"The Fishing Trip"

"Then after I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28

Here is a parable/dream for you to ponder:

The Dream: The Fishing Trip (113007)

I dreamed I was fishing in a shallow area with very little water. The line on my fishing pole had no hook. A Man began telling me to tie a string around the center of a worm, but not tight enough to cut into, allowing the worm to wiggle. Then the man leads me to a place to drop my line, I feel it’s too high and the water is still too shallow to fish in so I begin climbing down what looks like a dam area with lots of rocksand and I grab a hold of what appeared to be a tree. Climbing onto it I begin to slide down the tree and bump into a clear shield surrounding the tree. The shield had red wasps hidden behind it. When I bumped into the shield I stirred up the wasps. So I drop to the ground and start running down the edge of the the river which is very muddy. I keep looking back to see if the wasps are chasing me and come upon an area of the river where I see a very large, deep hole. There is a fishing pole bouncing around like there is a “big” fish on the end of it. I drop my line into the hole and start making my way down the edge of the hole to get hold of the other line that is bouncing around. My line falls into the water. I try to make it to save both lines.When I get to the edge, I see an American flag kind of rolled/wadded up, but like it is draped over a casket sort of floating on or above the water. A big brown hawk-like bird is attacking the flag and saying, “It is over! You have lost!”, and pushing the flag down into the water. The flag appears to have life in it (animated), sort of breathing and the flag acts like it doesn’t want to stay down. The big fish that was on the larger pole then jumps out of the water and pushes me away from the hawk and I wake up.
Please understand there are many more word in the interpretation of a dream than in the dream itself, just as you would find many words to define a single one in a dictionary or Strong’s concordance.
God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He uses simple life events that we understand to speak of things above our understanding and desires us to search it out.

Pr 25:2 - It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

Now this is the interpretation of the dream:

1. The Commission:

The dreamer is fishing in a shallow body of water-fishing is symbolic of ministry (fisher's of men, winning lost), the area doesn't have any depth (knowledge, understanding) yet, although there is stability (pole), nor does he have bait (the lure or wooing of the Holy Spirit) on his line (in his words). The “Man” (if not known to the dreamer, usually stands for the Lord; Jesus, angel of the Lord, the Holy Spirit) tells him how to bait his line without a hook (gimmick, barbed words that trap or snare). The line (word) won't kill the bait (won't quench the Spirit) and the movement (wind of the Spirit) will draw the catch (man). The Holy Spirit will then lead him to a place where he can use the word he has been given effectively.

Matthew 4:19 “And he (Jesus) saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Man’s will versus God’s Plan:
But the dreamer feels that his goal is not lofty enough, not does it have enough depth in this small place, so he begins to climb down a rocky area that looks like a dam (a place of major obstacles, lowering his standards), feeling ‘he’ must work to achieve his goals he climbs down from the original place where the Lord had led him, thinking he is going deeper in his relationship and ministry. We often believe we know better what we can handle than the Lord does and instead of going from glory to upward glory, as God intends, without being aware of it, we decline in our walk. Realizing his steps are precarious, he tries to find something more stable to help his descent so he reaches for what looks like a tree, which is not a tree, only the appearance of one (trees are considered to be stability, help, constancy, or a person, depending on the type of tree). He continues to climb down the hill, even down the tree (continuing to lower his standard) and bumps into a clear shield (a clearly marked barrier, offensive and defensive) and ends up stirring up a nest of red wasps (trouble with a lot of fire and a lot of sting).

Job 12:24 “He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.”

Amos 8:12 “They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, But shall not find it."

2. Redirection:

Running away and along-side the river, which is muddy(troubled, unclean), though still looking back, he comes to a very deep place in the river (now the way has become clear enough to 'see' there is a hole in the river). This is not the place he was originally sent, but it has become the place where he is driven. In this place he is still not satisfied with his position and feels he must get closer (dangerous mindset). He then sees a pole with a line with what appears to be a very large catch on the end, even though he cannot see the catch, nor is anyone else holding the pole. The dreamer lets go of his first responsibility, to lay hold of one he is not prepared for, and his first ministry falls. We cannot maintain two ministries at the same time, one will suffer and, out of God’s order, both will suffer. The man has come to the very edge of the water, “looks into” the deep place, a place of the stepping-off-the-edge kind of faith. This is a prophetic vision within the dream itself. There he “sees” the image of America, a larger sea or ministry than the shallow pond he started fishing in. She is crumpled, beaten down and hovering over a place of burial or death which is hovering over the water. There is life and breath still in her, but she is covering the very symbol of death, literally molding to something that has no life in it. She still has breath in her and she refuses go down. The enemy is attacking her with the talons of its words, taunting her that ‘it is over’ and ‘she has lost’. Trying to intimidate her into thinking she has no hope of survival, yet she refuses to die, to go down into the watery grave. And all of the sudden, the fish (fruit of a larger, future ministry) on a larger pole (with more stability than his original one), jumps out of the water (a spiritual place of cleansing) and pushes the dreamer away from the ongoing vision causing him awaken.

I Samuel 9:9 “(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: "Come, let us go to the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)"

John 21:11 “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.”

Jonah 1:17 “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

The Purpose:

If you'll remember, the man was dissatisfied with the place the Lord had gently led him to start training for ministry and he wandered from the original plan. So now the Lord must drive him to a place where he will be able to see God's purpose. The man has been caught up in the circumstances, straying from the original plan, yet unknowingly being driven. We now we see the purpose for which the Lord has driven him. To gain the whole earth for Christ we must start with one. We must first work the smaller pond we are placed in and fish that pond till there are no more fish and till our training is done. To decide that we know better than God and go to a pond larger than we have equipping or bait for is to be inefficiently prepared, biting off more than we can chew and setting ourselves up to work in the strength of our flesh. But because God loves us and does allow us to run ahead knowing that there are snares the enemy has laid, He goes before us and sets the snare of the enemy. It is not preferable that man get off the path God has designed for us, but even when we stray God sees and is merciful and will guide us back to His original plan if we will listen. He will allow us to see a portion of our destiny. The enemy taunts and attacks us whenever and wherever he can. He does not want us to lay hold of the glory given to us by God alone. If the enemy can convince us that all is lost, to get ahead of ourselves or peacefully give up, even before we begin, then so much the better for his purposes. We must remember not to run ahead of the ministry God has chosen for us. The larger ministry protected the dreamer from the attacking enemy. That ministry has been well equipped to handle an attack. The dreamer has seen the direction of the ministry God initially placed him in, one he will be trained for, but he must go back to that field for training. He was only allowed a sneak peek. The dreamer cannot handle a fledgling ministry and a full-fledged ministry in the same season, it is like taking general math and calculus in the freshman year of high school; it is not practical, and God does not work that way.

God has a plan for your life, a plan to prosper you. His thoughts toward you are for good and not evil. His ways may be higher and thoughts too deep for your understanding, yet you can ask and He will show you great and mighty things which you do not understand. He tells you to 'come', and contend together with Him, to state your case before Him. He cares for you and loves you with and everlasting love and desires to give you good gifts for He is your loving Father.

The word says:
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand. For theses seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.” Zechariah 4:10

If you have any further insight, please feel free to post or send an e-mail us, we would love to hear from you.
Wayne & Lucretia