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ON THE OTHER SIDE OF BAND-AIDS AND BARNACLES
OPENED EARS 4/24/07: Today as I was thinking
about the teaching on How to Rebuild Trust, the Lord
opened up my ears and I literally heard the metallic
sound of an old ship moving from the docks. Whew,
what an intense sound!
QUICKENED MEMORY: He brought back to memory an
old post called Band-Aids and Barnacles. I had no
memory of the actual message, but I remembered the
awesome dream about the rusty ship that turns to gold so
I just re-read it. It is sure not an old message, it is
exactly on time with what the Lord is doing right now.
BAND-AIDS & BARNACLES
8/8/00
Hi Loved Ones,
Band-aids — which do you prefer, the slow peel or that
fast rip? The past couple of weeks I have been seeing a
lot of band-aids in strange places. Now I must admit,
maybe these have been popping up in unexpected places
because I had a cut finger and suddenly my finger became
paramount because it was pulsating to the rhythm of my
heart for a few days. But my finger is healed now, and I
am still seeing band-aids. When I saw one lying on the
floor at a Mahesh conference a couple weeks ago, I
decided this band-aid idea was DEFINITELY anointed.
(What could be more anointed than a discarded band-aid
at a Mahesh healing conference?)
This year I have been going through a stripping process
where the Lord is peeling away layers of heart (t)issues
that do not glorify Him. Now when He told us at the
beginning of the new year that He was going to
circumcise our hearts and give us new ones, I never
thought it would be like THIS. Yeeeeeeee - ouch. The
slow peel or the fast rip? Well I want it over really
fast, and my heart is willing but my flesh is weak. I am
sure I have heard that somewhere before. (Josh 5:8, Deut
10:16, Matt 26:41, Rom 7:18)
Band-aids usually mean blood. And when it comes time to
peel the band-aid off, exposing a somewhat healed wound,
it sometimes reopens a fresh wound. And if not, then the
peeling causes its own pain. This is exactly what I have
been through this year. It is like He is taking me
through my past, exposing layers of band-aids. Last
month, painful heart issues of 30 years ago, (that I
thought were totally and long gone from my life) were
suddenly surfacing.
Band-aids are flesh colored, they pad really well, they
cover over a wound and they protect us from outside
pain. Sometimes when we have been wounded in our past,
we turn to fleshly comforts that cover our wounds, pad
us from the pain, and soothe our hearts. God gives us
good gifts and He does use band-aids. But something goes
awry when we begin to rely on the band-aids and not the
One Who tenderly placed them there. "All things are
lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all
things are lawful for me, but not all things edify." (1
Cor 10:23-24 NKJV)
When that band-aid becomes too important, it becomes an
idol. Through this process, He revealed to me that when
we rely on anything other than Him, and it becomes a
support structure in our lives, it becomes an idol. He
was stripping me of idolatry! And in His mercy He took
me past the sin to its starting place. He pinpointed the
wounding of where it all started. It was His way of
telling me that He understood, and He looked beyond my
faults and saw my need. Wow, what love.
I was in this stripped and vulnerable place when I
attended the Mahesh conference. One of my desires was to
talk to a prophetic intercessory friend of mine and ask
him what the Lord was doing in his life since the turn
of this year. I was secretly hoping that whatever he
told me, would confirm me and let me know that I was not
going loony and that even though things felt like they
were out of control, God was still at the helm!
When I asked him, he shared a dream that someone had
sent him:
DREAM: RUSTY SHIP BECOMES GOLD
I am looking at a wide ocean bay, and see an oil
tanker coming into the river. As it moves forward into
the locks, the slots are narrowing. A close up view of
the tanker reveals rust spots, streaks of rust and
barnacles. Just ahead the locks are still narrowing and
the water is becoming turbulent.
Finally one side of the tanker begins to scrape the
sides of the concrete lock. There is a harrowing
sound as it propels forward. Narrowing even more,
the other side of the tanker grinds into the concrete,
still moving. The sound is horrendous as concrete,
barnacles and metal clash! Metal shrieks are
deafening as barnacles are stripped away. Men appear
on the deck, throwing old equipment and gear out, and
the noise is almost unbearable.
The tanker is riding higher and lighter now. Clean,
shiny metal is appearing all over the ship. The water is
calmer, as the locks are widening and the ship glides
forward. It leaves a huge, violent white wake behind as
it glides into another bay, surrounded in lush green
jungle.
[End of dream]
As I heard this dream, I was overcome by the joy of
knowing that all this screeching I was making was godly,
and that the Lord was removing all my barnacles! And to
think that we are sitting on the power and enduement of
all that oil… Oh boy are we coming into some great
times. When my friend finished sharing the dream, he
prophetically stated that the next assignment for the
ship was to be painted in all gold. I had waves of the
Lord’s Presence when he shared this.
As I ponder the barnacles, I am reminded of the verse,
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd
of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off
every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that
so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with
endurance the race that God has set before us." (Heb
12:1-2 NLT) Barnacles are attachments that hang onto our
lives that weigh us down. He wants them stripped off.
It’s going to be a slow peel or a fast rip, either way
God is behind this!
When the Lord told me at the beginning of the year (and
He has told many prophetic people this) that He was
bringing us into circumcision, (Joshua 5) I had no idea
what that meant. I do now. He is wanting to cut away our
carnality, flesh nature, excess baggage, idolatry, old
habits, old life, old attitudes, opinions, demons, sins,
giants… you name it, if it doesn’t glorify Him He wants
it stripped away. I am thinking of that tanker shrieking
and I don’t know who shrieks louder — the demons or our
flesh. When we are in the middle of it, we can’t tell
who is what, but what matters is that God is in control
and He is having His way. He is preparing us for an
awesome, new day.
Deut 30:5-6 NKJV
Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which
your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He
will prosper you and multiply you more than your
fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your
heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your
soul, that you may live.
The following is a prophetic Word to Ponder the Lord
gave me in the 80’s. It is simple, but if you are in
that wounded place, I pray it encourages your heart like
it recently touched mine, when I needed it the most.
WOUNDED
I wound and I heal. I tear down and I build up. What is
being fashioned you have not seen. Rest assured it is I
Who have brought you to this place. A new thing is in
the making. But I will also restore your walk to a
smooth path without shame. Your confidence shall return.
Be of good cheer. (Deut 32:39)
Lovingly,
Sandy
{end of Band-aids and Barnacles}
RESTORATION AFTER THE CLEARING AWAY
So today, 7 years after that post I marvel at the Lord’s
process of stripping off everything in our souls and
flesh that are excess baggage. 7 is the number for
completion. (Praise God!)
He is going to move into a great restoring in these last
days that rebuilds His temple, His people, His kingdom
on earth. He has been clearing away the rubble so that
He can restore the stripped foundations. As I have been
praying about the rebuilding process, one of the first
things He is going to rebuild is our trust, in Him and
one another. Hearing that clashing metal ship reminds
me of these scriptures, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man
sharpens the countenance of his friend...Faithful are
the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are
deceitful." (Prov 27:6 & 27 NKJV) Hey what are friends
for? Smile.
We sure can make a mess of things, but the Lord promises
to redeem all our messes and rebuild all our fallen
places. If you missed the teaching on how to rebuild
trust, here is the link: |
