I kept on having a dream about a river in a certain country that I was visiting. In the dream I am expecting the river to look like some of the rivers that I have seen in Norway and New Zealand. Very clean, extremely wild with awesome power.

In this dream I am a tourist who is visiting the local attractions and the highlight of the trip is to visit this amazing river. I am really excited to be in this country as it is very beautiful. I ask for directions for this river and people point the way. Finally I get there and to my disappointment the I find that the river has been rerouted down a man made canal that twists and turns. I am so disappointed because the unthoughtful people of this country have sought to tame such a beautiful and wild natural river. I leave very disappointed I don't even take a photograph.

I then have this same dream many other nights, but I do not understand it's message if indeed there is a message at all. In fact I only contemplate the dream a few times and I don't search for any deep understanding.

Again I have the same dream. I visit this very beautiful country and I am really enjoying the natural beauty and attractions. This time I am going to visit an extremely beautiful waterfall. After visiting many local attractions I walk on to the highlight of my trip, the waterfall. People point the way to me and when I get there I find that the waterfall has been controlled by man with the use of concrete. The water still flows and it's power is awesome, but it falls down a very square concrete block. I look over the edge and admire the falling water, but I am disappointed that man has spoilt such a beautiful natural place.

I then have this same dream repeatedly over a period of months.

Then one night, I remembered the dream before I went to bed. I asked God if it had any meaning. That night when I fell asleep, I had the same dream. In this dream, I left my accommodation and I saw other tourists and backpackers all eager to experience the beauty of this place and I ask the way to the waterfall and I am told that this waterfall is the highest in the world. A tourist says to me that if I go this particular way, you can see a smaller waterfall on route to the biggest waterfall in the world.

When I get there, I am very disappointed to find that this once beautiful waterfall has been tamed by man. It is made up of 3 concrete blocks and the waterfall cascades down in a staircase fashion before it becomes a river again. I leave disappointed, but I am not too concerned because I am about to visit the biggest waterfall in the world and I just assume that it will be too big for even man to try and control. In my mind I imagine a spectacular sight of the water leaping down a sheer cliff of hundreds of meters.

I eventually get there and I cannot believe my eyes. The waterfall cascades down hundreds of levels. It looks like a giant staircase and is akin to something you see inside a shopping mall, only much bigger. The water is also very tame compared to a spectacular leap down a sheer cliff face. I am very disappointed to also see that the natural vegetation has been cut down and the whole place looks a bit like a theme park catering for the tourists.

I then ask one of the locals why they ruined such a spectacular landscape. I already know in my heart that the reason is about control and money, but the local says that it was necessary because the awesome force of the waterfall was eroding the cliff away and that it may have been possible that the waterfall was going to ruin the landscape. So in order to preserve such a spectacular natural wonder, the people decided to build this huge giant concrete stair case for it to flow down and in doing so they destroyed the very thing that they were trying to preserve. The dream ends.

I wake up the next day and while I am writing down something on the computer, the memory of the dream and the other dreams come to me. Suddenly the meaning is obvious to me.

The water is the flow of God's Spirit. It is awesome in power, spectacular and unpredictable. The canals and the concrete staircases represent the works of man and his desire to control the things for himself. The reason given for these ugly works of man is that they do not trust the awesome power of God and they know that this power can also be destructive and they are scared of this. So out of fear of possibly losing something that is of great benefit to them, they try to preserve it with their own works and in doing so they destroy the very thing they were trying to protect. But the underlying reason has also to do with making money out of such a wonder and in doing so they have ruined what was truly a spectacular sight to behold.

Now the flow of the Spirit was still awesome in the canals and in the waterfalls. However, it was disappointing that such a beautiful natural rivers and waterfalls were spoilt . But the biggest waterfall in the world was also the biggest disappointment as the power of the water was tame or should I say lame. Man tried to reroute God's power and in doing so they lost that power. The destructive and unpredictable power of God which was represented as the rivers and waterfalls before man changed them, reminded me of the following scripture:

John 3:8
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

The man made canals and staircases represent the works of man and his traditions. This reminded me of the following scripture: Mark 7:13
Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."

I was disappointed in the dream to see such raw power and beauty being harnessed by man and in that vain attempt, they ruined everything. I believe that this type of disappointment was similar to God's disappointment with our own works done in our own or his name. He intended for us to just let his power flow the way he wants and yes it is unpredictable and there will be erosion and even destruction, but this is necessary in order for God to shape and create things anew.

Psalm 46:3-4
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.