Thriving in the Desert

My friend, Gregg Healey, had a dream on July 4 that we both believed was from the Lord. The gist: that the path God has for our ultimate "Independence" may not appear to on the surface to be the best or most attractive.  Given its application to the themes of 10 Days and the potential for it to be an encouragement to many of us, I’ve asked Gregg to share the dream and his interpretation.  I hope it inspires and encourages you in the midst of challenging times!

Yours,
Jonathan Friz

Dream Excerpt:

In the dream, I was sitting next to Church Pierce (an international leader) in a mining cart approaching a tunnel. We were talking about the value of prophetic gifts to the Body of Christ.  I said to Chuck: “You know, in the old days people would look at a land and go to a lush valley, saying: let's go there, because there is provision, food, etc. And they would look at a desert or arid places and say - there is nothing there. But a word for the body of Christ is: if we have the technology and gifts, we can go to an arid place and live.”

Interpretation:

Since this dream was on the early morning of July 4th, I took that it was not only a dream for me, but for the U.S. Another interpretation of the date is that the dream is about our “Independence”, or freedom.

So, what might these words mean?

It pretty clearly points to a few scriptures which are worth mentioning here. First, and importantly, this seems to be almost a direct reference to Genesis 13.  

Genesis 13: Abraham and Lot

The scriptures tell us that both Abraham and Lot were Godly men. However, strife was developing between their clans, and the Lord led Abraham to know it was time for separation. Without being set apart and consecrated, Abraham couldn't walk into his inheritance.

So Abraham gave Lot the freedom of choice. Lot chose the lush lands of the plains of the Jordan. Abraham was left with the desert (Negev). Though “2nd choice”, Abraham trusted God would place him where he needed to be. Lot's decision to go for the lush valley was "logical" because to the eyes of the flesh, it looked like a fertile plane. However, what looked right in Lot's eyes, ended up in destruction (Sodom and Gomorrah), while Abraham was blessed and multiplied in the desert.

To the carnal mind, Lot used his leverage to pick first and got the better deal. But to the spiritually minded, Abraham’s desert was the very path God had made in order for him to receive his inheritance (v15). But who would want a desert?

Desert - Famine and Drought

A desert place is a place of testing and refining. Before Jesus stepped into His destiny on earth, he was tested in the desert for 40 days. Before Israel was able to enter into the Promised Land, they had to be tested, refined and prepared in the desert for 40 years.

I believe the Lord is saying three things to the church in this hour: One, the earth is entering into end-times shaking of world structures, including economic (Rev 18). Two, these troubled times will be a time used to refine the Bride before Christ’s return (Eph 5:27). Three, the world will not have hope filled answers, but the followers of Jesus will and it will be a time of great harvest. In other words, it will be the Church’s finest hour.

Instead of resisting this prophesied reality, we the remnant (sons of promise - Abraham) must separate ourselves from the world structures being shaken (Babylon, house built on the sand) and embrace the new path, because God is saying this is the path to our inheritance, the path to true independence from the spirit of this age:

Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19

Technology

My sense in the dream was that technology represents the "Knowledge of God." Meaning: if we know God intimately, His ways, and we walk-out His Word in obedience, then we have everything we need – no matter what the climate. Through operating in the gifts He has given men, by the Spirit (Eph 4; 1 Cor 12), we can not only survive, but thrive in arid conditions. Miracles will be key.

I believe the knowledge of God also includes literal technology (like modern Israel's high yield farming in the desert), but it really starts with faith in the "unseen". Like Bob Jones once said, "You can't figure it out, you have to faith it out." Doing so isn’t logical. Therefore, the temptation in all this, is that it becomes a battle of the "gray-matter" - a civil war of the blue (heavenly minded) versus the gray (carnal minded).

Several years ago I had a dream where I was shown a dust-bowl scene of a great depression. People were on their stoops, out of work, lacking hope. It was very black and white. In the town's general store, the shelves were bare. The only thing in stock (and the only thing in color: blue) was lots of "Bud Light". In the dream, beer represented the knowledge of God. However, all that was on offer (from the church) was a "light" version. It was ineffective in such desperate times. No one was "buying it.” The message of the dream is that the only effective solution for people suffering in the times ahead will be the deep well springs of the knowledge of God (Psalms 42:7) - the strong drink (Prov 31:6) – because without the strong drink, people will perish (Hos 4:6)!

In Summary

Now is coming a time of difficulty we haven’t yet seen (arid place). Embrace it, and God will show us the path of blessing and promise. Reject it, and we risk ending up on a path to destruction.

If we listen to God and conform to His will, He will make a way through the desert—not only a way, but a blessed way that blooms!  An oasis in the desert from which we can help rescue others. God so loved the world that He gave His only son so that men would not perish! Jesus is the strong drink that perishing men need in desperate times.

The temptation will be our "gray-matter" (the carnal, logical, earthly mind - the "rebel") getting in the way - telling us, no, no, no - God would never remove the economic prosperity He has given us! The mind would say: No! the way forward is the proven place - the old place of the lush valley (the way of the current "Egyptian", “Babylonian”, or "Baal" economy of "bull markets" and "big government" - the fertile plane of Sodom and Gomorrah). But it’s a deception - a mirage - because ultimately, it is a place that will be destroyed (Rev 18:4).

God will prosper us and lead us into the promised land, but we must have ears to hear and a heart of obedience, for these are serious times requiring a sober watchfulness (1 Peter 4:7). What may look bad to the natural eyes, ultimately turns out great by God. In fact, in the end, Abraham inherited all the land, including the valley of the Jordan. Yes, our promised land will be found right in the midst of the desert! Let us have understanding.

Let us therefore be like the woman of Revelation 12:14: 

But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time...

The Lord is saying, follow me into the desert and I will nourish you!

--Gregg Healey