Spring Rains
I had a dream that I was in a building, a few floors up. I looked out the window and saw a very dark storm cloud coming. It was really intense but quite small in area. I felt that if I stayed in the building I would be safe. Suddenly, I was outside and I had in my hand this weird kind of thing a bit like an umbrella, but instead of it covering me, it caused me to lift off the ground so that I began to fly. I could see the dark storm clouds ahead of me in the distance and they were moving closer. People on the ground were warning me to come down because they thought I would get hurt, and then thay ran in the other direction, but the cloud didn’t bother me so I flew straight towards it, knowing that at some point me and the storm would meet.
As I prayed about this dream, the Lord gave me some scriptures:
‘Oh that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring’ (Hos 6:3)
‘Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display His glory, the splendor of our God.’ (Is 35:1-2)
The Holy Spirit was telling me that He is sending the spring/latter rains. We forget that for rain to come, there must be some dark clouds. In my dream the clouds did not symbolize trials and suffering, but the deep, dark Presence of God - the kind that puts the fear of God in you. ‘He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath His feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, He flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He shrouded Himself in darkness, veiling His approach with dark rain clouds’ (Ps 18:9-11). If we want, we can stay in the safety of a building and we will see Him pass by, and remain in our desert lands untouched by the rains. But God was telling me, not only to come outside, but to actively pursue the storm clouds in prayer. ‘Ask the Lord for rain in the Spring, for He makes the storm clouds. And He will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture’ (Zech 10:1). To people with their feet (and their minds) on the ground it looks like crazyness to fly into the storm where God is. I mean, anything could happen; you could even die. Thats why they all ran. But we are spiritual people and we know that the only thing thats going to die when we meet that storm is our sin and our flesh. Then every one of our hearts will get soaked by His spring rains and become like lush pasture. I’ve seen the cloud in the distance and its time to pray it in.