes a target in dream revelation, even weird, seemingly "improper" dreams, because in "these" dreams, the imagery has more to do with what God is revealing that with what I am like in my secret self. (smile)
I blogged (as seen in the link above) that all over Proverbs is the use of imagery attaching the idea that fountains of water represent wisdom shared. I figured that out last spring. (The woman from my dream and I have been praying together over the imagery of this dream for months now.) As the summer progressed, I experienced a few things that made me think I was approaching the time when the rack of coats image would be explained. Then just the other day, I came across these verses in Proverbs 27:
13 Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger,And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.
or in the NIV:13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.
Suddenly, my having a rack of coats could point toward a situation where someone(s) vouches for an other when he (they) shouldn't. Still a little vague, but something to go on. That these ones should be moved outside the realm of receiving "wisdom" from me began to make sense, as I'd prayed to know how I was to "recognize" these coats when they "came into the room."
Likewise in Proverbs 24, I found this:
23 These things also belong to the wise:It is not good to show partiality [to those] in judgment.24 He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," Him the people will curse;Nations will abhor him.25 But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.26 He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.
or in the NIV: 23 These also are sayings of the wise:To show partiality in judging is not good:24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him and nations denounce him.25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
Another indicator besides dreams that runs along this train of thought: I'm going to miss two days of school these first two weeks of the year for two seemingly diverse medical issues: I must see a podiatrist as my heel has a bone spur that is seriously affecting the tendon and I must see a dentist as I have several fractured teeth that need attention before they fall apart in my mouth. ThenGod showed me this:
Pro 25:19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble [is like] a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
I remembered that sometimes it isn't just dreams that a prophetic gift brings, but the opportunity to be a living enactment of something scriptural. So I continued watching, and I began to believe it was time to share these new discoveries of scriptural connections with the woman who is my partner in these things.
But first, I prayed: God, it appears that treachery, a wolf in sheep's clothing, is what You're indicating here. Who would You have me trust with what You're saying? Who should come alongside me in prayer over these things that are completely mysterious right now and that show no signs of coming true in this day? I don't want to breed hysteria or panic. Nor do I want to breed contempt. Especially, I don't want--in my zealousness--to warn off the very ones You're saying should be allowed to walk in judgment. How do I keep from saturating with this wisdom someone who later might show up as one of those coats I'm called to put away from me? Am I even supposed to share all this with the woman who appears as my partner in Your work, O God? Taking risks is always a feature of vision-casting. I'd take the risk of believing in my own vision of her as my partner. I talked to her. I went to share the first of those scriptures with her...the one about taking a garment from someone who is collateral for a stranger.
And so You used that leap of faith to refine the vision, as is also true of this walk of visioneering. It happened like this:
We randomly ran into each other in the office of the church's bookkeeper. D (my friend) was in there because she worked for the church's summer camp for kids and it became her job to correct a mistake made by the coin-rolling machine. It had rolled coins improperly--putting dimes in the penny rolls, etc. She was dumping the rolls of coins, checking them for mistakes and re-rolling them where the machine had made errors.
When I asked God, Did I do the right thing in sharing with her what You're teaching me about this situation, O God? And, if I did wrong, will You fix the results?" You answered me: "Consider what she was doing when you spoke to her."
I thought about it. She was correcting mis-rolled coins. The machine-the system that we presume is surely far more infallible than a lone human--it was this machine that actually erred grossly, and this woman went in its wake and rectified the problems it caused. Not only that, but the type of problem--mis-rolled money--put me in mind of Proverbs 20:10:
Divers weights, [and] divers measures, both of them [are] alike abomination to the LORD.
Divers weights, [and] divers measures, both of them [are] alike abomination to the LORD.
So was it right to share with her? I got an emphatic Yes! along with a greater discernment of her role in God's work: she would see and make right the divers weights and measures that are an abomination to the Lord, and in a world where the "machine" we presume to be reliable proves faulty. God, bless her in this calling! What a task to have the Lord entrust to your hand. I am honored to be companion to her, lifting her up in this work for You! Strengthen those hands You've given her, God! Let it be she doesn't faint!
Just the other day, her husband, K., gave me another scripture to pray about: Psalm 73. I wonder if he realized it, too, had a garment reference that works with understanding this dream You gave me? The Psalm in total contains the reflections of someone who has made the effort to have a clean heart, but who sees the prosperity of the wicked and nearly slips into envy of that ease of life so often found in those who walk apart from Thee.
One of the descriptors of these wicked ones is in verse 6: Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them [as] a garment.
Interestingly, the next verse explains the "bug-eyed" boy in the next room in my dream, because verse 7 says of these wicked: Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.
My Bible references another Psalm as companion to this one in some of its imagery: Psalm 109. It is called the Song of the Slandered.
Do not keep silent,
O God of my praise!
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
5 Thus they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
O God of my praise!
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
5 Thus they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked man over him,
And let an [fn1] accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
8 Let his days be few,
And let another take his office....
And let an [fn1] accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
8 Let his days be few,
And let another take his office....
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be continually before the Lord,
That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the broken in heart.
17 As he loved cursing, so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18 As he clothed himself with cursing [this "cursing" is about one bent on accusing Your children, not just about someone who is a potty-mouth] as with his garment,
So let it enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
20 Let this be the Lord's reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be continually before the Lord,
That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the broken in heart.
17 As he loved cursing, so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18 As he clothed himself with cursing [this "cursing" is about one bent on accusing Your children, not just about someone who is a potty-mouth] as with his garment,
So let it enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
20 Let this be the Lord's reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.
This Psalm is truly a prayer for empowering God's agents to deal with one who is deeply anti-Christ in the way he interacts with Your people.
Finally, just this morning in church, the speaker reminded us what Paul's role was before Jesus Christ got hold of him: he held the clothes of those who killed Christians. When he realized what he was doing, he surely left off that job and never held a coat in that manner again!
Now, if I were taking notes in a lecture, here is what I'd say I've learned so far. May God receive my "homework paper" and make red letter corrections so that I can re-submit it for further review:
- Someone (or several ones?) will vouch for the wrong person. It could involve a "wayward woman."
- This partiality for someone who is actually in judgment at the hand of God will ultimately lead to public disgrace for that person who has been given the authority to "assess" the righteousness of others.
- Honesty will prove a better breeding ground for community spirit under God than will an orderly commonality that springs from fear of judgment and harrassment. Fear of judgment may only make sin go into hiding. In other words, making the effort to appear above reproach may only free up the secret sin to run more rampant in the dark, rather than being the proof that someone walks in integrity as we'd hope it to mean. (So often it seems we put all our eggs in the basket that weighs "the appearance of evil." I personally believe the people of God are always better off with a David, broken before Nathan, than with a Saul, costumed before the medium of Endor.)
- None of this will show itself until "times of trouble" hit.
- A friend of mine will be called to recognize and play a part in setting right this inequity in the weighing of things that matter to You.
- Despite what You foretell here, these ones/this one that You blatantly classify as evil will nevertheless appear to have all they ever ask for, and some may follow one who seems to get everything he wants. The pride of this favored status will breed a sense of appropriateness in adopting "violence" (and not just indifference, although that would be bad enough) toward Your needy ones.
- One who is falsely accused will break this pattern, being heard by God when he prays that the garment of accusation should return and be borne by the one who wove it in the first place. As he curses, so may he suffer a curse.
- My friend and I, in praying behind the scenes over this, will have an awakening much like Paul knew when he realized he was unwittingly holding the coats of those who were persecuting the God he most longed to serve. Give us the strength to accept such a revelation if that part is right, O God. And, remind us continually to embrace the atmosphere of Your sanctuary where discernment is--like air--breathable, lest we become bitter and "offend the generation of thy children."
And thank You in advance, O God, for being a teacher who requires mastery-learning before You take me any further. Thank You that no matter how long it takes me to "get" one of Your lectures, Your timing remains perfect. You always have me perfectly prepared when the exam rolls around!
Finally, thank You for showing me yet again the elegance with which You convey a message: taking one small image (a dream of a rack of coats) or taking one frustrating event (re-rolling coins that should have gone rightly into their papers in the first place) and using these to define a ministry calling and a divine pupose that You confirm through many glistening gems found embedded throughout Your holy book.
Once again, Your brilliance is breath-taking!
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