A FRESH LOAF
Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'll give the sacred manna to every conqueror. Rev. 2:17 (The Message Bible).
On September 1, 2006 I had a vivid dream that I immediately related with the process of transition. We are in a transitional season, and this transition into the next episode of blessing, provision and favor is conditioned on our willing obedience to follow the call to move ahead to a new territory.
In this dream, one day I found myself in a facility that looked like a gymnasium. The walls were exposed cinder block painted a dull shade of gray. There was fluorescent lighting overhead and a concrete floor. The furnishings in this room consisted of weights and other mechanical fitness training machines. It was a large space, and there were not many people there, and those who were there did not interact much with others. A few of the people were being led around the room by tour guides, in pretty much the same way that prospective new attendees at a gym might be given a tour of the facilities. I was not dressed in fitness clothing, but was fully clad in street wear.
There was a room on another side of the wall near the entrance. This second room was smaller, and at one end it opened into the main entrance that also served the gymnasium area. It was a dressing area, where people could change into and out of exercise wear. I looked and saw that I had my pick of lockers there. Again, in this room, there were a few people who were just coming in and being met by tour guides. New people were coming in, but I wasn’t very focused on that fact. I started walking toward the large open entrance. It led from both rooms to a hallway. At the far end of the hallway I could see daylight. I moved out into that hallway and began walking.
As I walked, on either side, I passed rows and rows of lockers lining the walls, much as one might see in a high school hallway. There were no lights overhead in the hallway so it was somewhat darkened, but at the end of the hallway behind me was the gym space with its fluorescent lighting and in front of me was an open doorway filled with bright daylight.
As I kept walking, I saw that the doorway was wide, and that it was a bright and sunny day outside. I began to be filled with anticipation, and I became quite excited. My steps quickened. As I got closer, to a point where I could see vegetation through the doorway, and was within steps of stepping through, I was met with a delicious smell and sight. I looked to my right, and within arm’s reach was a tall commercial-type baker’s rack sitting outside a bakery. Each shelf was lined with loaves of bread wrapped in plastic bags. I was captivated, and my eyes were drawn beyond the racks and into the bakery itself.
At that point I turned to enter the bakery. Directly ahead of me was a pastry case filled with ethnic sweets that I remembered from childhood. To my left were pastries with an aroma that was incredible. My eyes lit up and a smile broke over my face. I felt thrilled and relieved because the baked goods I was seeing were things I had been longing for, but had almost given up on finding anymore. I wanted to shop, and take some with me, but I was like a kid in a candy store, and couldn’t even figure where to begin.
So, I went back toward the baker’s rack at the entrance and reached to take a loaf from the top rack. At that point, the baker who was standing behind the counter and near the cash register said to me gruffly, "You can’t have that one. These [the loaves on the rack] are for someone else." I was taken aback, because I thought all the loaves were for sale. Then, the baker said to me, "Would you like a fresh loaf from the back?" My excitement heightened, because I knew from experience that the most flavorful moment in the life of a loaf of bread was right after it came out of the oven. And here, the baker was offering me a fresh loaf from the back. I said, "Yes, please!" and felt better immediately.
In that moment, I understood I was going to be leaving that bakery with a piping hot loaf of bread, as well as maybe whatever other delicacies I wanted. In the culture of my youth, bread was a staple that we bought daily, and having a fresh, warm loaf was important because preservatives were typically not used. So even though there were other foods to be excited about, the bread was the central attraction.
My immediate understanding of this dream was that it represented transition from a place or situation that was not especially attractive, although it was one that played a necessary role in my fitness training - spiritual fitness training if you will. This transition would lead me down a path from which there really was no lateral escape in that I could only move forward or backward. I was fully dressed and incongruous or out of place in that training space, but I had to go forward to reach the place that was in front of me. I thought then that this movement had to do with transition from the church I was in and on to another place. I’ve since come to realize that the starting place and destination symbolizes many of the spiritual starting places and destinations in our lives. To some it might mean movement from one level of spiritual growth or understanding to another. To others, it could mean a progression in a particular relationship. In this season, there is also a movement of God’s warriors at arms into positions of favor that will serve His Kingdom.
The hallway of transition is not going to be appealing. You might have your pick of positions (lockers) in your current place. Those you leave behind in the training/testing ground may not understand your journey forward. They may actively try to kill your dream with their words, or sow doubt and discouragement in your heart. But can you hear the Wind of the Spirit calling you forward into the light of the Father’s presence and favor?
I was most struck by the bakery I encountered on the way out, and the words of the baker. You see, almost immediately I understood that the baker represented my Heavenly Father, and the loaves of bread represented the Word of God. God taught the children of Israel to experience Him daily in a fresh new way by giving them, and testing them, with daily manna. Exodus 16:4. But they had to move out into the desert to get it. Exodus 16: 1. When they leaned on His word to them, they ate rapturously, but when they trusted the arm of their own flesh, what should have fed them turned to maggots. Exodus 16:20. In this testing, God taught His people that He is their favor and supply, but more importantly in my mind that they were to look to Him for all that was necessary for their daily life and for their journey.
Here, the baker offered me a fresh loaf from the back - hidden manna from the secret place. It would be a Word that was not prepared for or given to anyone else, but rather a word that would be His specific provision to me. Jesus desires to reveal to us the secret things of the Kingdom. It’s necessary to traverse the hallway with its shadows to get to that place of knowledge, equipping and supply. Even more importantly, we have to be willing to step away from that place we know, even if others we want to rely on are telling us to keep doing the same old thing, follow the old patterns, and stay where we started. Moving in the face of counter-control and opposition requires a resoluteness that I could not have begun to realize until I started walking. Some saints may vilify us, but those who hear on the Kingdom frequency will recognize the call. We can rejoice in the Lord, for this opposition is just a momentary light affliction.
2. Cor. 4:17.
Jesus speaking to the church at Pergamum says that to the one who overcomes, He will give some of the hidden manna. Revelation 2:12-17. This church had done well in many things but had become influenced by the spirit of Balaam (pride and self-seeking for personal glory) and the way of the Nicolaitans (using hierarchy to oppress and manipulate the flock). Christ promised that the ones there who would remain faithful to Him to the end would eat of His hidden manna.
Let us recognize the season of our transition, hear the call from the Holy Spirit and begin walking forward, sometimes through dark circumstances and resistance. There is hidden manna laid in store for us if we are but willing to heed the call and begin moving in obedience toward the daylight of His presence and provision.
Deanna
