Calamity Jane

In the summer of 2020, I had a dream. It was in three distinct parts. In the first part, I was helping coordinate missions trips in different nations. All the trips were happening simultaneous in Central America, South America, and Europe. Someone challenged me about whether or not Europe should be consider a missions trip, and I responded by telling him that I am going there personally. In the second part, God showed me a specific situation in my life with the word “Calamity” superimposed. In the third part, I saw a woman dressed in Wild West cowboy attire with the name “Calamity Jane” superimposed. While these parts may seem disconnected (especially the first part from the second and third), I believe they form a coherent message that applies to the church.

First, the overall context of the dream is the global assignment we have as the church. Though God plants each of us in specific locations (I minister primarily in the United States as a pastor in Alabama), God wants to activate His people to be more globally minded, simultaneously juggling nations and continents. Also, it’s important we do not associate missions exclusively with third world nations where there are obvious financial needs. We must be led by His Spirit to engage the spiritual needs found even in the most prosperous nations on earth.

Secondly, God is training us for this global assignment through personal calamity. The situation God showed me is something I have asked Him to resolve over and over again. Most of the time, He is very quiet and does not give me answers. In this dream, though, He gave me specific clarity. He affirmed that He knows about it and that He is specifically using it to train me to handle larger chaotic situations. The implication was not only global missions, but also future calamity on a global scale, perhaps connected to end-time events. If I can learn to manage raging emotions and shifting circumstances now, then I will be prepared to lead in the midst of them later.

Lastly, I knew that Calamity Jane is a name (perhaps a nickname) that God wants to give the church. What does that mean? Calamity Jane lived during the late 1800’s as a frontierswoman. She did not have a strong moral reputation (sometimes she earned a living through prostitution), but she did prove useful in chaotic situations. While it’s hard to separate fact from fiction, she evidently gained the nickname by saving a military captain after being shot in battle. In other words, Calamity Jane did not succumb to storms. Instead, she knew how to ride them and intervene on behalf of others.

As we each learn how to handle calamity on a personal level, it empowers us corporately to navigate global storms and intervene of behalf of others. Like Calamity Jane, God wants us to have an unconquerable spirit (though, He also wants us to have a sound moral reputation, too). Rather than cowering at difficulty, we rise to the occasion and step into a fresh expression of our global assignment.

Do not forget that any circumstantial challenge in front of you is not random. God works all things together for good, and He is preparing you in more ways than you can imagine.