People are natural dreamers. We dream about possibilities in life. We dream about the outcomes of events in our lives. We dream about happy events as well as sad events. A woman might dream about getting married and raising a family. A person might dream about winning a sports event. College students often dream about graduation and the events afterwards.
So, dreaming about events is a common thing throughout the life of a person. We never get too old to dream. According to the Bible, dreams can come from one of three sources: God, ourselves, or evil. We know from the Bible that God loves to speak to his people through their dreams. He often speaks in a way that requires some understanding or interpretation. Other times he appears as himself to give the person a divine message.
The Bible is filled with key moments that hinge on a person’s dreams or vision. How did people in the Bible understand these moments, and what can we learn from these events? The Book of Genesis describes an event about Jacob which said that he “awoke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” Jacob dreamed that he saw a vision of angels going up and down from heaven. Later, Jacob refers to his dream and calls it an apocalypse.
There are times when our dreams are so revealing that we feel compelled to act on the vision because it moved us in the promise of something better for us in life. Civil Rights activist, Dr. Marin Luther King Jr, in his iconic “I have a Dream” speech, describes the founding promises of America and the nation’s failure to keep those promises. It was a call for equality. It identified the faults of America and what measures were needed to make it a better place.
Your dream might very well be crucial to society. It could be a call to action for yourself or your family or a catalyst for a better life. Whatever your dream, it can reveal something you may want to pursue.
Remember, your dreams are personal. They belong to you and no one else. Your life is yours to shape and only you can make your dreams a reality. Don’t confuse dreams with fantasies. Fantasies are almost always impossible, but dreams are attainable.
Many of us let our dreams stay just dreams. We never act upon them or invest the time to pursue them. Soon, they no longer seem obtainable. I encourage you to pursue your dream. Remember, the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Take that first step and Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up.
By Dr. Walter Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
