This morning I awoke rather early. I looked at the clock and I said to the Lord. “Could I have another half hour and a dream?” He honored that. I awoke exactly 30 minutes later with a dream.

Why did I need another half hour? Because I was beat! Wandering around Lake George, looking at old cars and enjoying my family took a lot of energy! Actually, it was the heat and humidity! Why did I want a dream? Because I just wanted to hear from Him.

And He did that for me.

The dream. I was called into consult on a coffee company. The man had a very good restaurant business and had made the decision to add the coffee side to it. People loved the coffee and frequently it was one of the items they bought to take with them after their meal. His coffee traveled and was very popular.

He was getting ready to add some new opportunities and offerings and he had called me in. I ate one of his meals and was of course, especially interested in the coffee. The coffee was pretty good and so we agreed to sit down that following day.

I met with him and we began to chat. Simple questions, like what did he plan to accomplish? What was his background? Why now? Why at all? Are there drivers to this? The meeting went fairly well. What I uncovered was there were two areas that concerned me. The first was his evaluation of the need or the desire to reach once he left his geographic area. The second was his evaluation of his offering.

I reviewed and went back. I was now the “bad guy”. He did not want my input or my help. It was not long after I read that he had gone bankrupt.

That short dream had a lot of things on the table. But I want to hone in on three things.

They are “why the prophetic”, the need for evaluating your gift and the need for seeing truly your reach.

For me, the prophetic is simply who God has created us to be and to work as. In my life the prophetic is more than just a gift, but a function in my life. My desire is to teach or encourage all to prophecy. In the dream, I was called in to “see the future” but what I seemed to key in on, was the “why”. (For instance at one time in the dream I asked “how many people purchased this?” I found that in actuality it was 10-20% of what I was told. I did not think he was “lying” but when people want something they “push”.) My heart was to save him pain and develop a plan, complete with timing. Not to hold him back, but to make sure the timing was right. A lot of things are valuable in the kingdom, but timing can over ride it all in a moment.

I see a lot of things. People often say in life, “if I only knew, I would be rich (married, secure, etc..) but what I really find is a lot of “I want what I want when I want it and I want it now!” That over rides a lot of words or counsel. (I know. I have been there.)

What is your gift? What is your current value with it? Does it need to be sharpened? Bettered? In fact, who told you that? With that said, just because you have a gift, may not mean it is in fact ready for the “big screen”. Hard to hear? Better than going “bankrupt” before your time. You may well have a gift and in fact I would be surprised if you did not. But, without the foundation of grace and the underpinnings of love, you have the potential to fall flat on your face.

What I saw in this man in the dream was a gift. What was revealed was a flaw. Not every flaw gets fixed. As a prophetic gift I often miss the things a apostolic or an evangelistic gift might pick up on. When I use the word flaw, I am not just talking about character but even about missing pieces or parts to the gift itself.

Have you truly evaluated your gifting? Not “are your prophetic”, but what is its function? Does it hold blind spots?

What is your metron? What is your reach? What is your outside value?

2 Corinthians 10:12-18(ESV)

Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged,so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Paul saw it as the above verses point out.

When the man in the dream saw the potential for his product, I tried to explain the realities of metron or areas of influence. He was not interested. He saw what he saw. And wanted to see no more. Had he stayed where he was thriving and looked with intent and understanding to the next level, he would have perhaps moved significantly into a new area or region.

The individual who understands this will thrive. When you comprehend what God has given you dominion over with recognition of the boundaries you will have ease.

I get it. A current struggle has posed interesting to me. An “unbeliever” took me aside the other day.He said, “you see things differently. You are not a manager but a director. Can you ‘dumb’ it down?” Clearly two things were happening. Influence and gift challenges.

Allow others to walk with you and let them be part of your life. It is for the greatness of God to be shown forth through us.