What do you do with your dreams?
Judges 7:13-14
In last week’s reflection, God encouraged Gideon to sneak down to the enemy’s camp and listen to what they were saying, and he would be strengthened in his efforts to win the battle. Here is what Gideon heard:
When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” (Judges 7:13-14)
Gideon nears the camp, and my first guess was that he would hear some key element of the enemy’s battle strategy, or learn about a weakness in their army he could exploit. But Gideon instead hears two men talking about a dream, and interpreting the dream in a way that could be favorable to his efforts. The passage reminded me of how important dreams have been to events in the Bible, from (Old Testament) Joseph’s dreams and interpretations, to (New Testament) Joseph’s dreams about Mary and Jesus. In this case, the enemy’s interpretation of a dream sets the stage for Gideon’s creativity in his approach to the battle, as we’ll see next week.
Sometimes dreams are important to our behavior as well. By “dreams” I am not referring to future hopes or goals or plans, as in "What are your dreams for the future?" Rather, I am referencing communication from God in a non-waking state. A lucid dream about someone in your family, or a close friend, may cause you to reach out to them. A haunting dream about an accident or tragedy may spur some preventive action on your part. A dream may contain the seeds of a change or new opportunity or direction in your life or business. Leonardo da Vinci asked, “Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?”
Can you recall a vivid dream you had recently, or from some time in your past, that stayed with you, or even spurred you to act? How have you heard God speaking through your dreams?
I’ll leave you with this passage from Job (33:15-18 - The Message)
In a dream, for instance, a vision at night,
when men and women are deep in sleep,
fast asleep in their beds—
God opens their ears
and impresses them with warnings
To turn them back from something bad they’re planning,
from some reckless choice,
And keep them from an early grave,
from the river of no return.