A Different Sort of Stamina

I have had various dreams and prophetic experiences in which I saw hard times ahead. I have shared with others that God is creating within us endurance for what is on the horizon. Others have seen and predicted economic collapse and civil unrest. Accordingly, I usually think about stamina in the content of standing strong in the midst of overwhelming pressure and sadness. Today though, I had a thought come to mind as I was walking around my workplace, “What if God is developing in us a stamina for joy?”

In March of 2010, I had an amazing dream about a coming revival. In the dream, I was with a group of believers. One of them made a rough calculation of how many people had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior in the last 2,000 years. To give us a visual representation, they filled a glass jar halfway to the top with water. As we observed, the water in the jar continued to increase as more people in our day came to a personal trust in Jesus. In an approximately 2 year period, the water filled the jar to the very top. We were experiencing true revival. People were not debating the gospel with believers: They knew the basic facts, and they had a personal conviction that they needed to get right with Jesus. The most exciting part of the dream was I knew that we would empty the jar to allow for more water to fill it. When we did, I knew that the greatest increase was yet to come!

In Luke 15:10, Jesus told us, “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” If one person coming to trust in Jesus causes joy in Heaven, what would it be like if millions of people came to trust in Jesus? It would be wave after wave after wave of joy. Can we handle that much heavenly joy?

It is my belief that our lives will intersect and interact with Heaven’s realities in a greater way in the coming years. Many of our ideas about God comes from our earthly experiences rather than heavenly experiences. The darkness of this world has given a certain religious glimmer to soberness and sadness. What if we are destined to experience a greater level of heavenly joy than we have ever known? If that is the case, it is time for God to give us greater stamina for joy.