– October 4, 2017 –

Steam rises from my cappuccino. Clouds are colored with dawn’s soft and beautiful rays.  Yellow leaves, caught by the crisp morning breeze, slip from branches and whirl around the air.  The serenity of this moment is settling and I can sense my heart coming once again to that place of stillness before the Lord. The sweetness of His Presence wraps around me, a renewed sense of peace and joy fill the atmosphere. It is here, in the Secret Place, that my heart is free to love the God of the Ages and to be loved by Him. I am His; He is mine (Song of Songs 6:3).

As He draws my heart closer to His, Papa God whispers over my heart continued revelations, promises, and insight into the dreams that are on my heart. These dreams, some seemingly great and others small, all include an element of transformation. They are confident expectations of change, opportunity, or redemption in relationships, situations, nations, or capability and capacity that are not currently reality. The very essence of dreaming is asking that an area or dimension of brokenness, distance, or current position would be elevated and converted to hold and propagate wholeness and the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Each dream is a declaration of hope for Heaven to come to earth.

How brilliant is it to partner with the Lord to dream and call for the things that don’t exist as though they did (Rom 4:17). And how breath-taking is this transformation. The process of a dream becoming reality is a powerful one. While this process is incredibly valuable, it has an equally important and beautiful usher: mercy.

Mercy is the banner that precedes transformation.

When living in or looking at situations that are broken and desolate, it is easy, and indeed, natural to be critical. Thoughts like “I haven’t spoken to my father in years; we’ll never have a good relationship” or “the government of that nation is so corrupt that they will never be able to have peace or prosperity” are common because they are logical. With this logic, though, comes judgment. As we look at the reality at hand, we make judgments about what the future will hold (“we’ll never have a good relationship” or “they will never be able to have peace or prosperity”).

Dreams are not logical; rather, they look illogically at a situation and see not what is, but what could be. To view a situation or relationship that is broken and desolate without judgment requires mercy. It is mercy that triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). The banner of mercy exchanges our natural perspective for that of the Kingdom. Desolate and barren ground is no longer viewed as worthless, but an opportunity for abundance and growth (Isa 35:2).  Dry bones are not seen as decaying skeletons, but a united and living army (Ezk 37:1-14). It is mercy that enables us to dream of a restored relationships and godly nations. As we lay hold of mercy, our hearts are softened, our spirits are strengthened, and the transformation that makes dreams come true begins.