Dreams
play an important part in our lives. They help us to maintain our mental,
emotional and spiritual health. They usually occur in the deepest part of
sleep, called our REM sleep (Job 33:15). They happen all throughout the night, however. Those
we dream just before we awaken are the ones we remember most often. Although
our body rests during sleep, our soul – our mind, will and emotions – continues
to express our cares and concerns (Ecclesiastes 5:3). The content of our dreams is
often continuous with our thought and behavior from our day. God also speaks to
our spirit during some of our dreams (Acts 2:16,17; Joel 2:28).
Our
dreams often help us to solve the problems, which we are ignoring or that are
troubling us throughout the day. Some dreams are often very real and vivid to
us; others are less detailed. We may be hungry and dream that we ate, or
thirsty and dream that we drank; then when we wake up, our soul is still empty
and faint (Isaiah 29:8). We often use our dreams to connect to psychological and
emotional issues that we avoid during our waking moments.
We
may have many dreams that seem disjointed and have no apparent interpretation.
These occur to enable us to deal with issues we ignored during the day.
Sometimes, certain aspects surface from the subconscious mind to add to the
meaning of our dream and to give us a clue about some issue we are concerned
about, but are ignoring. During sleep, when our conscious mind is
disengaged, our brain tries to find solutions to our problems. It is wise to deal with
these so our soul can move on to other issues.
God uses dreams to communicate to us (Genesis 40:8). For instance, God warns of sin,
as He did with Abimelech when he had taken Sarah who was another man's wife (Genesis 20:3). God used a dream to encourage
Gideon (Judges 7:13-15). God
gives us guidance through dreams as he did for Pilate’s wife and Jesus’ earthly
father and the wise men (Matthew 2: 12-22, 27:19; Genesis
17:2). Daniel had dreams and also interpreted them, because they came from God (Daniel
2:7, 2:19, 4:27, 4:34-37, 7:1-28). Solomon had a dream when he was a child that God would give
him great wisdom (1 Kings 3:7). The Old Testament Joseph’s whole life was inundated with
dreams and their interpretations (Genesis 37:5; Genesis 40 &
41).
In
the last days, there will be many dreams (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28). However, the Bible warns
that false prophets will predict by dreams (Deuteronomy
13:1-3; 1 John 4:1). Therefore, we must compare with Scripture any dream or any
word that seems to come from God, because the Bible is our standard for our
faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 19:7). We are not to put out trust
in our dreams, but in the Lord (Ecclesiastes 5:7).
Prayer:
Father God, You know our future and have hope and a plan for us (Jeremiah
29:11). When we ignore your direction in our life, we suffer the
consequences in our body, soul and spirit. Help us to walk in Your ways and to
listen to the direction of Your Holy Spirit every moment of our day. Help us to
make wise decisions and to deal with our inner conflict. Remind us to trust in
your wisdom and to follow the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. May we always obey
Your Spirit and walk in Your ways. We praise You for who You are and we thank
You for all You do for us throughout our day.
Thought
for the Day:
If
we have need for wisdom, we can ask God, because He generously gives guidance
and direction to us all. - James 1:5