A Dream: Defeating COVID-19

“Surely He shall deliver you… from the perilous pestilence. You shall not be afraid …of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

“A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Ps. 91:3-7, NKJV).

For today’s post, I feel a nudge from Holy Spirit to share with you a dream. One of my good friends received this dream on March 3, just over a month ago – right before all the coronavirus craziness spread all over the planet. I believe it holds several important keys to our victory over this attack on our world, which I will share below. First, the dream:

“I was with church people when a group of militants came in with machine guns and started shooting like crazy. Bullets flying everywhere. People dying. I started fighting back and some of them joined me in the fight.

“Next scene, we were in an open field, surrounded by men with machine guns. There was this small bench I was hiding behind to avoid the bullets. A sense of dread came over me as if I were going to die. I felt hopeless. Then immediately from my gut, Psalm 91 came out of my mouth. After declaring the entire chapter, I was filled with peace and boldness.

“Then, full of faith, I stood up, knowing they couldn’t kill me. I told them they could try but unless God wanted me to die, they wouldn’t be able to take my life. The bullets came at me from every direction but couldn’t touch me. I stood tall, shoulders back, chest out. I was amazed as these bullets bounced off me. Thousands of them.

“Then the men moved aside and this heavyset woman walked in. She was visibly disturbed and annoyed by me. I knew she was the one to defeat; that she was high in rank over the men with guns. I easily took out some of the lower level women with her that were her minions.

“I looked at the boss lady with determination and went straight at her. We fought and I pinned her in a corner with her head in a water fountain. I was trying to drown her in the little bit of water there, and also choke her to death, but she wasn’t going so easily. I could see that there wasn’t enough water to drown her. So I grabbed material I had ripped from my shirt and wrapped it around her neck. I began to pull with all my might. The look on her face was one of anger and knowledge of imminent defeat.”

I believe that Holy Spirit preemptively gifted my friend, through this dream, with divine strategies for walking in victory during this intense time. As the dream reflects, we are in a time of intense warfare. But as Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, the source of this struggle is not physical, but spiritual.

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (NLT).

There is one who hates us, and he has unleashed a wicked onslaught against the entire human race. We are in the midst of a raging battle. The joyful, exultant news is that he is already crushed! This very week we celebrate his defeat!

How, then, do we apply the victory that Jesus bought for us with His death and resurrection? Specifically, how do we wage a successful spiritual war right now, against what is facing us? Here are three strategies for winning that I see in this dream:

1. Stand on Psalm 91. This is the word for this hour. In the dream, my friend declared this entire chapter over the battle she was facing. It rose up from within her spirit, because she has already hidden this word in her heart. This was God’s chosen power source to shift her from dread and hopelessness to bold fearlessness. I would encourage you to print out this psalm and read it frequently during this season. If you haven’t already, memorize it. Holy Spirit will use this exercise to get His truth deep into your spirit: that you are invincible in the Shadow of the Almighty!
2. Do not settle for a small trickle of living water. The little bit of water from the drinking fountain was not enough to win the battle. This is a spiritual picture showing us that we need an abundant water supply if we are going to be victorious over a threat of this size. Why a drinking fountain? Because Jesus continues to beckon us with these words: “‘Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, “Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.”’ (When he said ‘living water,’ he was speaking of the Spirit…)”. (John 7:37-39, NLT).

   Ezekiel had a vision of this same river that Jesus offers us. In it, the “man” who appeared to him kept summoning him deeper into the waters. Deeper and deeper he went, until he testified, “It was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim…” (Ezek. 47:5, NKJV).

   Jesus holds forth to us this same invitation. Let’s respond to Him. Let’s go deeper than our ankles, deeper than our knees, deeper than our waist, into the presence of God. Let’s go all the way in, until all we can do is swim…

   Then, overflowing with Holy Spirit, we will be ready to overcome this giant!

3. Be willing to give the shirt off your back. In the dream, the weapon that ultimately defeated the formidable foe was my friend’s own shirt. When I read that, I knew in my spirit that this was a symbol of the power of generosity.

   With all my heart, I believe that giving is our atom bomb to win this war. Self-preservation instincts are natural and God-given. However, to effectively come together against the ranks of enemies that have launched such an unprecedented attack on our world… we need to rise above what is merely natural and move into what is supernatural.

   What happens when we, in the face of our own great need, dig in as deep as we can go, and give sacrificially to meet the needs of others? What happens when we allow God to pour through us to hurting souls, at very real expense to ourselves? When we do so, we release a spiritual blast that smashes our enemies to smithereens. I believe this explosion goes far past the immediate material benefit the recipient receives… sending violently destructive tremors through the enemies’ defenses. In the spiritual realm, the impact goes vastly beyond what you could imagine.

   The shirt off your back. Be ready to give it. God has revealed this as vital strategy for moving us into decisive victory. United as one, taking care of those who are suffering, we will win this war.

Triumph is imminent. Jesus already won it for us. Let’s meditate constantly on His Psalm 91 protection promises. Let’s immerse ourselves deeper than ever in His living waters. Filled to overflowing with His supernatural empowerment, let’s together release the limitless power of God into the world around us… through generosity that holds nothing back!

“If you feed those who are hungry and take care of the needs of those who are troubled, then your light will shine in the darkness, and you will be bright like sunshine at noon. The Lord will always lead you. He will satisfy your needs in dry lands and give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has much water, like a spring that never runs dry” (Isa. 58:10-11, NCV).

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What has God spoken to your heart about giving to others during this time of great need worldwide?