For it was our way to go onward; to go forward and to try to shape our world into something that would make our lives easier, even if more complicated. Our struggle was for time. Our leisure was bought from hardship, and we needed leisure to think, to dream, to create.”
–Louis L’Amour (Bendigo Shafter)
“But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.'”
–Matthew 1:20 (NKJV)
————————–
Put a marker in your Bible at Psalms. We not through, but I’m taking a break from the Psalms until 2021. I thought I’d spend a little time looking at the First Advent, and this holy season of Christmas.
Dreams! We all have them. I’m not sure of the science behind them; mostly I think they come from the things we eat before going to bed. I heard that Rod Serling (who was born on Christmas Day) would eat crazy things so he would dream, then would write them into stories for his Twilight Zone. Dreams may come from a taxing day, or stressful circumstance. Freud, (Fraud??) believed that dreams “represented a disguised fulfillment of a repressed wish. He believed that studying dreams provided the easiest road to understanding of the unconscious activities of the mind.”
We all dream, usually more than five dreams a night, very few of which we remember. My daughters have told me of strange dreams they had. They must think I’m an Oneirocritic. Now, how’s that for a term? An oneirocritic is someone who is able to interpret dreams. Most likely they have a lot of Freud (and fraud) in their background.
In the Bible, especially the Old Testament, we see that a number of people had dreams. Dreams can come from God, that I will not deny. When we look at the birth of Jesus we see the use of dreams (and I am not including visions). The magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod (Matthew 2:12). Joseph was spoken to twice through dreams. First, in regard to Mary and her pregnancy (Matthew 1:20-24) and again he was warned to flee Bethlehem to Egypt in a dream (Matthew 2:13). Since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit very little is said about dreams, except that we know Paul had them, and there is the prophecy of Joel mentioned by Peter, “And it shall come to pass in the last days…Your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17).
Dreams do not always come at night. I dare say that most of us spend time in day-dreams. Some may call it wishful thinking, others may call it “strategic planning” :-] But we do dream about things, about the way we wish things could be.
“The whole world needs, a Christmas dream,
We need it to warm us, to calm us, to love,
To help us to dream our Christmas dream!”
–Andrew Lloyd-Weber/Tim Rice
Perhaps you remember that lively little song, sung by Perry Como. It is a cheerful little song. This world is in a fix. There is turmoil, there is terror, there is fear–perhaps it would do us some good to dream a Christmas dream.
“Crazy things, said an’ done,
Every single day but one!
Every night should, I believe,
Be the same as Christmas Eve,
Nights should all be silent,
Days should all slow down,
And end to the hurry, the noise and the worry!
And I hope that you believe that too!
It’s Christmas!”
Quit the panic, put away the anxiety and enjoy Christmas. The season where we celebrate the birth of God’s Son and our Hope–the Savior. Oh, and if you think you have a dream from the Lord, check it out. Nothing in the dream will go against or add to the Bible; it will not confuse or bring fear into your life.