By Laura McDowell
Recently I had a dream about leopards. I know, weird right? In my dream, I was alone in a house and there was a large hole in one of the walls in the living room. And through this hole, there were about three or four leopards that would often burst through the hole to try and attack me. And when they would attack me, I would stand on a round ottoman in the middle of the living room floor and try to fight them off. Unfortunately, the only weapons I had at my disposal were a BeeBee gun and a can of pepper spray, neither of which were very effective at fighting off several massive leopards. I would try, in vain, to spray them in the face with the pepper spray or to shoot them with the BeeBee gun, but those weapons only ever seemed to make them more agitated. Occasionally they would become so agitated with the barrage of pepper spray and BeeBee gun pellets that they would leap back through the hole only to return a short time later and the process would begin all over again.
The dream was so incredibly stressful that it woke me up and I was quite relieved to find that it was only a dream and that I wasn’t actually being attacked by leopards. I don’t know if you’ve ever had God speak to you in a dream, but if you have, you instantly get the sense that it was from the Lord. It’s hard to explain how you know, but that was the sense I got immediately after waking up and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at that time. Since it was still early in the morning I attempted to go back to sleep.
The only problem was, I couldn’t go back to sleep. And the dream had been so stressful that it actually had made me very tired, and I desperately wanted to go back to sleep. As I kept drifting on the edge between consciousness and unconsciousness, I would see images of me trying to cover up the hole so that leopards couldn’t come back through it; it’s like the dream kept going. The only problem was, nothing I used seemed to be effective in keeping them out. I tried to plug up the hole with stuffed animals, which obviously didn’t work, and I tried to nail a plywood board to the wall to cover up the hole, but the board wasn’t quite big enough to cover the hole and the leopards were able to squeeze themselves in through the gaps. I even tried to use a sheet of stainless steel to block the hole, but the leopards just kept pounding against it, slowing bending it out of shape. I also tried to move a bookcase
in front of the hole to block it, but they were too strong and were able to knock it down. Nothing I did seemed to work to keep the leopards out and I knew I wouldn’t be able to completely fall asleep until I had solved the problem.
That’s when it finally occurred to me, “If the Lord has sent me this dream, maybe I should ask
him for help.” So, I did. And instantly, as I drifted once more on the edge of consciousness and unconsciousness, I saw the Lord in my dream this time. He came into the living room and did two things: first, He completely repaired the hole. He added all new studs, insulation, and drywall. By the time He was done, you couldn’t tell that there had ever been a hole there at all. The second thing He did, was He took my pathetic little BeeBee gun and can of pepper spray and gave me a much greater weapon, which I knew I wouldn’t need since He had covered the hole, but He told me that I needed a real weapon that would actually be capable of defeating any enemies that may come in the future. Finally experiencing peace, and no longer feeling stressed or worried about the leopards, I was able to fall back asleep.
Once I woke up (for real this time), I tried to figure out what the dream meant. I immediately
went to the Bible to see if leopards are ever mentioned. I knew lions and jackals were mentioned, but I wasn’t sure about leopards. Turns out, they are mentioned in the Bible several times. They are often depicted as very strong, swift, dangerous animals, an enemy to watch out for. After I had a chance to process what the dream meant, I felt that God was trying to reveal three things to me:
1. If there’s a hole in your wall, enemies can get through. John 10:10 says,
“The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.”
Any time we sin, it creates a hole in our wall that the enemy can get through and use to try and destroy us. The only way to get rid of the hole is to repent and allow Jesus to completely cover up and fill in the hole.
2. If we don’t have the right weapons to fight the enemy, all our efforts will be futile. This is where the Armor of God comes in:
“Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks…That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing…And take the sword of the Spirit – that sword is the teaching of God.” (Ephesians 6: 11, 13, 17b)
We must equip ourselves with the Word of God. We must align our thinking with what God’s Word says…not what our parents said, not what our culture says, not what anyone else says if it does not align with what God says in His Word. It doesn’t matter what we grew up believing, if it doesn’t line up with what’s in God’s Word, it is not the truth. Jesus said He was the way, the truth, and the life. He is the one who determines what the truth is. It is only our duty to obey and trust him. The enemy is going to throw all kinds of things at us, and if you don’t know what the Bible says, you will be easily deceived and devoured. Remember, your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). And those caught unawares or with only weak weapons with which to defend themselves make the easiest prey for him.
3. Finally, the important thing to remember is that we’re powerless on our own. At the start of the dream, I was trying to fend off those leopards all on my own and it was futile. The
resources and weapons I were using were completely inferior to the ones Jesus was able to provide. In our lives we’re going to have troubles. We’re going to have temptations, addictions, and spiritual enemies that are rooting for our downfall. There are going to be times in our lives when we feel surrounded on every side and a victorious outcome looks grim. However, if we are in Christ, we’re not left alone. We’re not by ourselves. He’s the shepherd and we’re the sheep. He’s always nearby. All we have to do is call out to Him for help and he will instantly be there fighting for us, helping us, and equipping us with the tools we need for whatever spiritual foe we may be facing.
There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about God fighting for us, helping us in our battles, and coming to our aid when we call. He doesn’t say these things willy nilly as if He doesn’t really mean them. God is no liar. He means what He says. He will come when we call on Him for help. I can attest to this because there have been so many times in my life, when I’ve been faced with strong temptations or despairing thoughts, and I have (sometimes literally) yelled out, “Jesus, please help me!” And He has helped me every single time that I have called on His name and relied on Him for strength. The times I’ve failed have been because, like a stubborn mule, I still tried to rely on my own strength instead of His. And, let’s face it, there are some things (like repairing the wall) that we absolutely can’t do ourselves; only He can. So, if you find yourself today standing on an ottoman surrounded by leopards trying to protect yourself with useless weapons (that’d be weird, but I think you know what I’m saying), take heart, for the Lord says,
“Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
Psalm 50:15
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