What a stressful week! On Monday I couldn’t find my hotel room, Tuesday I couldn’t find the exit out of the mall where my car was parked; and yesterday, I couldn’t find my car in a parking structure. After a six hour search, I called it quits and awoke from my dream exhausted and frustrated.
Yes, these were all dreams and over the past months my dreams are centered on being lost. I’ve never given much credence to dreams, but I wonder if the repetitive theme of these dreams represent insight into my own personal or spiritual struggles.
In Old Testament times God spoke to people through dreams; they were symbolic, and prophets of God were called to interpret their meaning. On the surface Biblical dreams seem ridiculous. Consider Pharaoh’s dream of seven cows that ate seven other cows, or, the dream that seven ears of corn ate another seven other ears of corn. Yet, when these bizarre dreams were interpreted, they saved Egypt from starvation. (Genesis 41:15-48)
Does God speak to us in dreams today?
I can’t confirm God speaks to us symbolically in dreams. What I do know, from personal experience, is God ministers to us 24/7 in the following ways:
1) Scripture; it is the scale of discernment.
2) The Holy Spirit; it is the scale that keeps our feelings and emotions in check.
Perhaps repetitive dreams are night parables that indicate underlying issues in need of a resolution. There are times I have been awakened from sleep and found myself praying aloud. My mom speaks of dreams that call her to intercede in prayer for someone she knows. Weeks or months later, she learns that person was in need of heavenly intervention at that precise moment in time. Was it just coincidence? That is for you to decide.
Our creator does nothing in vain.
God created us to dream. For that reason alone, I have come to accept that dreams serve a divine purpose; even though, I may never understand why. The mysteries of God continue to astound me. Dreams are just one of the many ‘awe’ factors associated with the Creator of the Universe. A Steven Curtis Chapman song sums it up like this:
“God is God and I am not. I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting. God is God and I am man, So, I’ll never understand it all. For only God is God.”
Let’s consider my non-prophetic dream interpretation.
Although the scenes and characters in my recent dreams change, the underlying theme remains constant; I have lost my sense of direction. And you know what? That’s exactly how I feel about my life right now. I have projects parked everywhere as I determine the future direction of my company. Ideas lurk behind doors I’ve yet to open and previous goals have moved to new, unknown locations.
Dream: I can’t find the right door to my hotel room. Interpretation: I’m not sure which door to open.
Dream: I can’t find the right exit at the mall. Interpretation: I’m uncertain how to move on to the next stage of my life.
Dream: I am lost in a multi-level parking structure. Interpretation: It’s time to forfeit my driver’s license, or maybe it’s time to simplify my life and find a parking spot that bears my name.
Life can be chaotic and all the changes, choices, decisions and interruptions leave us little time to be attentive to signs that can warn, direct and bring us growth. Perhaps sleep is the only time God has a chance to grab our attention and He uses dreams as the mode of communication.
