“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44
David said, “in Your presence is fullness of joy,” (Psalm 16:11) and when he had sinned, prayed: “Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:11-12) God’s presence restores the joy of truths we may not have believed for years. It takes the “have to” out of our faith, and turns it into a “want to”. It makes our spirit “willing.” Yet God will not force His people to value His presence.
In October of 2009 I had a dream where I was fighting a man with no face because he had stolen the tabernacle and I was trying to get it back. I was at the point of exhaustion when I finally knocked him out and then secured the suitcase that held the tabernacle. (Don’t ask me how it fits in a suitcase!)
In the second scene of the dream the tabernacle was all set up and on a pallet waiting for a ship to come and pick it up. But there was a problem; the ark wasn’t in it (the ark was where God’s manifest presence dwelled). I was scurrying around trying to find where the ark was hidden, fearful that this enemy would soon wake up to fight again.
Then I had an idea. I called the ship that was coming and asked if they would pick up the tabernacle without the ark. They said they would. The last part of the dream was me hanging up the phone and thinking about the enemy, “He never would have guessed we’d sail without the ark.”
In January of 2010 I was given the interpretation – the dream was about me. For years my vision was for genuine revival where God’s Spirit would be poured out in such a way that people would see God and not man. Wherever I went, this was what I contended for.
But in Madison I had become tired. People had disappointed me, God hadn’t done things I asked Him to do, and the responsibilities of ministry had taken a toll on me. I still talked the talk, but was in grave danger of settling for life and church without God’s manifest presence.
This dream and its interpretation were just what I needed to get a new beginning. Isn’t God good!
One Thing 