Imprint

Imprint

The imprint of the net on the dry ground lingers. The weight of the fish so heavy on the ground. How was it lifted by a single hand? Placed there full and then picked up together, gathered together. A huge haul.

The Dream leaves an imprint on my soul. A weight, a burden, an ache, a longing, dull but intense. Intense joy, but then the pain of absence when I wake. Like stretching for the hand of the one you love, but then touching the tip of her fingers. A taste of an experience, a fleeting moment of delight!

My mind questions…. Did I dream that, was it real, did it actually happen?

Possess the land I HAVE given you, He says! So what the heck? Has He given it to me, or must I possess it? I crave the giver more than the gift. I love to give, but have learnt that the best gift is sometimes to receive.

And now, this instant, a picture. Walking forward into unknown, untold abundance, the land of the flow, with arms open wide. Receiving, possessing as I walk forward. Not the posture of “Charge” or “Attack” just receive. “Embrace the thing you cannot grasp. For I have given it to you. Move forward to embrace it!”

Offer yourself, present yourself, be vulnerable. Like Moses lift your hands in the battle, raise your hands and put the enemy under arrest. Inhabit, this is about ownership, possession to establishment, possess establishment, walk in establishment. See the desolate place, filled to overflow. From quiet isolation, desolation, to bustling, thriving community. Be not alone, be multiplied, from one to many. Instantly, a city born in one day. One day you will go to bed alone, and then, wake up surrounded by many. Like a surprise party, but you will not be surprised. Not grumpy, dazed or confused, but tears of joy shall flow from your face as you remember this word. That is coming, and is imminent. Birth is imminent. Birth of a city is imminent. Multiplied, multiples. And where will you be? For you do not like the crowds? Come away with me. Be present with me in the midst. As you are now. In a public place, amidst the noise and the commotion, I am here. Be present with me. Live in the moment with me. Walk with me. Come away with me. I love you, I want to be with you. You are awesome. Fear not the exposure, for I have got you covered. Fear not what man may say or do, or understand, focus on me. Speak to me, look at me. For your face is ravishing and your voice soothing. I will not judge you! I am for you! Not against you! This is the season of the Flow, the preservation of the flow, the sweetness of the flow, the honey that is naturally preserved flow. It sticks, it hangs around, it lingers, it is consumed but more is made, it never runs out!

But what of the Dream?

For this is a sign and symbol of your belief. Do you believe I want to bless you? This is a sign to all that you will possess the blessing. No more poverty. Let the poor say I am rich, let the weak say I am strong, because of what the Lord HAS DONE!

What does this possession say about you?

You are loved, you are special, you are my chosen, you possess wealth, abundance, success. Why should the wicked prosper and my chosen be poor? No this is a reversal, a reversal of fortune. Do you believe it? Will you possess it?

Like my children last weekend, a moment frozen in time, a snapshot, a picture taken. I stand there with the keys to the car. I have not seen it yet, I am yet to possess it.

The look on my son’s face summed up my feelings perfectly. One second a smile. The next second, tears in his eyes, the next second confusion, for it was an unexpected surprise. Then from his mouth he blurted – “What does this mean?”. He then walked with his grandfather, around the corner, who then showed him the car he was to possess, with his sister. I will remember, forever the look on his face. In fact I took a picture of it. As he sat in the drivers seat, his mouth was wide open and would not move for what seemed like hours. Then, as he composed himself, again he asked “I don’t want to make any assumptions, I think I know what this means, but can you please let me know what is happening?” It was a great gift, planned for several months, bought a couple of years after their birth, loved and cherished by the father. A loss swapped for a huge gain! It was a symbol of relationship restored, blessings bestowed on the daughter and her children, all from a choice to receive.

It was a hard choice for me to receive. For at the time, we had sacrificed all for the service of the King, and had nothing left to give. And yet my children throughout the year, had often spoke about how their friends got a car for their 18th birthday. My reaction was dismissive, “In my day, this never happened, and there are many kids today that do not get such a gift!”. But underneath it all I was upset, as I love to give and out of all things I love cars! It has been, since childhood, a dream for me. I wanted to be the giver!

I would collect car magazines and fantasize, actually dream about driving them, as I read stories of the road tester driving them through the mountain roads. God blessed me so abundantly several years ago with a great little drivers car. A car that my wife had said several times that she didn’t like as she thought it too small for me, but then it appeared before me one day, in black, at our mechanic’s shop for sale.

I asked the mechanic, for a courtesy car usually, and on this occasion could not help but ask if I could take this “dream car”, whilst my wife’s car was being serviced. I did not expect a yes, but instead got an “of course!”. My wife was working that day, but thought “what the heck”, I would be bold and call her and see whether she was free for lunch.

My dream car that I owned at the time, had turned to a nightmare and had a blown engine, after having a new motor installed 12 month prior. Before it blew, it had been in an accident, but had been meticulously repaired. My wife had suggested that I should try and sell it “as is” earlier that week, and after reviewing the other cars for sale, had reluctantly put it on the market, for a high price considering it was not drivable. It was hard for me to do, as it was essentially offering up a broken dream. Other cars of this type were on the market for weeks, when I put mine up for sale. With various work commitments I needed a new car but had little money to actually buy anything really good to replace it.

So here I was driving the black dream car to pick her up for lunch, I told her I had picked up a nice courtesy car, and wanted to show her, she would know the one, as it was black. The car she had said she didn’t like as it looked too small for me.

I remember it like yesterday, driving there, living the dream, but expecting it to be shattered the moment I collected her. So I prayed as I arrived at her work. “If this is the car you want for me Lord, then my wife will like it, if not then I will know it is not for me”. Well here was the moment of truth…

She arrived and the first words out of her mouth was “I like it, and I think you should buy it!” Even now I am trying to keep it together as I write this. What the heck!

So I returned to the mechanic later that day and said we are interested, contemplated giving him a deposit, but at that stage had not sold my car or had any indication that it would sell. Well, he said “why don’t you take it for the weekend, don’t worry about a deposit, and we will work it out on Monday, I’ll take it off the market in the meantime.” Well you would not believe what happened that weekend…

A buyer came on Saturday and bought my “bomb” and then gave me cash for it on Monday. I used the cash to put a deposit on the new dream car, and then we received payment from one of our clients. We added it all up and just had enough to pay cash for the new car. This first time we had sold a car so quick, let alone one that didn’t work, and also the first time we had ever bought a car with cash!

How was this possible?

Just the goodness of God!

Well, it is now six years later and it has been the best car, which has cost us the least to run out of any car. A huge blessing. It is hard even today not to smile when I drive it, just contemplating the goodness of God!

But now I feeling it is time for the new, to again embrace the thing I cannot grasp, to again possess the dream, to believe again for abundance at a whole “nuther” level. If I believe God for all He has said, and time and time again He has demonstrated He is faithful and true to His word. Heck, every week He tells me what is going to happen. I turn up at meetings that I should not even be invited to attend, I’m tired and weak in my flesh, but just ask Him to speak through me. Heck even just this last week I was invited to a meeting with the largest client in the new territory that God is giving us. He spoke through me and it was an awesome meeting. Afterwards I said to myself, what happened, “was I even at that meeting”, it was surreal. I feel like the captive coming out of Egypt and now becoming the “owner” of the land. From the tenant to suddenly being the landlord.

So here is the real question. If I believe God is showing off, and can see him at work in incredible ways. Will I once again believe him to possess the car of my dreams, when he stands there with the keys and passes them to me to take possession?

Well I stand here today and like my son did last week, I walk forward to embrace the thing, or the one I cannot grasp!