I have recurring dreams that take me back to school, and often, something is wrong. I’ve forgotten an assignment. Forgotten the combination to my locker. Forgotten to study for a test. The dream always carries the same emotional weight. I am unprepared.

At times, that same theme followed me into ministry. One dream in particular has stayed with me.

In it, I woke up one morning relieved to have an open day ahead. But then I glanced at the calendar on my desk and felt my stomach drop. I was scheduled to speak that afternoon at a church several hours from home. I had completely forgotten. There was no time to prepare. I threw on clothes, grabbed one of the Bibles from my desk, and hurried out the door. As I drove, I remembered the topic I had been assigned. I was to describe the Word of God using three words that began with the letter P.

I arrived just in time. I had fifteen minutes before the program would begin. I slipped into a side room, hoping to gather myself, pray, and sketch out a bare-bones outline. But when I reached into my bag for my Bible, I realized that I had grabbed a Bible with the tiniest print. Even with glasses, it would be difficult to read, but then I realized I had forgotten my glasses, too. Everything in me said, Oh no, this is a disaster.

The chairman of the event came toward me, smiling warmly, and said how much she was looking forward to hearing what I would share. I smiled back, but inwardly I thought, Me too.

There was nothing left to do but surrender. I walked to the front, sat down, and felt something unexpected settle over me. Peace. I realized that I was being driven back to the one place I most love to live ~ where I listen for the Spirit. What had been laid up quietly over the years would rise like water from a deep spring.

And it did. The first word came without effort.

The Word of God is priceless.

Then the second word came.

The Word of God is precise.

Then the third word surfaced.

The Word of God is personal.

When I woke up, I realized that some of the best sermons are not the overmanaged ones, polished to perfection and controlled from beginning to end. They are the ones delivered in complete dependence on the Spirit. Rivers of Living Water rise from the deep and saturate the parched landscapes of desperate hearts.

Holy Spirit, it’s not about my emptiness, but Your fullness. Not about my panic, but Your river. Amen