“We will begin our performance shortly.”

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I was backstage at a theater. The audience was taking their seats, in anticipation of the start of a performance.

A man came to me and told me, “We will begin our performance shortly.”

I realized my fellow performers and I were not prepared; we have never practiced together, not even once! I was offended at the thought that we should be required to perform when we were not properly prepared and angrily responded by telling him we cannot possibly do it. I explained, “We will surely fail because we have not had the opportunity to practice.”

He says, “Yes, you can do it. I’ve done it many times and it’s been fine, it has turned out well.”

I answered, “Prove to me in writing that it works”.

Not waiting for his response, I turned my back on him and headed for the exit of the theater. That was the end of the dream.

Interpretation:

The theater represents the “stage” of our life. It is the place where our light will either shine brightly as we reflect the glory of God to others or it will never be seen, due either to our cowardice or refusal to step into the role we are called to, a role for which we may believe we are “not adequately prepared”.

The audience represents the people who long to see what it really looks like when someone is walking with and in the power of the Lord. People are looking for real answers, not the fluff and mirrors they have encountered with the “Churchians”of today. They are watching and waiting to see how the “next act” plays out. Unknowingly, they anxiously anticipate seeing what our Great God will do in the coming days.

The man telling me that we are about to begin, represents God telling us that we are about to move onto the world’s stage, carrying out the roles He has assigned to each of us. He is telling us to prepare ourselves to do whatever it is He tells us to do – regardless of what we may believe we’re personally capable of doing.

I feared taking my place on stage without “adequate preparation” because that was something I had never even considered doing before. It was far outside my comfort zone, so all I could imagine was certain failure.

My demanding that the man “prove to me in writing that it works” really perplexed me. I wondered, just exactly how does someone “prove in writing”, that something will work?

I asked God what was meant by this part of the dream. He pointed out to me that He has already proved it “in writing”. Scripture gives countless examples of people (many times very reluctantly) obeying when God asked them to seemingly do the impossible – they were asked to do things they had never in their wildest imagination considered doing!

Here are two examples.

1. God found Moses hiding in the wilderness, tending sheep and trying to remain obscure. We all know the magnitude of what God did through him, once he quit making excuses and decided to trust God’s plan. Little could Moses have imagined the incredible things that would come from his obedience.
2. God found Gideon threshing grain in a wine press in an attempt to hide it from the enemy. He greatly feared the enemy and felt fully incapable of leading an uprising against them. He asked God to perform a dog and pony show to prove He would be with him. God granted his request and even had a couple of warriors in the enemy camp discuss their own defeat within his hearing, which convinced him God would give him victory. He then led a tiny army of only 300 against a hoard of 135,000 enemy combatants. God caused most of the enemy warriors to turn on and kill their fellow soldiers; Gideon and his men pursued and routed the rest.

Sometimes the people of Israel had to join the fight. Other times the only requirement was obedience in showing up at the battlefield, ready and willing to fight. There were times when the Lord miraculously gave the victory to Israel, without their needing to lift a weapon, such was the “battle” of Jericho!

My refusal to participate in the play because I did not feel “adequately prepared” was the response that most of us give when we believe something we’re asked to do is beyond our personal abilities, skills or previous experience, but God is not interested in our personal abilities, experience or skill. He is in need of our trust and complete obedience. Once He has that, He will handle the details. His strength is made perfect when we are weak in our own abilities. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Conclusion:

In the coming days, true followers will be called to do things we have never in our wildest imagining thought that we would or could do. We will prevail in spiritual battles against the powers of darkness as we enjoin the battle, using the authority and empowerment (grace) given to us by our Great God!

We too must remember that while many incredible victories are ahead for us, some of us will be killed. Scripture tells us that for a time, the kingdom of darkness will prevail against the saints. (Daniel 7:21) Even so, we know for a true believer to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord! Therefore, no matter what happens to us, we cannot lose!

God is looking for the obedient and courageous to march in His spiritual army. We each have strategic assignments to fulfill in the coming battles – He is urgently calling for “all hands on deck”!

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