I am a dreamer. I wake up almost every morning with at least one dream still fresh, still sitting with me.
Some of them are obviously just... noise. But then there are other dreams where I know that God is speaking to me. Those dreams just feel different, they stick with you more.
I had one of those recently.
In the dream, I was in a hospital, very pregnant, full term. And then the doctor comes in and says the baby is breech…in the wrong position.
I remember in the dream just praying, "No, Lord, this needs to come out." I actually felt the baby shift and felt the discomfort of that repositioning happening right there in the dream.
Then I woke up, and instantly, I was like. "Lord, okay, I see you. We're talking about this…” Because at my age, the baby factory is very much closed.
So dreams are, more often than not, metaphorical or symbolic, not literal.
That's kind of how it works with God. He gives you something that gets your attention so you can sit with it and ask him questions to get understanding.
So when I dream about being pregnant, I know God is not talking about a literal baby. He is talking about something new being formed in me, that is almost ready to come out.
The question I sat with that morning was, "Lord, what am I about to birth, and am I coming at it the wrong way?"
After praying through it, He showed me. There was something I was ready to do, something I had been building toward, but I was approaching it from the wrong angle.
It still could have happened the other way. But it wouldn't have come out right. It would have needed a lot more fixing after the fact. He was letting me know now, and giving me the chance to reposition before the moment arrived.
That is what dreams from God do…they show you things you need to know. They’re not random. They’re not just your brain doing weird things at 2 a.m.
Dreams are one of the biggest ways God speaks to us.
In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. Job 33:15-18
He uses dreams to seal instruction into us while we sleep, to counsel us, warn us, and show us things we cannot yet see in our waking hours.
And He does it in a fun way…like a mystery or a puzzle, because He actually wants to go on the journey with you. Not spell it all out and have you respond like an automated human…but he makes it like a game, that you explore and discover the meaning together with him.
So what do you do with your dreams? How do you capture them and go on the journey with God to discover their meaning?
Here's what I'd encourage you to do. Start paying attention. If you keep having the same dream, there is a reason. Ask God.
If you wake up with a vivid image that stays with you, don't just shake it off and go make coffee. Capture it by writing it down, or sending yourself a text or voice memo.
Note the details, what was the main focus, who was there, what colors, what animals, what was happening?
Then sit with the Holy Spirit and ask Him what it means.
Open your Bible. Think about what the dream is saying from a metaphorical or symbolic perspective. Let Holy Spirit be your dream interpreter, not Google, not your best friend.
God is always communicating with us, we just have to be paying attention, and be willing to go on the journey with him to understand what he is saying.
If you want a community where you can bring your God dreams, your life dreams, your questions, and even your "okay God what does THAT mean" moments...and actually work through them with people who get it...
Come join us in Kingdom Seekers. We'd love to have you.