12 Mar
Dreams and Desires
“At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, ‘Ask. What should I give you?’” (1 Kings 3:5)
Where do dreams go in the cold, harsh light of day? Some are so faint that no memory of them remains when we open our eyes. Some are frightened away by the real world and dissolve into steaming green goo like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. Remember? “I’m melting…” Yet, there are those dreams that linger. They visit us throughout the day returning at quiet moments or when we take the time to meditate upon them. Some even occur night after night as though they are trying to tell us something that we just aren’t grasping. As if, perhaps, God wants us to get a message from them. And … maybe He does. Throughout Scriptures it is not uncommon to read of times when God spoke to people in dreams. Joseph, Pharaoh, Solomon, Nebuchadnezzar, Mary’s Joseph, and others all heard from the Lord in this way. In fact, in many parts of the world, it is still common for people to claim that God speaks to them in their dreams.
So, rather than asking where dreams go, perhaps, the better question is from where do dreams come? Some are nightmares that originate in the stress and sorrows of the day. Others are simply expressions of our own selfish desires: “My dream is to travel to Hawaii” or “I want to build my dream house.” But, some seem to come from a deeper place as though God Himself has carefully set them in us. Nothing we do can erase these dreams. They fill us with longing that drives us to fulfillment. They nag at us with a persistent feeling of discontent that refuses to be quieted.
What’s a dreamer to do? Psalm 37 states that when we “take delight in the LORD … He will give [us our] heart’s desires.” Many read this promise as saying that God will fulfill our desires when we delight in Him, and that may be a good interpretation. But, it may also mean that as we draw closer to Him, He will place dreams within us that will fulfill His plans rather than our own. Even that His plans will become our own—they will be our heart’s desires. Wow! What a thought! God’s desires as our very own.
Are you nursing a dream in your heart today? Is there a longing within you that hasn’t died in the light of day? Delight yourself in Him. Seek God first then ask Him for what you want. Ask. It may be that your dream is the desire of His heart for you.
Father, I pray that You will be the Lord even of my dreams and the desires of my heart. I don’t want to withhold anything from you. Help me to delight myself in You, to seek You first in all things, and to make Your will my own. Amen.
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Filed in: Dreams, Responding to God
