Bearer
Before waking one morning, I had a very unusual dream. I dreamed I was a pallbearer at a funeral. Although I had no idea who we were burying, it was a very interesting role for me to play because I had never been a pallbearer before. It was somewhat like jury duty--I wanted to try it at least once just so I could say that I did it.
I was in the basement of the funeral home with another bearer. I was told by someone in the dream that all the bearers were needed outside. They were ready to transport the body to the graveyard. As I was climbing the stairs to join the procession I turned to the other bearer and said, "I've never been a bearer before."
We met the other four bearers outside. They were strong, bald, shirtless men who were sitting on the steps waiting for us. The coffin was on a cart behind the hearse and the back door of the hearse was open. The funeral director was waiting for us to lift the casket and put it in the car. Evidently the other bearer and I had held up the procession a bit. We lifted the light colored, natural wood casket off of the cart and loaded it into the hearse.
As I was waking up after this dream a verse of scripture was pulsating through my heart. The words were clear and strong and they said, "SURELY He hath BORNE our griefs and CARRIED our sorrows" (Is.53:4).
I thought of who or what was in the box that I put in the hearse. For me it could of been my mother who I found dead at age five along with all of the sorrow, grief, and rejection that I had borne or carried for so many years. It was as if the Lord was telling me that he wanted to complete the work of healing that He began in my life a couple of years ago. It was as if He wanted me to know that he wanted to carry away from me and bury every trace of sadness and pain from a lifetime of wounding--take it completely away until not a trace remains.
This dream reminds me of when Joseph of Arimathea begged the body of Jesus. It was expedient that the body of Jesus be removed from the tree and buried before the sabbath or the body would become a curse to them (Duet.21:23). The body of Jesus had to be taken down before sundown because the sabbath, like any other day, was from sundown the day before the sabbath until sundown on the sabbath.
God is taking a remnant of His people to a higher realm of Spirit than they have ever been before. It is called His sabbath rest, the feast of tabernacles, or the most holy place. It is a realm of God in which His sons manifest His fulness. It is a deep realm of communion where the Father speaks and we hear His voice. It is a realm where spirit rules and soul submits. It is a realm where intimacy with the Father supercedes that of all human relationships. It is a realm where we die to self and live only to the will of the Father. It is a realm where we cease from our labors (our will and way of doing things), and enter His rest (His will and way of doing things). It is a realm where we are completely yielded to Him in complete surrender as a whole burnt offering. It is a realm where we are totally at the mercy of the Father.
To enter His sabbath rest we must cease from all of our labor and understand that the works were finished from the foundation of the world. That means no more mutilating the flesh (living by the law) to try to please God. That means nothing of the old nature or flesh can be hanging on the tree as we embark on this new day. That means no more restraining our bad behavior so that we might appear "good". His nature is found in us not by forcing a standard upon the old man but by reckoning him dead and simply yielding to the Father--entering His rest and acknowledging that the work is already done. It means coming to a realm of Spirit where we understand that all of our sorrow, sadness, grief, and depression has been borne away from us through the death of Jesus. This is a realm of awakening where we see that all we have ever hoped for has been accomplished and all we need to do is "wake up" in His likeness.
The sabbath begins on the evening of the sixth day so do not be discouraged by the darkness. Hidden in the darkness is the promise that the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings (Mal.4:2). Awaken to see the truth that Jesus has already been your bearer--He has already carried away from you all that pertains to the realm of death. "Surely He HATH borne our griefs, and carrIED our sorrows." It's already done; it's in the past tense! Will you now enter His rest? He is so touched by the feeling of your infirmities that He invites you to cast all of your care upon Him because He cares for you (IPet.5:7). We no longer have to be the bearers--Jesus alone was our precious bearer.
Tony Salmon