the power of a dream

Dreams can be amazingly powerful. They can take an emotion and totally transform it. They can awaken thoughts and feelings of love or evoke complete rage. It's no wonder God uses dreams to speak to His children. Joseph was a dreamer. His dreams not only showed him God's plan for his life, but changed his life. By sharing his dreams he provoked his brothers to such violent jealously that they were willing to kill him. One of them finally came to his senses and convinced the others not to kill him, but to sell him instead. Little did they know God had it all under control. He would prosper Joseph and bring those dreams to pass. The magi after having found the Christ child were warned in a dream to depart another way. They were not to return to Herod. God's perfect plan was in action to make sure that His son would fulfill his destiny. It's amazing to me just how powerful these night time visions are.

I dream quite vividly. Sometimes they are spiritual dreams. I have been in a season where I have not had any of these types of dreams (except last week I awoke after one of those vivid dreams and as I mulled it over and over a scripture played over and over in my head). It has been a long dry season. It seems though that whether or not God is inspiring the dream, my dreams are still alive and powerful. I don't know. Maybe everybody dreams the way I do. Maybe everyone wakes up in the morning and lingers over their night time thoughts looking for meaning in the strange pictures or delighting in the joy they've brought. I'd like to say last night I had the most amazing God given dream but I didn't. I dreamed, vividly, but I don't think they were from God. It was actually a series of the same dream. 3 of them in total. Nice, lovely dreams that repeated, just under a different scenario. I awoke with such a feeling of joy and love. How nice to be wanted and loved, if only in my dreams. They woke me quite early this moring. Earlier than usual anyway. I laid under the blankets and let the thoughts of those dreams wash over me. Replaying round and round as I remembered so many details. Conversations. Names. Places. Faces. As I slowly came round to consciousness my heart began to pound as I came to the realization that those dreams were probably not something to delight in. Maybe they were God's way of showing me what's still in my heart, or maybe they were medically induced. (benedryl induced make that.) I don't know. All I know is that this morning I carry both a feeling of joy and guilt over the thoughts I had while I was asleep, which perhaps is stupid. It's not like I can control what I dream. All I can do is pray about it and ask God to make my dreams His dreams. They are the only ones with enough power to truly change lives.