Thought for Today
Genesis 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night,
Psalms 126:1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Matthew 1:20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:17 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Do you dream? Do you remember your dreams? “Dreaming can happen during any stage of sleep, but dreams are the most prolific and intense during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage. During REM sleep, brain activity ramps up considerably compared to the non-REM stages. REM sleep dreams are easier to remember compared to dreams in other sleep stages, and are often longer and include more unique words.” (Bing search)
Most mornings, when I awaken, I know whether or not I have dreamt, but I rarely can remember any specifics of any dream. Greta, on the other hand, remembers her dreams in great detail and can relate them hours later. Even the most cursory web search reveals a lot of information about dreams and dreaming.
My thoughts are on dreaming because of a dream I had Monday morning and still remember today. The details have almost completely vanished from my memory. I remember that it was an unusually vivid memory. It was also especially unusual, because it involved my being part of our church choir. I don’t remember whether I was the director or a singer, but either scenario would lead members of our choir to suggest I had a nightmare rather than a dream. I love to sing, but even Greta has suggested that I switch my microphone off during the hymns (I always try to obey). Within my dream, I was telling everyone about a dream I had the previous night . . . a dream within a dream!
Today, I am wondering why God designed the system to include both sleeping and dreaming. Obviously, we need times of rest and recuperation. Our physical and mental systems need time to recharge, regenerate and restore themselves. I am particularly thinking about the folks who have studied dreams and dreaming. I cannot imagine being either a test subject trying to sleep in a laboratory environment or the doctor or scientist studying that subject. I wonder who first noticed that there seemed to be rapid eye movement beneath the closed eyelids of some of the sleepers. Thankfully, I was never motivated to study medicine, brains or anything similar. My only motivation involving sleep has been to do so.
Dreams do, however, play a significant role in scripture. Abimelech’s experience in dreaming was not positive. Joseph’s experience, although extensive, was sometimes positive, sometimes negative. Relating his dreams got him into trouble. Being able to explain the meaning behind the dreams of others got him out of trouble. Our ancestors-in-the-faith believed that God sometimes spoke to them in their dreams.
Pentecost Sunday this year will be June 8th. In his famous address on that first Pentecost, Peter quoted the prophet Joel to explain the phenomenon everyone witnessed. “Acts 2:7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, . . . 11 Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power.’"
Visions, dreams, revelations from God, no matter what terms we use to describe or even understand the times and ways we interact with our Creator God, when we do so it is powerful and life-transforming. Imagine the disaster had Joseph not listened to God and had carried out his plan for Mary, “Matthew 1:19 . . . to dismiss her quietly.”
Are there messages from God in our dreams? In our thoughts? In our lives? We need to tread carefully before we casually dismiss any dream, thought or event. Listen for the voice of God in your life.
Stay safe, stop, look, listen, trust God,
Pastor Ray