The scene was filled with activity. I was tired, but I willingly helped with the music CDs and said a prayer at the end, at the urging of Pastor Fred Wilson. In my prayer, I stated two things of significance: 1) God can use anything to get your attention, even a Sade CD (which I had given to the young lady in charge of organizing the CDs), and 2) He’s never failed us yet, which I heard in my prayer as a melody from “Do It Again” by Elevation Worship. (But after researching that title, it was, in fact, a title song by CeCe Winans I had never before heard.) After the prayer, the young lady in charge of the music CDs said, “She’s dead.” I responded, “Are you sure about that?” And at that moment, a voice gently erupted in my ear, “The moment you stop believing is the moment you stop seeing.” And I woke up with a start.
It was a dream! I saw this story unfold of a woman who thought her friend had died. She failed to hold onto the sight of belief and stopped seeing. But it is much deeper than that. It is the story of those who have chosen to put aside belief for something dangerous.
The event that occurred just hours before this dream is more than likely the impetus of the message from the dream. I received a very long, anxiety-ridden email from the father of my former violin student. There was an opportunity his son was invited to apply for, and his son’s current teacher didn’t think he was ready to play the advanced works that this opportunity called for. In the email, the father shared the teacher’s comments and reasoning. The father felt this teacher somehow meant to cause his son to fail.
After reading and processing it, I waited more than an hour before responding. It was after 1:00 AM. I prayed he would receive what I had to say with calm. I started and then stopped. Put the phone down and lay on my pillow. I couldn’t sleep. I sat up and began my lengthy response to him as I addressed each point of his anguish and concern. When I finished, it was 2:30ish AM. I lay on my pillow and slept. That’s when I had the dream that gave me the message of this post.
The father’s reply came to my inbox at around 7:54 AM. These responses were throughout: “Thank you, Phyllis; I appreciate your thoughtful response. Honestly, your sage advice in this email helps a great deal. I will pray and decide.”
After reading his response, I went on with my day. But my mind would not let go of the phrase spoken in my ear. There was something more I needed to do. So, I grabbed some paper and a pen and opened my Bible to find the scripture about anxiety. I was still very concerned about how this father wrongly believed things about his son’s current teacher and even felt like this was the last opportunity his son would ever receive!
That’s why I stated above that when we let go of belief, we pick up something dangerous. And that’s what this dad had done, unbeknownst to him. It was my job to help him. It is your job to help those around you who have stopped believing. As long as there is breath, they can believe again. But we who are salty must shake some of that salt over them with our actions and words before they do something dangerous and destroy the work or the opportunity before them.
Before I wrote the message, I began with the scripture I heard while searching in my Bible: “Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart” (Phil 4:6, GNBDC). And from this Rhema, I penned this message:
Seven Tips to Seeing Again
- Thank God for where you are and where your children are this season. You who worry about tomorrow do a disservice to yourself and your children. Please focus on the skills they have at this moment for the new skills they will learn tomorrow.
- Ask God with a thankful heart what you need. His peace which you don’t need to understand, keeps your heart and mind safe and in union with Christ.
- Cease worrying. Constantly worrying opens up the door for Satan to do his work. He aims to attack your mind. His name means accuser. Once your mind is flooded, you can no longer see. Belief is gone. If you allow him in, you risk losing everything you’ve built.
- Stand firm and see what you have! Goodness, joy, and children who excel at everything.
- See Forward. There will be more opportunities. Stop worrying about this one. There are always opportunities to increase skill, audition, and compete. And guess what? You don’t have to do them all. Choose. Not every option is for you anyway.
- Seek the Kingdom and His righteousness first, and all these things will be added. Stop running after everything that’s presented to you.
- Let growth happen instead of forcing it to happen, and the opportunities will come your way. You won’t need to look for the opportunities that will find you.