Of late, I’ve been having some very vivid dreams. Last night was no exception. 

In the dream, I was seated high atop a large pine tree. I was looking down on an outside worship service being held in a beautiful forest setting. I was positioned as a watchman to overlook the proceedings. To my left, I heard a noise. As I turned my head, I saw a large bear running toward the assembled congregation. I shouted from my lookout, “Bear!”

The bear stopped for a moment at the sound of my voice then ran into the middle of the church service toppling people and chairs. The bear was fixated on a small boy and began to attack him. In a flash, an older man who was seated on the far side of the group pulled out a stainless-steel revolver. He ran at the bear and fired a single shot dispatching the bear and saving the boy’s life.

There were shouts of joy as we all let go of our pent-up adrenal fluid. Once people calmed down, they returned to their seats and I climbed down from my lookout and joined the worship service. 

While my head was bowed, I heard a familiar sound. It was the sound of someone loading a shotgun. I listened to the springs of the magazine tube being compressed as round after round was being loaded. I looked up to see a father placing a 12 gauge pump shotgun on his seat. He wrapped his arms around his wife and children. At that point, I awakened from the dream.

The weapons in the dream were spiritual weapons. They were not brought out into the open until a threat appeared that would jeopardize the spiritual security of the Church. I was surprised at how fast and accurate the older man was employing his spiritual weapon to put down the bear. The father with the shotgun gave me a sense of security knowing a fellow brother had our backs and was not ashamed to be visibly prepared for spiritual conflict. I knew there were others in the congregation who were similarly prepared. That gave us all a sense of peace and the ability to worship in freedom without fear.

The dream was a notice that we should never underestimate the authority of the Church, no matter how divided we might appear at times. The Church will rise in seasons of unusual peril and surprise many at the level of authority she possesses and demonstrates when faced with serious threats that would attempt to devour our love and destroy our peace.