Dreams

Happy New Year's Eve. I hope that the last day of the year can be your best day of the year. I hope that you can focus on all of the positive things rather than the things that you failed to do. Like most of your New Years resolutions.

This morning, I want to talk a little bit about your dreams. Not your dream job, dream vacation or anything like that, but the dreams you have when you sleep at night. Weird topic right? I really didn't know what I was going to post about today until I started reading the book of Matthew. I just finished the book of Luke last night, so I figured Matthew was a great place to start. So in the first two chapters of Matthew, Joseph has two dreams.

Matthew 1:20-21: But after he has considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save people from their sins." 

This isn't a Christmas message, I want to focus on the dream and the idea that dreams are so important and that Spirit can communicate to us through them.

Matthew 2:19-20: After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Jospeh in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead." 

What is communicated in those verses is not what I want to talk about, the dream is what I want to focus on.

Reading these verses about dreams reminded me of two things that happened this summer. First, it takes me back to my time in China. When I was in China, we had a discipleship coach with us the entire time. His name was Gus. Gus was the absolute man. Gus is from Orange County California and I haven't met anyone in my life like him. His love for the Lord is so radiant and he is such a light to all. This man has been through so much and yet he praises the Lord like no other. So what does Gus have to do with dreams? Every time Gus prayed aloud for the team each night, he would pray that we would have good dreams and that God would protect our dreams. I had never in my life heard anybody pray about having dreams at night. At first I thought it was weird. I can't lie. Like who prays for dreams? As the three weeks went on the idea grew on me. Nearly every night in China we would switch roommates and one night I got to room with Gus. Before bed, he prayed for both of us, and like usual, prayed for our good dreams. It was such a sincere prayer in every way. The more and more I think about it, him praying for our dreams finally clicked. I started doing it and some pretty cool things happened.

Fast forward three months and it's August. I had said some prayers for good dreams but it has never really been a consistent prayer for me because I easily forget to add the part about good dreams. Side note: Next time you pray, pray that God protects your dreams and that you have good ones, it might seem a little weird but it's so cool. Okay back to August. I had been praying for my dreams and on August 9th I got a text from one of my friends.  (I have shared this before) He texted me and told me that he had a dream the night before the 9th (which was my birthday) that he had died and was going to heaven but he couldn't get there. He went on to tell me that I was right there beside him in that dream the entire time and that he new that I was there to help. In his dream he knew that the date was August 18th.  I asked him when he told me about it and if he believed in Jesus and he told me not yet. I asked him if he wanted to meet up on August 18th to talk and he agreed. We met up on that day, talked for a couple of hours and he ended up giving his life to Christ on that day. One of the greatest days of my life. God is so crazy good and so powerful. The Spirit allowed him to dream that night and his life was saved because of that. I know that God works in amazing ways, but how amazing is it that I learned about praying for your dreams, I prayed for dreams, and my friend had the most amazing dream and his life was saved? All within three months. Really puts me in awe. That is a perfect reminder to that we need to be patient with what God is teaches us and that we don't always see results right away. It takes patience.

Dreams. They're amazing. I hope and pray for all of your dreams and that God can be present in them and that they can change your life.

~ Happy NYE & Stay Safe ~