A few months ago, I had a dream… The sky was a clear, bright blue but I hardly noticed. I was standing on the narrow beam of a large steel bridge, high above the waves. The salty breeze tugged at my hair and clothes. I stared down at the vastness of it all. The sheer height took my breath away. I stood there, nearly shaking in panic and fear. The dream seemed so real that I still remember the feeling of butterflies in the stomach.
There were some other people on the wider part of the bridge, not far from me. However, they didn’t appear frightened in the least. It was as if they didn’t notice how dangerously high we were. I only recognized one family. They had come to the children’s ministry I’m a part of with my church. We brought puppets and skits to the park a few weeks before this dream. I thought about going over to them to say hi, but I couldn’t move! I might slip and fall. I was much too consumed with my own safety.
Just then, I remembered something.
“My phone!” I very carefully pulled my cell phone from my pocket.
“Perfect! I’ll call for help.” No matter how hard I tried to dial a number, I couldn’t get it to work! It felt like it was a new cell phone that I was still learning how to use. Frustration washed over me but nothing I tried worked.
My gaze moved back to the water below just as I heard my sister, Natalie, from behind me.
“Natalie! It’s about time you showed up!” I snapped. “I tried calling you but my stupid phone won’t work,” I slowly held my phone out behind me to show her.
“Here, let me show you again,” Natalie offered in a calm, patient tone. As a matter of fact, she was just as happy as could be as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The bridge, narrow beam, height, and the dire situation had no effect on her whatsoever. She didn’t mind any of it. She wasn’t freaked out but completely free of any hindrance or fear.
After fixing my phone and handing it back to me, Natalie went over to the family to chat. I was no longer interested in making a call. Instead, I watched in wonder at how at ease and happy they were.
Then I woke up. During my devotion / Bible time that morning, I prayed over the meaning of this dream. At the time, I was teaching on the dangers of worrying about what others think during Bible study at church.
David Icke said, “The greatest prison people live in is the fear of what other people think.”
This is exactly what this dream felt like. I was in a prison of fear on that beam. God showed me, this is what so many people, even Christians, deal with. They might wear a smile on the outside but on the inside, they are frozen in fear, standing on that high bridge in panic. Because they’re in this self-preservation, survival mode, they aren’t able to reach out to anyone else with the love of God.
No one is exempt from having tendencies to fall into this and letting it creep into our lives. Needless to say, I did some serious soul searching after having this dream.
Proverbs 29:25 It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the Lord, you are safe.
Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man.
The enemy, the devil, constantly tells us and holds us in bondage to please men and to try so hard to make everyone like us, constantly keeping us in this place of reacting to judgments of how we act, what we say, how we look, what we do or don’t have, not being content in the season we’re currently in. All of this distracts us from doing what God has put us here to do and the people He’s put in our lives to reach for Him.
So, how do we remedy all of this?
James 4:6-8 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
While seeking God about this dream, He also showed me these people on the beam, (including me) surely know the truth and have made Jesus the Lord of their life but haven’t completely submitted everything to Him. Maybe they’ve given Him their hearts but not the rest of them. God wants all of us!
Submit means to surrender or yield to. To yield to one’s opinion to the opinion of another.
Instead of being held back any longer, held back by the opinion of another, God’s opinion is so much more important.
Lord, I surrender it all to you and choose to live free of the fear of what others think! Thank God, I am FREE!
There is ALWAYS hope, Love, Kelly
