The Narrow Way

Have you ever stopped to study how many times God has spoken through dreams in the Bible? 🤔

It’s probably more than you think, and some of the patterns might be surprising as well…

I’m writing this because of a dream I had the other night, (which I believe is meant for intercession vs. sharing), but also because I believe God is STILL speaking to people through dreams 🤯

It was a dream that actually turned me back to God just shy of 19 years ago. I’ve had numerous God-given dreams since that time, not hundreds, but probably more like one or two dozen, so I have a little insight, though I’m no expert 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, I felt to write this specifically to encourage folks to *not dismiss dreams.* There is SO much that God can and does reveal to us through dreams. Unfortunately, because dreams are not always straight forward, they scare some folks 🙃 And I get it, things can get off into crazy “un-Biblical land” in a hurry if you’re not cautious 😂 😱🙃. Therefore, we MUST first and foremost follow the patterns we see in scripture, the character of God, and Biblical precedent followed by our God-given discernment. I want to very briefly look at a few examples in scripture before going any farther…

Number 1: Pharoah and Joseph. Way back in Genesis 41 we read about Pharoah and Joseph and their time in Egypt. You’re likely familiar with the story. Pharoah had 2 dreams. In the first, he saw 7 fat cows which were then swallowed up by 7 skinny cows. The second was like this, only with heads of grain instead. After this, it states that “his (Pharoah’s) mind was troubled…” by these dreams, so he sent for interpreters. Unfortunately, he and the company he kept was unable to interpret, they didn’t have the discernment that God gives His people. Yet, he knew enough to know they weren’t just ordinary dreams… True to form, God provided a way despite Pharoah’s lack. Enter: the chief cupbearer. This guy hears of Pharoah’s disturbing dreams and remembers an encounter with a man named Joseph in prison. Just 2 years prior, both the chief baker and cupbearer were imprisoned with Joseph when they too had troubling dreams. They shared their dreams with Joseph who interpreted them for them. Each dream then came to pass exactly as the dreamer dreamed and Joseph interpreted. Note that in both situations, the ones who had the dreams were not followers of the Lord, I’ll come back to this thought…😉

After hearing from the cupbearer, Pharoah summoned for Joseph to be brought to him and he shared his dreams. Joseph again provided dream interpretation. He stated that the dreams were speaking the same thing, a time of plenty was coming followed by a time of famine. “The reason the dream was given to Pharoah in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.” Gen 41:32

The next thing that happens is Joseph is given a word of wisdom for Pharoah. He tells Pharaoh to find someone to put in charge to manage the upcoming times, someone who would save up grain from the years of plenty to get through the times of famine. Can you imagine? It seems simple in the Bible, but seriously, trying to calculate and store a fraction of each year of plenty to make up for each year of famine wouldn’t be easy. Just think of your own household for a second, if today you began to store up enough food to supply for 7 YEARS, where would you even start? It hurts my head, 🤣 The story goes on to say that Pharoah placed Joseph in charge and they make it through, although the famine was so extreme it caused people to sell all they had for food. 😓

Pause for a minute here. Pharoah, an un-believer, dreamed dreams given by God that once interpreted (by a man God provided), gave him knowledge to prepare for upcoming times of trouble. The sharing of, interpretation, and acting on this dream not only increased his kingdom, it saved many lives. Even though Pharoah was not God’s guy, he used him. I say this because I think we sometimes put conditions on and around the things of God that He doesn’t. 🤷‍♀️ It didn’t bother Him in the least to give Pharaoh, the cupbearer, and the baker dreams. He used His guy, Joseph, for interpreting, wisdom to plan/act, and to have the favor needed to get the job done. 💪

Some things worth highlighting that we can see in other parts of scripture as well:

1. Prophetic dreams (dreams of things to come) can come through anyone. They do not have to be a church leader or even a Christian.
2. What prophetic dreams reveal often does not happen instantaneously. The cupbearer and baker were a pretty quick turn around, but if you think of it, Pharoah’s was not, nor are many other prophetic dreams/words in scripture. It actually took 14 years to see Pharaoh’s dream through. It would’ve been really easy in year 5 to begin to doubt the dream and stop stockpiling. In the midst of abundance, the temptation would have been to become complacent. It would’ve been equally difficult in year 13, 6 years into famine, to think it would ever end.
3. Prophetic dreams are often warnings. Some are fixed like Pharaoh’s situation. Some are for intercession and can be changed/averted.

Number 2) Joseph–not the guy we just talked about–but Joseph the stand-in earthly dad for Jesus. In Matthew 2:13-23 twice Joseph has dreams where the Spirit of God warns and instructs him…”Get up and go!” First he sends him to Egypt and then back to Israel. God revealed the problem and the solution, and through his obedience, Joseph saved baby Jesus. By having discernment about his dream–yes it really was God speaking–and acting on it–God worked through him to save baby Jesus. I’ve not once heard a sermon on that, but consider the implications of it. 🤔 *There is tremendous value of recognizing God-given dreams*

This doesn’t do justice to all that could be said of dreams, nor does it cover all of the ones we see in scripture. But it’s a start…

So what about us?

“Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” Joel 2: 28

“When a prophet of the Lord is among you. I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams…” Numb 12:6

I believe there are a lot more people having dreams today and they aren’t all born-again believers. In fact, just a little over a year ago an un-saved friend shared a dream that was so vivid and concerning they believed it was from God, and I believe it was too.

As for myself, some of you know this, but it was a dream that turned me back to God. Despite being raised as a Christian, I turned my back and went after the world until I was 19.5 when I had a dream about Jesus’ return. I’ve shared that dream so many times…it’s hard to convey the level of despair I had in knowing I knew right from wrong and had chosen wrong by not walking with the Lord…In the dream, it was too late, judgment had happened, and I felt a sinking of soul and darkness that’s indescribable 😖 I knew how foolish I had been and was about to pay for it. Thankfully, even as a very messed up 19.5 year old, I had brains enough to take that dream seriously 🤓 I woke crying and repenting and the very next day began to read the Bible for myself. That dream literally changed and saved my life physically and eternally. 🙌

But it didn’t end there. Over the years I’ve had roughly one or two dozen dreams of a prophetic nature. I’m not boasting by sharing this, because I realize I have absolutely ZERO to do with it 😂 I can’t force God to give me dreams. He either chooses to or not. But in my case, He’s chosen to, at least sometimes. And unless I’m forgetting something, all of the dreams He gave to me about a time to come have been warnings, some which I took action on, including repenting and returning to Him. And all of the dreams He gave me for others were when they were in a hidden state, like a word of knowledge.

The dream of Jesus’ return was to-date the most important dream I’ve ever had, for obvious reasons. But it’s not been the only one of great significance. I’ll share another for the sake of my credibility to speak to the topic, the rest are maybe for another time.

About 15 years ago, I was living at my parents waiting to go back to Africa as a missionary. While there, I had a dream of a former friend who wanted to kill me 😰 The dream was so vivid, I actually got up in the middle of the night to lock my door as I prayed and fell back to sleep. Twice I had this dream. To some, this would just seem a re-occurring nightmare, but without getting into great detail, if you knew this person from my pre-Jesus days, you’d understand that the possibility was legitimate. 😕 The dream was so disturbing that I shared it with the only mutual friend that “Q” and I still had. I can still remember my friend’s face after I told him about the dream. He paused from looking down at the ground, looked up, and said “….never be alone with Q….I wasn’t going to tell you this but…” And he went on to share words I won’t repeat here. Suffice it to say, the dream was confirmed.

Creepy, right? I had chills knowing Q’s potential at that time.

Initially I had fear, until I prayed and two things comforted me: 1) if God gives a dream to warn, He wants our involvement (prayer in this case) AND He intends to do something about it. 2) from a logistical standpoint, I knew Q did a lot of travel and was FAR away. In these I rested and began to pray for Q whenever they came to mind. I knew the individual was very lost and dark, but not un-savable, not without hope…

A short time later, I went back out to visit the mutual friend. He had an animal born with with some markings he knew I’d like, so he text me to tell me to stop and see her 🤗 I went out to his place, but no one was there, just an empty building and a few animals. It was cold out. I remember the wind whipping through the structure and having a sense that I needed to leave, but I ignored it. The deeper I went into the building, the stronger the sense to LEAVE got, but I wasn’t listening. Then, my phone dinged💥 I received a text from a friend who had been praying for me and said “I keep getting the name Q. Don’t go anywhere alone!” 😳 Fear gripped me. I remember running as fast as I could out of the building and into my car, locking the doors and heading home. As I drove I kept telling myself “it’s impossible, Q is gone.” Yet, I felt like my life had just been spared, it’s hard to explain…

I walked into my parents’ home and sat down in silence still thanking God. A few minutes later my brother, who knew nothing of the dream or this situation, came home. “You’ll never guess who I just saw at the store, Q was in there.” I couldn’t believe it 😳 You may not believe me because of all of the details I’m withholding, but I genuinely believe I escaped death that day. 💯 of the time that Q was in town, Q visited the mutual friend.

That dream gave me a heads up about a danger lurking I otherwise had no idea of. Furthermore the obedience of my friend to message me is something I’m forever grateful for.

All these years and prayers later, I can honestly say Q has changed. I no longer believe there is a threat there 🙌

Other dreams have been to prepare me for heartbreak, while some have been for other people. For others, it’s been when they’re trapped in hard places in life. Every now and then God has provided a word of knowledge through a dream. It’s always nerve wracking to share with them, because I’ve felt like I’m shooting in the dark, but each time He’s done it, it’s to pierce that darkness with His light. To let them know He is the God who sees them, even when no one knows what’s going on, to encourage them and point them upward.

So how do you know if a dream is from God? 🤔

Honestly, some are so unshakable and strong, that you simply know it. 🤷‍♀️ Some are so random and clear, like the ones I’ve had for other people, that it’s like a movie I’m present for. I wake and I know the details and can see it. For warning dreams, like the one I described above or like Joseph and baby Jesus, you just know. I know that seems a cop out, but trust me, if it’s something that is critical to life, God is WILL make sure you understand what to do, just like with Pharaoh 🙌 That said, it’s still on you to take appropriate action.

There is no formula for whether or not a dream is from God, the enemy, or imagination really—more like guard rails to see if it falls inbounds. Safeguards include knowing the Word, knowing the Lord, and having a community of believers to test things with. The first thing to do is always to pause and pray. Dreams that require interpretation, like Pharoah’s are much tougher to discern because dreams of the imagination can be quite vivid like dreams from God. For those, I’d ALWAYS recommend prayer AND sharing with other discerning believers. God will tease out the important parts for you and you can usually find a common theme or message if it’s from Him. In most cases, prophetic dreams are NOT of the urgent “get up and go” type—BUT that’s not to say they can’t be. 😬 Remember that….

ALL God-given (meaningful/prophetic) dreams are for disclosing knowledge with the purpose of taking action through prayer and/or physical preparation. It’s never for fun, just to “know,” or for bragging rights. Dreams can be a specific means of communication from God. It’s often when something is so urgent that He needs us quiet 🤐 enough to listen and see the full picture (when we are asleep 😴 ).

That said, dreams can be tricky. There’s a lot of people who claim to have dreams from God. Heck, you might call me one of them, 🤷‍♀️😂 and that’s ok. 😉 My goal isn’t to convince you that God has spoken to me through dreams, it’s to convince you that He still can and still does do this. Period.

Throughout the Bible God has spoken through dreams. It’s in His character and nature. He hasn’t changed. Don’t ever put too much stock in someone else’s dream, especially in this day and age when anyone can rapidly spread every dream they have. YOU need to pray and discern if the dream is from the Lord and if so, is there any action that YOU need to take for yourself. *Trust the Lord.* If He needs YOU to take action, ask Him to confirm it. He can. He will. You WILL know. It’s not a guessing game where He hopes you’ll get it right and then laughs when you don’t. 🙂 That’s not His character. 🙌 He is sure to impart the information we need when we need it. Our job is to seek Him and take appropriate action like Pharoah and Joseph.

This blog doesn’t cover all that can be said of this topic, I realize that. There’s probably things I’m missing, forgetting, or don’t even know about. BUT it’s something. It’s a talking point at minimum. 🙂

Bathe your dreams in prayer. 🙏 When you have one, like the one I had the other night, don’t let it get pushed aside. Intercede. Pray THROUGH. Allow the warnings to take up residence in your spirit. You have no idea what significance it could hold for the future.

As always, thanks for stopping by. ❤️