Understanding Your Dreams: First Steps

Old Treasures on Tuesdays 👑

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight…” (Jer. 15:16, NIV).

When God imparts to your heart His personal messages, do you devour them?

What a treasure it is when He speaks to us! I’d like to share some experiences with you from my own journey of learning to cherish His communication. I’m eager to share these because I know they will be helpful to you as you develop intimacy with Him.

Last week, I had the joy of filling in the very last page of my second dream journal. I now have two complete volumes, filled with special messages from God, just for me. I took one of them with me on an errand the other day; I knew I’d be standing in line for a while. I read through some of my previous dreams, and He gave me new insights into several of them. How this blessed my spirit! I rode home afterward, communing with Him, full of joy.

The Prophet Jeremiah’s words help us to embrace His words to us for what they truly are: nourishment. “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight…” (Jer. 15:16, NIV, emphasis mine). There’s that word again, too – joy!

Do you realize that God would never ask us to do something incongruent with reality? He gives us the joyful instruction, “Delight yourself in the Lord,” because His personality is, in reality, blissfully delightful! As a result, everything He has to say is infinitely life-giving. When we truly come to know how delicious and strengthening His words to us are, they will innately become our joy and our heart’s delight, just like they were for Jeremiah. We, too, will want to consume them enthusiastically as soon as they come.

Would you like to cultivate this kind of passion for God’s communication with you? Then a journal is indispensable. Writing down what He shows you expresses to Him that His words are the delight of your soul. You know how, when you truly listen to someone with your full, loving attention, they end up talking more and more? Daddy God is the same way. If you want to hear more of His heart, practice listening by literally taking notes on what He says to you.

As this series of posts continues, we will continue to specifically apply this principle to the area of God-given dreams. Today, I’d like to give you a few helpful pointers to get you started.

1. Start each new dream on a new page of your journal. This is helpful in two different ways: one, it makes them easier to find in the future. And two, it usually means leaving an empty space at the end of each recorded dream; where you finish writing, there’s still room left. You don’t want to start jotting down the next dream in that space; you intentionally need to leave it blank. If you happened to fill up the whole page with the dream, then there’s no empty space at the end. In that case, leave a whole page blank in between it and the next entry you start. Here’s why:
2. When you obediently write the dream down, the interpretation may start to flow. This is what you will use the empty space for at the end. Whether it’s in that same sit-down with God, or a future one, He is going to give you insights into the dream. You need the room to add them in, so the dream plus the interpretation can together become a reference package in your journal. You will look back on both with satisfaction and gratitude in the future.
3. Sometimes, however, the understanding will come later. This depends almost entirely on God’s mind-blowing timing. I have been absolutely amazed, over and over again, at how perfect His scheduling is. He always gives the interpretation exactly when I need it. This may be the same day I received the dream, or months later, or years later. Don’t let it bother you when the dream remains a complete mystery for a long time. “For the vision is yet for the appointed time… it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come…” (Hab. 2:3, NASB).

In future posts, I will share with you more tips I have learned along the way on my dreaming journey… stay tuned!

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Have you ever suddenly understood a dream that you had quite some time prior?