One day, many years ago, I came home from a speaking event with a horrible cough, a sore throat, and an achy body. I crawled under the covers, hugged my pillow, and fell fast asleep. I had the most vivid dream. Hovering just overhead were brilliant clouds, bright white, deep purple, and smoky grey. Lightening bolts shot through the clouds and they flickered with flashes of light. I knew in the dream that these majestic, low hanging clouds represented the power and the provision of God.

Just below were people walking to and fro, busy with their lives, and completely unaware or at least inattentive to the provision within their reach. But in my dream I noticed one woman who understood what she possessed. She reached up and grabbed a ‘handful’ of the power and put it on her child’s head and heart. Then she grabbed some more and extended her hand toward passersby as if to send power their way. Then she grabbed another handful and put it on her own heart. Meanwhile, the rest of the world went about their business.

I woke up from this startling dream and God whispered to my heart: ‘Most of My children scratch the surface of what I’ve made available to them.’

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3

James Bryan Smith joined me on Middays to talk about his book, The Magnificent Journey: Living Deep in the Kingdom of God.. In the book, he unpacks Jesus’ words in John 3:3:

“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

James writes,

“Jesus was talking about a new way of life or, to be more specific, living from another realm. Jesus used the word above quite often. He used to refer to the heavenly places from which power comes. It is also the place Jesus has come from: “He said to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.’” (John 8:23)

James further writes,

“Once we have been born from above, we can see God’s glory, hear God’s word to us, feel God’s presence, taste and see that the Lord is good, and smell the fragrances of God’s glory. This is essential if we are to journey deep into the kingdom of God.” James Bryan Smith, The Magnificent Journey, IVP, pp.44-45

What if we’ve been missing it? What if there’s more? If it’s true that the very power that rose Jesus from the grave is at work within us, where is that power in our lives? If God has made every spiritual blessing available to us, what keeps us from apprehending them?

Maybe a good place to start is to ask God:

Show me how to live life from above. Help me draw from Your power and provision in a way that changes everything for everyone I meet. I want to live like Your promises are true because I really, truly believe that they are. Jesus, awaken my heart, open my eyes, and show me how to live from the victory You won for me. Make me a kingdom person. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, I pray, amen.

Life from above