Grace When I Didn’t Feel Equipped

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Hi, I am Tameka, and welcome to Grace Across Borders.

A few nights ago, I had a dream that stayed with me long after I woke up.

In the dream, two people I loved were lying in hospital beds. I remember the fear. I remember the worry. I remember watching them and wondering if they were going to be okay.

What is strange is that I cannot remember who they were.

Were they my husband and son? Were they someone else? I do not know.

What I remember clearly is the doctor walking into the room and saying, “They’re going to be okay. They’re just resting.”

The moment I heard those words, I fainted.

Not them. Me.

When I woke up from the dream, my first instinct was not to call anyone. It was not to warn anyone. It was not even to share the dream.

Instead, I felt impressed to write it down and sit with it.

That was unusual for me.

In the past, when a dream has stayed with me, I have often felt led to share it with someone. This time was different. It felt less like a message for someone else and more like an invitation to examine my own heart.

The dream stayed with me throughout the week, and as the days unfolded, I began to see why.

What Solomon Noticed About Busy Hearts

“For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.” Ecclesiastes 5:3 (KJV)

When I first thought about using this verse, I assumed it was speaking directly about dreams. After all, I had just spent several days reflecting on a dream that would not leave my mind.

But as I read the surrounding verses, I discovered that the writer’s focus was not really on dreams at all.

Traditionally attributed to Solomon, Ecclesiastes is a book filled with observations about life, human nature, and our relationship with God. In chapter 5, the discussion begins with worship. Solomon warns people not to rush into God’s presence carelessly. He tells them to be ready to listen rather than speak, to avoid making rash promises, and to remember that God is in heaven while we are on earth.

In other words, he is addressing hearts that are restless, anxious, and eager to take control.

Then comes verse 3:

“For a dream cometh through the multitude of business…”

The point is not that every dream carries a hidden message. Rather, Solomon is making an observation that most of us recognize immediately: what fills our minds during the day often follows us into the night.

The burdens we carry.

The responsibilities we shoulder.

The worries we rehearse.

The questions we cannot answer.

The problems we cannot solve.

They have a way of showing up in our dreams.

The second half of the verse continues the same thought:

“and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.”

Just as an overloaded mind can produce dreams, an undisciplined heart can produce endless words. Solomon is describing what happens when we are overwhelmed. We talk too much, worry too much, carry too much, and often forget to simply listen to God.

As I reflected on my dream, I began to wonder if that was exactly what was happening.

Perhaps the dream was not predicting anything.

Perhaps it was revealing something.

Perhaps it was showing me the weight I had been carrying.

Perhaps it was reminding me that some burdens belong in God’s hands, not mine.

The Danger of Helping Too Much

There is an old story about a farmer who planted seeds in his field and waited for them to grow.

Each morning, he walked out to inspect them. He watered. He watched. He worried.

Day after day, the plants seemed to grow too slowly.

Finally, he decided to help them.

He gently pulled each young shoot upward, believing he could speed up the process.

For a moment he felt satisfied. The plants appeared taller than before.

But by the next day, they had withered.

In trying to force growth, he had damaged what was already alive.

The story reminds us how easily worry disguises itself as wisdom. We convince ourselves that if we think about a problem long enough, manage it carefully enough, or carry it heavily enough, we can control the outcome.

Yet many things grow best when they are left in God’s hands.

Not everything requires our intervention.

Sometimes faith means trusting the process.

More Than I Thought I Was Equipped For

This past week my air conditioner stopped cooling the house.

At first, I thought someone would simply come and fix it. I contacted a technician. He said he would come. Then the excuses began.

It was raining.

He got wet.

He needed to change clothes.

The ground was still wet.

He did not want to be electrocuted.

The explanations continued while my house continued getting warmer.

Finally, after one more promise that he would arrive the next morning, I felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to stop waiting and move forward.

I sent a message thanking him for his time but letting him know I would find someone else.

Then came another impression.

Go look at the unit yourself.

Immediately my mind began listing reasons why that made no sense.

I have no HVAC training.

What could I possibly contribute?

I had already done everything I thought I was equipped to do. I changed the filters. I cleaned. I vacuumed. I handled the things that felt familiar and safe.

But God was calling me to take another step.

The last technician who serviced the unit had opened it in front of me. I remembered how he did it. So I gathered my courage, opened the unit, and immediately saw what I had not been able to see before.

Ice.

Ice everywhere.

The system was frozen.

In that moment, I realized there was no way cold air could move through a system covered in ice.

I began researching. I asked questions. I learned what I could. I sought advice. I used the resources available to me. Most importantly, I prayed.

I prayed over my house.

I prayed over the unit.

I prayed for wisdom.

I prayed for God’s direction.

Then I shut the system down and allowed it to thaw.

The next morning, it came back to life.

As I write this, I am sitting comfortably in a cool house, overwhelmed with gratitude.

Not because I fixed an air conditioner.

But because God reminded me of something I needed to learn.

I had done everything I thought I was equipped to do.

Yet God was calling me for more.

Not because I suddenly became an HVAC technician.

Not because I had all the answers.

But because obedience often begins where our confidence ends.

As I reflected on the dream again, I began to see a connection.

In the dream, I was carrying the weight of concern for others. I worried. I waited. I watched. Then the doctor said everything would be okay, and I collapsed under the weight of relief.

How often do we do the same thing in real life?

We carry responsibilities that belong to God.

We take on burdens that were never meant for our shoulders.

We worry about outcomes we cannot control.

Then we wonder why we are exhausted.

This week God reminded me that faith is not about carrying more.

Faith is about trusting more.

And perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to obedience is not lack of ability, but the limits we place on ourselves.

How many opportunities have we missed because we convinced ourselves we were not qualified enough?

How many doors have we refused to open because we believed someone more experienced should handle it?

How many times has God called us forward while we remained standing still?

This week I was reminded that God is not limited by what I think I am equipped for.

He is able to do far more than I imagine, and sometimes He is simply waiting for me to trust Him enough to take the next step.

A Prayer for Trust and Obedience

Father God,

We thank You for wisdom. We thank You for obedience. We thank You for Your leading, and we thank You for understanding.

We thank You that even when we choose to listen last, or sometimes fail to listen at all, You remain near. You do not abandon us. You continue to guide us, teach us, and call us forward.

Lord, You had been impressing upon me to go and look at that air conditioner for so long. Yet I kept thinking, “I have no HVAC experience. What could I possibly contribute?” I did what I felt equipped to do. I handled the things that seemed within my ability.

But You were calling me to take another step.

You were reminding me that sometimes You ask us to move forward, not because we already have all the answers, but because You are willing to guide us as we go.

Thank You for the moments when we finally listen and see the results of Your leading. Thank You for the joy that comes from discovering that You were already working while we were worrying.

Thank You for speaking to us in ordinary moments. Thank You for Your presence in our struggles, our uncertainty, our pain, and our waiting.

Help us to remember that every responsibility, every worry, and every fear we add to our shoulders becomes another burden we were never meant to carry alone.

Teach us to place our concerns in Your hands and leave them there.

Thank You for never leaving us, never forsaking us, and never growing tired of guiding Your children.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.