Casualties of Casualness
By: Tom Burns
On the morning of November 9, I awoke from the following dream:
I was playing baseball with a group of friends. We were in the field, playing defense, while the other team was at bat. As the dream started, we had just caught a long fly ball for the third, ending the opposing team’s time at bat. As we were casually walking off of the field, we were talking and laughing. Just as we were walking past the third base line, the opposing team came over and tagged us out. They ignored all accepted normal courtesies of the game and referred to some antiquated rule in declaring us “out”. I felt like they had ended our time at bat before we ever came to the plate.
The obvious interpretation of this dream is simple, we must not get caught up in premature celebration. We must keep our focus on winning the game, not celebrating intermediate victories. We cannot be casual about our approach to this battle or we will become casualties of our casualness.
As I waited, I felt that the Lord was urging me to dig deeper into the dream.
Baseball is frequently played before a group of fans. I had the distinct impression that there were a multitude of fans watching us play this game. We were the home team and they were all cheering us to victory. I also realized that there were both spiritual fans and physical fans cheering loudly. The spiritual fans, or cloud of witnesses, were shouting encouragement from heaven’s realm. The physical fans were Christians around the world anxiously awaiting for our victory and the release of a new move of God that will reach around the globe.
There are 9 players that take the filed on a baseball team. 9 is a very special number.
- It frequently represents Divine Completion.
- There are 9 Gifts of the Spirit and 9 Fruits of the Spirit.
- Christ gave up His spirit in the 9th hour.
- The number 9 is the result of 32 (3x3).
I felt like the Lord was emphasizing that this is a spiritual battle, not a political one. Lord is saying the same thing today that He said to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:6, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
Our opponent is not going to go away quietly or adhere to normal customs. They may be in shock and “on their heels” right now, but they have not given up yet. Several months ago, the Lord gave me the following definition for war.
War is a series of attacks and counter-attacks to assume control over a person, place or thing that continue until one party to the conflict loses the ability or will to respond to the other party’s attacks.
We may have successfully attacked and thwarted the enemy’s plans for now, but they will regroup for a counter-attack. We need to consolidate our gains and make our defensive preparations now, before they can respond.
Lastly, our opponent is going to use every device at their disposal to see us defeated. They will ignore what we consider to be normal customs and behaviors and seek any tool or tactic to prevent us from advancing in our cause. Now, more than ever, we need watchmen on the wall to cooperate with Holy Spirit, reveal the enemy’s plans and sound the alarm.
