Dream On

When someone says they've had a spiritual dream or a vision here in the States, what's your typical first reaction? More than likely you either A) write them off as a lunatic, or B) listen so you can make fun of them later and talk about what a lunatic they are.

In our culture, we like to think that God doesn't work that way anymore. After all, we do have the completed Bible and we've found a pretty little box that God fits perfectly inside of and dreams and visions do NOT fit in, thank you very much.

I beg to differ.

Now, let me just say before you write me off as a lunatic or continue reading so you can make fun of me later, I have never had a said dream or vision. My dreams are usually just those ones where you are a frog trying to escape from the zoo and suddenly find yourself on a boat in the middle of the ocean and you've transformed into a beautiful butterfly. I don't know the significance of that, but I don't think it's spiritual. Probably just the results of eating pizza and ice cream for dinner.

I do, however, know people who have had visions and dreams and I've heard enough stories of Christians and missionaries in other countries who have and I have no doubt in my mind that God still can and does work that way.

On our most recent trip to the Jungle, we worked with an Indian Pastor in one of the tribes who is leading the way in trying to reached the surrounding tribes. He's passionate and driven. One day, Richard was discussing with him the passion God has given us to use aviation as a means to get into these unreached places and happened to have his iPad with him. He pulled it out and pulled up a picture of the helicopter he had found that fits perfectly into what we want to do in our ministry and all of the specs we need to do it.

When he showed the Pastor the image of the helicopter, the Pastor just stared at it for a moment. He looked at Richard and looked back at the picture and began to seem nervous, sort of pacing back and forth. Richard figured he thought the iPad was cool. That was sort of our reaction to it, too. But as Richard continue to explain why he had decided on this particular aircraft, the Pastor interrupted him and said [in Portuguese], "Um. I don't know if you'll believe me when I tell you this."

Richard didn't know what he was talking about so he told him to give it a try. The Pastor went on to explain that he had had a dream of that exact helicopter. In his dream, he was the passenger and they were flying over the jungle to a church plant in the middle of nowhere to help equip the Indian believers. He went on to describe the interior of the helicopter as he had seen it in his dream.

The picture only showed the exterior and he described the inside in detail exactly as it is.

Oh and this dream, he had it twenty years ago.

Coincidence? I don't know. I'm just telling the story as it happened. What I do know is it's high time we stop deciding for ourselves just how our God works and then dismissing anything that doesn't fit nicely into how we imagine it.

We serve a big God who can do whatever He wants, however He wants. Maybe if we'd believe in a big God for a change, we'd start seeing some big things happen.