The Lord has reminded me of a dream I once had. I believe the dream is as relevant today, in our present season, as it was then — and perhaps more so. In the dream, my daughter, her family, and I were traveling. I assumed this was an adventure of sorts, because we weren’t traveling on any highways; instead, we traveled the back roads. I didn’t know where we were headed, but we were all relaxed and enjoying the journey.

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As we noticed the setting sun, we began to look for a place to spend the night. Although the drive through the country was serene and beautiful, there were no available hotel or overnight accommodations. Finally, we pulled into an old gravel driveway leading to a small country home. On the front porch of this home sat an elderly lady in a rocking chair.

We all tumbled out of the vehicle and walked up to the porch. This sweet little lady wore a short, striped apron, and I could see that her hands were busy, though I couldn’t see exactly what she was doing until we got closer. As we drew nearer, I sensed a peace surrounding her. Hers was the most beautiful countenance I had ever seen — as if the presence of God Himself surrounded her. Directly in front of her was an opened Bible on a stand. In her lap was a large bowl filled with freshly picked green beans. As she glanced up and welcomed us, I could see she was breaking beans and preparing them for canning.

I peered around the porch and noticed baskets of freshly picked vegetables all around. This wouldn’t have been odd if it had been harvesting season, but it wasn’t. It was early in the year, before spring, before the time of planting seeds. It was still months before harvest season would begin. And yet, there she sat with an abundant supply of harvest all around her. Twelve basketfuls, to be exact.

When we walked up to her, she stopped breaking beans. She moved her Bible to the side, wiped her hands on her apron, smiled, and stood to greet us. She welcomed us into her home. We went into her kitchen, but she, instead of stopping to offer us refreshment, headed up the stairs to the back of her house. We followed.

We discovered there were many more rooms upstairs than we had imagined. She led us to an area that had, to my surprise, been prepared ahead of time just for us. She turned to the right and swung open the door to a well-lit room. “This is the prophets’ room,” she said with a smile. I saw a bed, a desk, and some lamps, and there was even clothing hanging in the closet — anything one could possibly need was already there in that room. It was beautifully decorated, and its aroma drew you in. Excited, I ran downstairs to retrieve my bags from the vehicle.

I grabbed my suitcases and ran back upstairs. Arriving back at the door of the room, I found that something was drastically different — so much so that I halted in my tracks. The door was no longer a normal size, but now less than 3 feet wide. Stunned, I stood gazing at this narrow entrance, realizing how difficult it would be to squeeze my body through. I would have to turn sideways and inch my way in. There was no way my baggage would fit through this narrow space. Suddenly, a voice behind me said: “Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it.” I woke up. I was back home in my own bed, pondering this strange dream.

Praying and asking for insight, I soon realized that this was a call to come up higher. Consider these passages of scripture:

The way of life winds upward for the wise … (Proverbs 15:24 NKJV).

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you (Isaiah 60:1 NKJV).

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8–9 NKJV).

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this” (Revelation 4:1 NKJV).

And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them (Revelation 11:12 NKJV).

In the book of Exodus, chapter 24, God called Moses by saying: “Come up to the LORD. … ”

Anytime God calls us, He calls us up. Always. One reason God calls us upward is to enter His way of life: the zoe life of God. The Strong’s Concordance defines this word as: the state of one who is possessed of vitality, of the absolute fullness of life. To attain this life, we must go up in God.

In my dream, I had to go up to get to the place that was prepared for me. To me, this spoke of a time of promotion in God and a time of fruitfulness. As I shared earlier, the elderly lady was sitting in her chair, breaking beans. This is something I do when we harvest our green beans, and I am getting them ready to can — in the summer. In my dream, however, it wasn’t summer. It wasn’t even yet spring. It was not time for harvest at all, and yet there she sat with a harvest all around her.

I was immediately reminded of this word from Revelation: In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2 NKJV).

The harvest that surrounded the elderly lady spoke of the tree of life which bore fruit every single month of the year — twelve times a year. This was further emphasized by the twelve baskets of harvest that surrounded her. I believe God was saying that when we find that place in God, the place of LIFE, we will experience the tree of life that yields fruit continually, even out of season.

In Mark 11, Jesus walked by a fig tree that was not producing fruit, and we read that He cursed that fig tree, and it died. The odd thing in this story is that it was not the season for fig trees to bear fruit — and yet Jesus expected fruit to be available to Him. Why? Because He lived in this zoe place of life in God. He EXPECTED everything within His realm to produce fruit for Him, regardless of season.

I’m also reminded of Genesis 26, when God told Isaac to sow, although there was famine in the land. In the natural, it was impossible to have a harvest with no rain. But Isaac obeyed and sowed in that land. As a result, God caused him to reap a hundredfold, even when that was otherwise impossible. What this reveals is that God will cause us to harvest even when out of season — even when it seems impossible.

You may recall that in my dream, the lady kept the Bible before her as she harvested. Even while she prepared her harvest for the next season, the word of God remained before her eyes. The word was her focus the entire time — not the harvest, not the people arriving at her home. No, it was the word of God that was her priority.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6 NKJV).

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NKJV).

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63 NKJV).

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

If we are going to attain the life that God desires to give us, the word of God must stay before our eyes and in our hearts. Proverbs 3 tells us that the word of God gives life. The life we all seek is found only in the word of God. It must be a priority.

The way to life is before us. We are invited to enter in. God wants us to enter it. It is what He has prepared for us. However, there are things we cannot take with us. In the dream, the door to that room was wide open to me until I went back to get my bags. We cannot look back and move forward at the same time: Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32).

We cannot take last year’s baggage into this new, higher place in God. We cannot take our disappointments or our perceived unanswered prayers into this new place. There is no room for it. And we cannot look back; we must simply arise and go higher in God.

God has a place prepared for us, ready for us to walk into. The rest is up to us. We can leave our baggage at the door and enter in — or we can allow things from the past to keep us out of the place God has for us.

If you recall, in my dream, a voice said to me: “Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it.” The narrow doorway in the room represented the way to life.

This scripture is found in Matthew: “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14 NKJV).

God is the same today as He was yesterday. He does not change. Just as He said in Deuteronomy: “… I have set before you life and death. … Now choose life … ” (Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV).

God is calling us to come up higher. Will you heed the call? Will you leave your baggage behind and lay aside the fears, hurts, and disappointments of the past? Will you step through the narrow place and embrace the abundant life God has for you? It is prepared and ready — enter in.

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Kim Potter is a writer and the founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to thousands of people all around the world. Her articles have appeared on The Elijah List, in Charisma Magazine, and on Spirit Fuel and iBelieve.com. Kim’s message is one of hope. She speaks to the hearts of those who have grown discouraged or disappointed by the circumstances of life, to impart hope. Her daily inspirational writings are available at www.anewthingministries.com. Photo Credit: Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash.