Craziest (Prophetic) Day Ever

So you think you had a crazy day? My crazy day started in the morning, before I even woke up. I had a dream.

I saw something like a roller coaster ride inside a tunnel, and there was danger, and it related to my wife’s place of work — a residence for the elderly, where she worked as a health care provider. Then, I found myself standing right in front of a man who had the title, “Executive Director,” and I boldly said to him: “This place is unsafe! People could die! If the government health agency were to examine it, they would close it down in a second!”

Then, I woke up, and said to my wife, who was right beside me, “Honey, I just had a dream. I blasted this guy at your work place who had the title, “Executive Director,” and told him that it was unsafe, and that people could die, and that if the government health agency were to examine it, they would close it down in a second.”

But I had no idea if there even was an Executive Director. I had no idea of the structure of the company. For companies can be structured in many different ways. And at some companies, there is no Executive Director. So I asked my wife, “Is there someone at your company with the title Executive Director?”

My wife responded, “Yes. And I was very angry with him yesterday and told him the place was unsafe.”

Well, that settled that!

So my next thought was, “What was the Lord telling me?”

Certainly, the dream, combined with my conversation with my wife, had uncovered at least four pieces of information that I previously did not know.

First, that there was a position of Executive Director at my wife’s workplace.

Second, that my wife had spoken with him on the previous day.

Third, that there was an issue of safety.

And fourth, perhaps most important of all, that the situation was important enough for God to speak to me about it in a dream. And this meant that the situation was still problematic.

So what was God telling me to do? This was the question. And I reasoned ― incorrectly ― that God was leading me to simply pray about it. In other words, my job was to pray into this situation, so that the Executive Director would listen to my wife’s words, and respond appropriately, by cleaning up the place, and making it more safe.

That made sense to me. But I was actually mistaken. This was not what God was simply asking me to do. Later on, I would find out how it would all fit together. By the evening, it would all make sense.

This day was going to be a very very different type of day. It would be one of the most unusual days I have ever had. I mean, this was going to be quite some day.

My initial thought upon waking, and having talked with my wife, and finding out that there was something the matter regarding the safety of her workplace, which was a residence for the elderly, was that God was asking me to pray. And that’s about it. Good thing that my wife had a voice! I mean, imagine if God was telling me to talk with the Executive Director. It’s not something I really wanted to do. So it made sense to me that my job was simply to pray about it.

My job was to help my wife, and to pray, so that her words to the Executive Director might have an impact. What more was there to do?

The Swimming Pool

From breakfast to about 4:00 pm, I went about my regular business, which was not “spiritual,” per se. I did not pray, or fast, or anything of that nature. I just worked like any other person would do, at their regular day job. For I did have a regular day job. My job was working on software. And so there I was working on software until about 4:00 pm. I worked from home.

At about 4:00 pm, something began to happen. I had that feeling I sometimes get when I’m overdue on my exercise. I felt, well, long overdue on my exercise. In fact, the feeling came on me quite suddenly, almost in an overwhelming type of way. I didn’t realize that God was doing something. So I simply took it as being a sign that I needed to go swimming. It was actually a whole lot more than that. But in my simplicity, I simply felt like I needed to go swimming, and do it fast. So strong was this feeling that I needed to get some exercise, that I could not act fast enough in getting out of the house.

I was off in a flash.

I did what I always do when I get to the pool.

I got in the pool.

I swam.

One length.

Two lengths.

Three lengths.

Then not even having finished the fourth length, the Lord clearly spoke to me. Yet there were no audible words. But I could hear exactly what he was telling me. He was telling me I had swum enough.

And this in itself was very odd.

For example, I had felt like I was in urgent need of exercise a half hour before that. That’s why I had left my home. But now the Lord is telling me to stop only after a few minutes of swimming? What was God doing?

I pulled up to the side of the pool in order to pray. Sometimes, when I go to the pool, I just place my arms up against the pool deck (while still remaining in the water) and pray. I have done this on many occasions. So I pulled up to the side of the pool deck and began to pray.

I said, “Lord, what’s going on?”

The Lord said to me, “There’s a man in the sauna. Go over and talk with him.”

I said to myself, “Is this really the Lord? If there is no one in the sauna, I will know the Lord has not spoken to me. Or, if there is a man in the sauna, but someone else in the sauna, I will also know the Lord has not spoken to me.”

I went over to the sauna.

I peered in through the small window. Sure enough, there was just one man in the sauna. There were not a man with another person. And neither were there no people. It was just as the Lord had told me.

I went inside, and I talked with the man.

I knew that the likely situation was that the Lord wanted me to talk with the man about the Lord.

We chatted for some time.

Afterwards, when we were in the men’s change room, I met the man again. I wanted to make sure I had really done the right thing. So I made sure to talk with this man about his need for the Lord.

Everybody needed the Lord. Everybody needed to know about the gospel message. Jesus Christ died for our sins. He offers us eternal life if we are willing to believe in him. The wages of sin is death, the Bible says. And so that’s why we all die. We die because we have all sinned.

But the free gift of God is eternal life, to all those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This really is a “big deal.” So if God was speaking, I needed to get it right.

In the change room, we chatted for some time. I had a small pamphlet on me. The pamphlet had a title like, “Steps to peace with God.” This was a pamphlet that explained why Jesus died on the cross. Jesus took upon himself the pain and punishment which we all deserved to take, but we could not afford to take, because the cost is too high. Jesus bore that punishment on the cross. The Bible says,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

I trusted in Jesus many years ago. So I was just passing on the same message that someone else explained to me. And this message was true. It was not a fairy tale. This message, if believed, saved people from their sins. So it was a very worthwhile message to share, and to believe.

For Jesus said something pretty amazing. He said,

“This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)

Therefore, whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life. This is just as we read already. In fact, there were many many passages in the Bible that said the same thing. For example, Jesus said,

“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24)

And in yet another passage, we read,

“But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name.” (John 1:12)

And in yet another,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

And another favorite,

“For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a good person someone would even dare to die. But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8)

I gave the pamphlet to the man, and he was very grateful. This was a man I had seen many times in the past at that pool. But up until that time, I really had not shared that much with him. I hoped he would read the message I gave him. For I did care about him.

The man expressed sincere thanks.

I then left the building and got in my car.

The Parking Lot

Now it was time to go home. Or at least I thought it was. However, very often coming out of the pool, I will turn left instead of turning right to go home. And that is because there is a store further on down the road. I like to go to that store sometimes, to pick up a few goods. For example, something at the bakery, as they have a lot of baked goods there. My intention was to turn left and go to the store.

I got in my car.

There were two exits that I could choose from. I chose the one at the left, because I intended to go the store, which was left.

I started to drive my car, and even before I got out of the parking lot, the Lord suddenly interrupted me.

He quivered me, or fluttered me.

To flutter means, “to make a series of quick delicate movements up and down or from side to side, or to cause something to do this.”1

To quiver means, “to shake slightly”.2

And so this is what the Lord did. It was very noticeable and very tangible. He did this as I started to turn the steering wheel to the left. Meaning, the Lord was saying, “No, don’t turn to the left!”

He quivered or fluttered me.

I immediately stopped the car.

I shook my head. I said, “Lord, what?!”

He did not want me to turn left.

It looked like there was more to this day than merely speaking to one man about Jesus. What was God doing? Evidently, it had something to do with direction. He didn’t want me going left, he wanted me going right, instead.

I still did not fully “get it.” There was really no way I could have fully “gotten it” without living it through. The Lord was leading me “step-by-step” in what he wanted me to do that day. He did not give me the blueprints for how that day was going to work out. He basically showed me one step at a time.

First, there was the dream.

Then, there was the desire to go swimming. I had felt terrible!

Then, there was the directive to stop swimming after less than four lengths.

Then, the directive to speak with the man in the sauna.

And now, a directive to turn right, and not left.

What was going on?

The Lord was leading me step-by-step and the day was not over. The Lord was directing me, but I didn’t know where we were going with all of this. But one thing I suddenly did remember, was that we needed a new filing cabinet. This was a simple filing cabinet that I knew I could easily pick up at Walmart. And Walmart was in the same direction as I was now headed, which was to the right. So, I drove to the Walmart.

Now as it turned out, the Walmart was past our house, which was also to the right.

In fact, I would have to overshoot our house by about a mile, in order to get to the Walmart. That was not problem.

And as I would be heading to the Walmart, I would be going right past my wife’s workplace, namely, the retirement residence.

It was about Christmas time when all this happened.

I turned right, out of the swimming pool parking lot, and went past the street to our house, then right past my wife’s workplace on the right hand side of the road, then to the Walmart.

I found the filing cabinet and paid for it.

I was at the Walmart for about 45 minutes. It was now about 7:00-7:30 pm. I got in my car, in order to head back home. As I passed my wife’s workplace on the left, the Lord suddenly spoke to me.

He said, “Go in there.”

The dream flooded back.

I had blasted the Executive Director in the dream, just like my own wife had done the previous day in real life. Was God telling me to do the same? I didn’t know.

I got out of my car and parked it.

I went inside.

It was late. How late did Executive Directors work until, anyway? I thought that an executive would normally head home early, and not late. Well, at any rate, the Lord had told me to go in, so here I was.

I had a responsibility.

I needed to find the Executive Director.

I figured he would likely be there, since the Lord had told me to come in. Was the Lord telling me to book an appointment with him? Or, was he actually there?

The Christmas Party

I noticed there was some type of Christmas party happening in the main lobby, for the elderly residents. It was their annual Christmas party. As it turns out, it was being led by none other than the Executive Director. I had no idea what he looked like. I had never met the man before. And when I first got in, I didn’t know if the man with the microphone was, in fact, the Executive Director.

Was this the man the Lord wanted me to speak with? I had no idea. And furthermore, did he want me to blast him? For in the dream, I had blasted him. I had scolded him. I had told him off in a very severe way. Scolding people was not listed in Dale Carnegie’s 1936 Best Seller, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” So was I really going to scold this man? My wife had done that the day earlier!

I went up to the main reception, and politely asked the woman who was there, “Excuse me, but is it possible to speak with the Executive Director?”

The woman responded, “Yes, actually, he’s the emcee for our annual Christmas party. Do you want me to get him for you?”

I said, “Yes, please.”

The receptionist left her station and walked to where the Executive Director was, which was about 30 feet to my right, right in the main hall, for that is where the Christmas party was happening.

The Executive Director left his position as emcee, and came over to see me. We met in his office, which was next to the reception area.

There was no leading to blast him. I had only just met him. To blast him would require a precedent. I had no such precedent. I did not even know the man.

Not knowing his history, or anything about him, except what the Lord had shown me, and what my wife had told me, I simply said to him, in a very respectful manner, “I’m so sorry to interrupt your party.”

He said, “No, no, don’t worry about that at all. How can I help you?”

I assumed the best, but knowing the worst. Meaning, I knew the Lord had an issue with this man. He would not have sent me there to speak with him that evening, had he not had a very serious issue with him. Evidently, there was something terribly the matter, and this man was not doing his job like he should have been doing. And so that’s why the Lord brought me in that evening.

As it turns out, I was there as his final warning.

I said, “First, I want to thank you for employing my wife. I really appreciate that.”

I then described who my wife was, for they hire many health care providers at that place (probably 30 or 40).

He replied, “Oh, she’s a very good worker. We are so happy to have her.”

Surely, he must have thought about the confrontation he had had with her on the previous day. She had blasted him.

I said, “Thank-you very much.”

Then, I said, in the best way I knew how, that I sometimes have dreams ― which strangely enough, even come true.

He nodded to say that he was listening.

I continued, “Well, as strange as this may sound, I had a dream about you, and I thought I would share it with you.”

He reaffirmed that he was listening.

I said, “Well, I had a dream that there was a problem with this place.”

I said, “In the dream, the place was unsafe to the point where people could die.”

He said to me, “I will bring it up at our next staff meeting.”

I did not know the extent or the details of why the place was unsafe. I’m sure there are many potential reasons why a home for the elderly could be unsafe.

For example, perhaps a wrong administration of doses of medicines, or perhaps even a wet floor that someone could slip on, or perhaps a lack of sanitization, or perhaps improperly cooked, or outdated, food. I did not have the details as to why it was unsafe, but only that people could die if the problem was not remedied.

I told the man I didn’t know the reason.

I also did not tell him that I had spoken with my wife that same morning.

I did not think there was even a need to tell him that. Furthermore, if I had told him that, he might have thought that this was the reason why I even came in to speak with him. But the only reason I went to speak with him was because the Lord told me to.

But evidently, the man was negligent. So that’s why the Lord sent me in there to speak with him. Not because he didn’t know. He did know! My wife had already spoken with him the day before!

Apparently, I was his final warning.

Two weeks later, he was terminated from his job.

(I learned this from my wife.)

God Cares

And while this seems like a strange note to end on, I think the entire day and what happened really does point towards something important for all of us, and that is: God cares. And what does he care about? First, he cares about the salvation of the lost. And that’s why he led me to speak with that man at the pool, who was in the sauna. But second, he cares about your life here and now, of which we have evidence because he gave the dream about the safety of that place.

God cares for you. And this speaks of the very nature of God himself. And so this is who the God of the Bible is. He’s a loving God. He’s a caring God. And he’s also a God who warns.

I didn’t realize I was this man’s (likely) “final warning” that day, but God cared so much for those elderly people that he sent me in there to talk to the man in charge. I was not the only one who spoke to him (for my wife had already spoken with him the day before). And this also goes to show that no one is above God’s law, no matter what position they find themselves in. For example, an Executive Director ― no matter how high or how lofty this position seems ― is but a position that God has permitted a person to assume, which they are expected to be faithful at.

We are all, after all, are merely stewards. A steward is someone who works for someone else. And in the final analysis, we are all stewards of the Lord, if indeed we have surrendered our lives into the hands of the Lord.

But what if we have not done that? What if we have not yet come to put our faith in Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior? Then that actually is a very perilous thing, indeed. For Jesus Christ is coming back one day, in order to judge the living and the dead.

And are you ready to meet him on that day?

“Behold, I come quickly,” Jesus said. “My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12)