Ever since I became a Christian 40+ years ago the Lord has
given me dreams. He has taught me how to
interpret and apply their meaning. This has been a long process, and often I
would sit for hours before the Lord to listen for His thoughts about the dreams
and line them up with scripture. I would not have guessed that part of the
refining of this gift was to take the dreams away, leaving me with my own.
Though now I seldom have prophetic dreams from the Lord, He
has comforted me with a more present relationship during the day. Still, for a few years I have been grieved
that there were very few dreams. This
last week the Lord brought a word about this.
He said that He took the dreams away because He wants me to know the
difference between His dreams and mine.
It is the same process during the day, where I have learned to separate
His thoughts from mine. In my waking
hours the Lord often asks what I think about a particular subject. He does this not because He needs my input,
but because He is teaching me to identify how I think about the subject . . .
and then He would finish up with how He thinks about that subject.
By taking away His dreams, I was left with my own
dreams. I became familiar with
them. There is a stark contrast between
God’s messages and the messages from my own heart and mind. The contrast is what God wants. The Lord told me that He already has bold and
hasty prophets; He wants submissive, patient prophets. God has men who speak their own words in His
name, not having learned the difference between their own thoughts and His
thoughts; the Lord wants prophets who speak His word in His name. For this to happen, prophets have to learn to
distinguish between their own thoughts and God’s thoughts; there needs to be a
contrast between the two.
There is a scriptural reference about those who minister to
others for the Lord, using their own ideas.
It is found in Ezekiel 34, where the Lord is correcting the Shepherds of
His flock. He then turns to the flock
and corrects them as follows;
As for you, My flock, this is what
the Sovereign Lord says; I will judge between one sheep and another, and
between rams and goats. Is it not enough
or you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your
pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you
also muddy the rest with your feet? Must
My flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with
your feet? (Ez 34:17-19)
If we sup with the Lord, and then pollute our ministry by
using our own thoughts, we have “muddied the waters.” It is not clear what God’s original message
was. The way to preserve God’s thoughts is
by separating them from our own. Then we
can minister the clear water we have drunken from the Lord, and the grass from
the field will be edible for them.
The flock deserves to hear what God has said from His
prophets . . . from all Christians. Today,
listen for the Lord’s thoughts. Let Him
teach you how to keep them separate from your own, whether sleeping or awake. Then your ministry will nourish the hungry
and satisfy the thirsty. Amen.
