Hey everyone, Good Morning and Happy Hump Day!
I wanted to take a minute to share something with you.
Last night, I had an insane dream.
Having wild dreams is not unusual.
This one was different, though because I believe that this one was a dream inspired by God.
I want to share this dream with you because I believe it will help you.
It has to do with how God makes all things new.
Read on to find out more.
The Dream: God Makes All Things New (source)
In my dream, there were 3 versions of myself.
The first version was myself as a young child (probably around the age of 6 or 7).
The second version of myself was as a teenager (I do not miss those days), and the third version was my present self.
In the beginning of the dream I was so mad at my younger selves.
I hated them and wanted to yell at them every time they made a mistake or did something I did not approve of.
Any time the 3 of us went out, no one gave me the time of day.
Instead, they wanted to focus on all of the little mistakes my younger selves would make.
I began to beg, plead even, that these two could leave and never come back yet they continued to remain.
One day, I decided that I couldn’t take the constant arguing between my present self and my younger self.
I decided to make peace with the versions of myself from the past.
For a while, we got along great.
My past would follow me anywhere and everywhere as usual but I didn’t mind it anymore.
I was at peace with who they were, and who I was.
There came a point where I couldn’t even remember what it was like to argue with my past.
Occasionally my younger selves would do something that would make me feel ashamed or embarrassed but it wasn’t as often as it once was.
In fact, it was rare.
Suddenly, a man came up to me and he said “it’s time for these two to go”.
Although it’s hard to believe with how things had started, I had grown to love the two of them and couldn’t imagine my life without them.
Having them there, reminded me of who I once was and just how far I had come.
I continued to plead to just let them stay because we had grown so close to one another.
The man went on to explain that I could not share the world with the two of them any longer.
It was time to say goodbye whether I wanted to or not.
Gone, but Not Forgotten
The man loaded a gun and held it up to each of them.
Tears began to stream down my face.
I began to cry and said “You can’t take them from me like this, It will hurt me”.
He said “I know, saying goodbye to the past is painful but necessary.
You can’t continue to fight them, or allow them to be here.
They need to go no matter the cost.
It will be painful, but it will also be worth it”.
He asked me to come over, to help him with saying goodbye.
He asked me to let go of the youngest, and help him put the bullet in the gun so we could say goodbye.
Every bone in my body ached.
I was frozen in fear begging for him not to make me do it.
This man, continued to assure me that even though it was painful, it was going to be worth it.
Before you know it, I’d let go of my youngest self, and allowed the man to do with her what he willed.
It was incredibly painful, but a small part of me was relieved that it was done.
No Excuse Not to Let Go
It was time to take care of my teenage self.
Suddenly, I remembered how she didn’t have many friends, how she felt so small and insignificant.
She argued with her parents and treated her family with disrespect and most of all, she struggled with feelings of depression, and hopelessness.
She had done so many things that embarrassed me. I couldn’t even talk about her to other people.
In the beginning, I wanted her to go but she’d been around so long, I had grown accustomed to how she was a living reminder of the change in my life.
The man, he didn’t care about her being a living reminder of how far I’d come.
He explained that it was just an excuse not to move on with my life.
He explained that it didn’t matter how good an excuse sounds, it is still an excuse or rather, a reason for disobeying him.
Goodbyes are Bittersweet
Here we go again, I’m familiar with the process but it doesn’t stop me from putting up a good fight.
More tears, more begging and pleading, he doesn’t care.
He continues to encourage me.
I grip tighter, scream louder, remind him that I have to keep her around to remind me of the change in my life.
He gently reminds me “no excuses”.
He waits and waits, continues to encourage and listen to me plead.
Finally, with an exasperated sigh I say “here take her”.
I do what he ask, I am obedient and while I’m still crying out to him to stop, I do what he commands.
I move out of his way, and let him do with her what he wills. In what seemed like an instant, she is gone.
I sit among the place where my pasts once stood.
I sob as I feel empty and so alone.
How can I survive without my past to guide my future?
Fear of the unknown grips me to the core.
I can’t make it without my past, I can’t live without hanging on to who I once was.
The End of the Dream
I get up and move to the sink.
The man comes and stands by me as I sob over the sink.
He places his arm gently on my shoulder and tells me “it’s different now, but it is going to be better”.
He explains that while I’ll always have memories of my past, they won’t embarrass me anymore, or cause me to feel any guilt or shame.
Now that they are gone, I can look to the future and surround myself with individuals who will encourage me to look forward and not dwell on the past.
I can spend more time focusing on working on myself and who I will become and obeying him as opposed to trying to make peace with them as before.
While saying goodbye was painful, it is indeed what is best.
The Message in the Dream: How God Makes All Things New
I jolted awake to the sound of my alarm (oh man, 4:00a.m. sure comes early).
For a moment, I lay there to process dream that had just taken place.
I felt the Holy Spirit surrounding me and I began to pray that God would help me understand why this had taken place.
Was it a supernatural dream, or simply a biological process?
The Lord spoke to me and reminded me that he has made me new.
I recently wrote about how we are all new people after we get saved.
I battle with my past a lot as I’m sure many of you do.
The devil will try his best to make me feel guilt, shame, or embarrassment over the things that I have done both recently and years ago but I’m not who I once was.
I fight to hold on to the memories of who I was but I must look ahead to who God is making me, knowing that he will not stop until he finishes what he is doing (see Philippians 1:6). He makes all things new.
I may kick, scream, cry, and continue to hold on to my past but if I am faithful to let go of all of my baggage and follow God in obedience, it will be better for me in the end.
While I may remember some events of the past, instead of feeling guilt and shame, I can feel loved because Jesus loved me enough to die for that sin in my life.
He loves you just as much.
If you will let him have control, he can take all that is in your past and make it new.
Sure, it will be painful, but it will be worth it for you too.
What the devil intended for evil in your life, God will make it good (see Genesis 50:20).
Can we take a moment to pray together?
Prayer
God, I pray for the person reading this post right now.
I rebuke all feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment, worthlessness, etc… in the name of Jesus.
I ask that as you call them to let go of painful moments in their past, you will give them the strength and courage necessary to obey you.
Give them peace as they work with you to overcome their past and as they look towards the future.
Lord, help them to be patient with themselves and have mercy on themselves as they strive to live for you.
Remind them that no matter what they have done or will do, you love them just the same.
Remind them that your grace is sufficient for them no matter what.
Thank you, Lord for your words that are true and for working in our lives to make us what you would have us to be.
Thank you for your unending support and continued faithfulness to us.
I ask all of this in your precious son Jesus’ name,
Amen
I love when God speaks in dreams. It’s so intense and so personal. That being said, thank you for sharing. He makes all things new…if only you knew how much I needed your comment to lead me here so I could read this. It reminds me that He’s moving and speaking.
God knows what we need and the time that we need it. I’m so glad that he’s moving and reminding you of who he is. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. God bless!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful article!