This has never happened to me before. NEVER! Okay, maybe once but I blew it. I have never been woken up by a dream and felt it was so vivid, so real, that I had to get up. Like I said, it might have happened once before but I went back to sleep telling myself that I would remember in the morning. Fat chance on that! So…here I am at 3:00 in the morning on my day off (yeah that means I can sleep in) writing this post to who knows who.
I had weird dreams all night. Seems like my overactive imagination was being just that…overactive. Don’t know if it was the late night ice cream. 🙂 Don’t know if it was the late night prayer request posted here. (see Ike at end). Don’t know if it was the late night email I received that broke my heart. Truth is: I don’t need to know. What I do know is that I was having a dream that involved someone who used to go to the church I pastor and now attends elsewhere. But he came to me overwhelmed with financial difficulty and not knowing what to do. I woke up with these words coming out of my mouth in the dream:
When you come to a place where you feel like you have nowhere else to go, that is when you have come to the place where God wants you to be-realizing you have nowhere else to go…but Him.
I have some personality quirks I know (no comment from the peanut gallery), but one of them is not being arrogant enough to think that I came up with that on my own. I am guessing I heard that or something like it somewhere, at some time, in some form or another. If that is true then so be it. (If you know please tell me so proper credit can be given). That still does not negate the fact that I woke up with that on my lips (literally), got up and wrote it down, went back to bed and then got up to write this with the overwhelming feeling like someone needs to hear it. It may be you. If so, take it for what it’s worth. It may be for someone you know. Take it and share it. Maybe in the long run it will be for me. Who knows?
The question I want to ask you is this: is this for you? Feel free to respond here or you can email me personally if I can pray for you at pastor@ovcf.org.
Sorry about your nights sleep. I never want to believe there is anything wrong with a late night helping of ice cream. It must have been something else. I like ice cream too much.
I don’t know that God WANTS us to be in that situation. I certainly understand how free will can get you there. Bad luck can also get us there. It is sad. And yes we could all find ourselves there.
I do think that God wants US to be there to assist, to love, to offer hope to that person. And to demonstrate our faith by our actions toward that person.
Jeff: maybe I ought to give you a call some night and we can enjoy our ice cream together. 😛 I have not seen these folks for 2 years, really since the flood, so not sure why he would be in it. Reckon random but the lesson was there. I do agree with you about being there to help.
Bill, I am confident that this message will hit it’s mark. Thank you for being faithful. I have found this to be true in my life. When all else failed God was there and life is now full. Praying.
Tom
Thanks Tom for taking the time to pray. Glad for you also. You minister time after time to me on your blog.
Thank you for following God’s prompting to share that.
It’s not for me right now, but it has been in the past. Would have loved to hear that message when I was struggling through.
Will be praying this post reaches the person who needs it.
Thanks Kim. I know from reading your blog that God is putting you in a good place right now and i am happy for you. I suspect some of it the reading of the Scripture you are doing. Thanks for your prayers and comment.
Wow. I wish my sister could see this. This verse is for her and I know she would agree. She is at the end of the road with nowhere to go, except to God(she said that) She will be moving back to IL. from NV. and will be getting a divorce. (not through any fault of hers or because she wants to) I am going to tell her about your blog & have her read this.
I would appreciate anyone who reads this praying for my sister, her name is Angela. Thank you.
Sorry to hear about Angela. That is a downer but praying she can pull it together by coming home. I am sure there will be those who will pray for her. I just said a prayer.
I reached that point last week and once I finally acknowledged I couldn’t do this on my own He stepped in and did what needed to be done (like bringing me to people who could help me.) It was H-A-R-D to get to that point and I really don’t want to go through that level of pain again but it did bring some really good things from it. I hope whomever your post is aimed to reach today heeds the message.
That level of pain is never comfortable Jason. Wish no one had to go through it but it is through that pain that we see God. Glad you came through it and learned. Thanks for the comment.
There you go making me cry. Love ya Bill. Thank you for having such a huge heart for others.
Sorry about that Julie. My wife says that too but not over this. 😛 I’m grateful God has given me that heart. Thanks for taking the time to come by and comment.
oh, but I will say that this made me tear up (can’t cry because I am at school still but…)
I have had a burden for a single mom friend of mine at school who is not a Christian- something just “happened” that made me see that maybe the time is right now…I needed this! Love you!
Will look forward to hearing about the single mom friend at Thanksgiving or sooner. 🙂 Yahoo she is coming home for Tday. Love you too.
I have been in that place…
the rope was tied off to the steel pipes in the basement of my college dorm… the chair was in place, and the noose was in my hand. No hope. I had already turned my back on God and knew He would not be there to catch me. Nowhere left to go. No one would miss me.
Or so I thought.
In that place… God came to me, his prodigal son and welcomed me in his loving arms. His method, was a young Hispanic student who I had continuously ridiculed and abused for being a Christian… But there He was, in that basement with no other purpose but to come across me.
His prayers, his love, his acceptance, and his faith re-introduced me to My Loving Father whose love knows no bounds.
Not sure who this message is for today, but I am praying that it finds them and in it that they may encounter their Loving Father and know His Hope and Joy.
Wow Dusty! I knew you had been in a bad place but not like this. I am choking back tears just thinking how hurting you were but how magnificent God was. Thanks for sharing this and I too hope someone hears this today.
That post has God all over it…because it is filled with hope.
Thanks Bill….
Thanks Jay for those encouraging words. Not sure much can mean more to me than to hear God was in it.
Hi Bill,
“When you come to a place where you feel like you have nowhere else to go, that is when you have come to the place where God wants you to be-realizing you have nowhere else to go…but Him.”
I think I might be looking at this from a varying perspective then some here. I’m looking at it from the perspective of ‘is there a better place than this?’
Because of the experience of being in this place we learn to go to God first. We learn to rely on God for our needs, we learn that God is faithful. This can serve us well in our Christian walk.
Nobody wants the pain, but the potential gain is there too. I was in this place earlier this year. Absolutely no one available that I could ask for help. God was faithful in this time. I have more measure of trust in Him now than I did last year.
Linda: you are right that there is not better place to be but for so many it takes time to get to that place. It takes being stripped of “me” and finally realizing I have nothing left. You can relate because you have been through the ringer. Glad you found God faithful. Thanks for commenting.
Hi Bill,
I think that some dreams are from God. I wouldn’t say that every dream we have is though.
Years ago when my son Steve was a small child, he woke up crying from a dream about his dad being hurt or killed. I prayed with him about this asking for God to protect daddy and my husband. We learned a day or so later that my husband was nearly killed that night. He started to disconnect a high pressure steam pipe that had not been shut off properly at work. He was interrupted by a co-worker who came along and stated that the pipe was still running steam. My husband would have been cut in two by the steam pressure after loosening just a couple of more bolts.
That’s a good story to tell Linda. I believe God definitely works in ways that go beyond our understanding.
..your old men will dream dreams.
Acts 2:17
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I have full confidence that the word you had for those folks you know will make it to them according to God’s will.
Yes, I’m “one of those” silly Christ-followers who believes in the present day ministry of The Holy Spirit. Hence, I believe that The LORD spoke to you, as He does, and put those words on your tongue and spirit.
My two cents.
(And I am hoping to eventually hear how Ike’s wife is doing…)
Donald: Funny thing is that I have not seen these people except in passing for over 2 1/2 years. I am not sure it had anything to do with them but more so that I was woken up and had to share it. As for Ike’s wife: she has terminal cancer and has had numerous surgeries. Ike shared once about it and I even asked for prayer and donations for them. Check here for more info http://billgrandi.ovcf.org/wordpress/?p=4623
Thanks for asking Donald. I am sure Ike will keep us informed.
Every obedience expresses and furthers the Kingdom of God. That is a powerful truth you are offering. I know it will reach its destination and bear its fruit! Thanks Bill.
Thanks Jason. Praying it will or already has. Thanks for taking the time to come by.
Yes, there are times when nothing seems to work. We feel forsaken by God himself, and we don’t know how we got there or what it means or how to get back. There are such times. But they are meant to be seasons or episodes only. They are not meant to provide the narrative. Christ is better than that.
If we have been reaching out for his hand and not finding it, we might be reaching in the wrong direction. Reaching back toward the past, however desirable, is often wrongheaded. Reaching forward into the future, however much we must let go of, is almost always where his strength awaits us.
He is our true help, and his hand will not fail.
Ike: I have certainly felt abandoned from time to time and at my wit’s end. But God has been faithful. His hand will not fail that is for sure. Folks would like to know about Carol so I directed them to the blog from Sept. in which your story was told. Any update would be appreciated.
Thanks pastor! Sometimes my comments do “not” line up with some of my emotions during this period of my life. The good news is.. that my emotions change….but He doesn’t. But I “confess” to your readership, that I have my moments of doubt and fear.
Suspect about all of my readership would say they also have their moments. Nothing to be ashamed of for sure.
praying that the Word hits its mark.
Thanks Herb. That is all I am asking God for.
Regarding Is This For You. Yes, it is. I’m so glad that my sister Jan gave me your site. I just said last night that I had no choice but to give it all to God. I have no fight left in me and I am very much alone. With my marriage ending and my impending trip back to home (Illinois) I am very overwhelmed and can only turn to God’s wisdom. I don’t know how I will get through this or how I will survive or find a job in this ecomony, but I know that my God will not leave me so I am turning to him. Thank you for your words, it’s as though God was speaking to me through you.
Hey Angela: jan told me she was giving this to you to read. God is so amazing sometimes how He operates. I would never had thought this post would reach someone in Nevada. Perhaps after you get back you can come spend a weekend with Michael and Jan and make you way here with them so we can visit. In the meantime, our God knows your heart and situation and will be there for you. I am asking my readers to join me in praying for you. If you wan to contact me personally outside of this blog Jan can give you my email address or you can contact me via the church’s website (ovcf.org). thanks for coming by and sharing your heart.
Angela,
What raw heartfelt words. I hear you, the pain and the fear and I want you to know that you are not alone. There is a God who sees you, you experiences your pain, who is carrying you right now. All you need to know is that He loves you and is fighting for you when you can’t fight anymore. I say all this because I have been in the darkness you speak of. It is terrifying. You are loved sweet one and you are not alone. It is truth.
-Julie
Thanks Julie for taking the time to reach out to Angela. I will make sure she sees your post.
I meant who experiences your pain..sorry.
Thank you so much for your kind words and thank you Julie for reaching out to me; a stranger to you. It means so much to know that God and those who know God are helping to care for me during this difficult time. I will definately stay active on this blog as a tool of comfort. Thank you again.
Angela
I hope you will find it a place for you to come and feel some rest and peace Angela.
Oh friend, I answered your comment on my site but just in case you didn’t see it I hope you truly feel enveloped in the love of Christ and from those who are His followers. You are precious and not alone…if you ever need an ear I am always available and I know so is Bill as well. It is like family here. Love you!
I’m going back through your blog catching up…wow. I’m so blessed to have found your blog…what’s it been a couple of years? God is really using you. It’ll be tomorrow before I’m caught up but I’m so looking forward to meandering around in your little world.
Robin: it is so good to hear from you! I have been reading yours but have very little to say about food…except I like to eat chocolate. 😛 Love having you back but feel even more blessed that we crossed each others’ paths. WOW two year ago! Looking forward to continuing our friendship.