When God Speaks Through Dreams
Dreams have the power to scare, bring joy, hope, confirmation, warnings, and even insight into the future.
Satan can come to attack us in our dreams, whether through our own doing from open doors (unrepentant sin, ungodly beliefs, etc.) we have allowed in our lives, or from spiritual attacks because of what we are doing for the Lord. On the flip side, God can also come (and often does if we are paying attention) and speak to us through our dreams, giving us warnings, confirmations, encouragement, addressing sin, or revealing the future.
In fact, there are over 50 instances in the Bible in which God appeared to people in their dreams/visions for various reasons. Below are just a few examples we see in scripture.
God warned Abimelech in Genesis 20:3-7 not to touch Abraham’s wife, Sarah.
Nebuchadnezzar was given dreams about a statue (Daniel Chapter 2) and a tree (Daniel 4:5-17) that revealed the future.
An angel appeared to Joseph (husband of Mary) in a dream and told him not to fear and that Mary’s pregnancy was brought about by Holy Spirit in Matthew 1:20-24.
God revealed the future to Joseph (son of Jacob) in Genesis 37:5-10 by giving him a dream in which his family bowed down to him.
Paul was told in a vision from the Lord not to be afraid but to go on speaking and not be silent in Corinth in Acts 18:9-10.
God came to Laban in a dream in Genesis 31:24 and told him not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.
The other week, I had a dream that I know was from the Lord for me, and I also feel strongly that the message is for the body of Christ.
This dream I had was about labor and delivery. Now, if you’re a man reading this and you see the words “labor” and “delivery” and you want to stop reading, DON’T. These types of dreams are just as much for the men as they are for the women, and I’ll explain why after I share my dream.
This dream is one that I feel the Lord wants me to share with my brothers and sisters in Christ, to encourage and remind them of what the Lord wants to do and is doing in his children.
In my dream, I was pregnant and with family at a park. I began experiencing labor pains and knew I was about to give birth. While at the park, someone approached me and presented two locations/options for the labor and delivery.
I immediately saw myself at a hospital, where I was receiving medication to subdue the labor pains. I was in a comfortable bed, with the thermostat set to the exact temperature I desired. Since I was in a private room, I got to choose who I wanted in there with me, and I chose only those I felt safe around. I was also protected from the outside elements. All the equipment and doctors needed were there in case something went wrong. It was clearly a very safe, comfortable, and somewhat easy location. With the door closed, I felt somewhat hidden away from the world.
I was then taken from this “safe” hospital room and brought to the second location. It was the beach, but it wasn’t the sand; it was the actual ocean and its waves that were presented to me to give birth in. In the dream, I was vocalizing my concern about the waves and the ocean's coldness, and how that would affect the baby. I was told the baby would be perfectly safe.
I remember feeling hesitation as I thought about being in the cold water. There would be no “ideal” nor “comfortable” temperature like what was available in the hospital room. Here, it would be somewhat cold and uncomfortable, from what I could see. The waves around me brought uneasiness and a sense of chaos and lack of control.
There were also bystanders, strangers who had come to the beach that day, who were now staring at me with confused faces as they watched this pregnant woman, clearly in labor, look like she was getting ready to give birth in the ocean. The sky was dark, as if a storm were forming above, and from an earthly perspective, it all seemed to scream, “Choose the hospital!” BUT IN MY SPIRIT, I longed for the ocean instead—the adventure of something not done before and the draw of something more. And although the ocean, crashing waves around me, and the dark sky above made it seem as if danger lay ahead, I felt nothing but peace that this was where the Lord wanted me. So I chose the ocean, got onto a stretcher, and was carried farther into the sea. Then I woke up.
Although this dream may sound strange to some, the Lord has shown me over time that many dreams related to pregnancies, labor, or births are symbolic and spiritual representations of different stages the Lord is taking someone through, and it’s not just women, but men as well. It’s a season of transition and newness, and each stage represents a different part of where the Lord is taking someone or something. It also reflects how the enemy may try to attack us at different stages.
The first stage is conception.
This is where an idea or thought is formed. You feel that tug and stirring that the Lord is doing something. Things inside you feel unsettled; there’s a draw toward more. A passion stirs, and excitement fills the air with the possibilities of what could be. It’s a seed being planted, but not 100% sure what it will entirely bloom into. However, it’s also where the enemy comes to try and destroy that seed before it can even begin to take root. The anxiety of not even knowing where to begin, and the questioning of one's own capabilities and skills to accomplish the task. This is all the enemy’s tactics to squash the life the Lord is birthing in us before it even gets a chance to breathe.
This is exactly what the enemy tried to do at the birth of Moses when Pharaoh demanded that all the Hebrew boys be killed. Exodus 1:22 “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, 'Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
But the Lord was there, guiding and directing Moses’s mother so that the seed of freedom for God’s enslaved people would be lived out through Moses as planned.
If you’re in this conception season and feel that stirring or are starting to take those first few steps, keep going! God calls the unqualified to fulfill His plans, so stop focusing on YOUR lack of abilities, because it’s God who wants to shine HIS capabilities through you so those around you know it’s only God who could have done it!
The second stage is the pregnancy.
This is the time of building. The excitement of that idea wanes. It seems there may even be silence at times, and the journey can be long and tiring. The support that was there at the beginning seems to have gone astray, or the opposite: now the support is questioning and maybe even telling you to quit what you’re doing because they feel it isn’t from the Lord.
You need to understand that what you do in the building/pregnancy phase will determine what you will give birth to. Where’s your mind and what’s your behavior when the miracles aren’t happening, the doors seem to be closing, and you feel as though you’re standing all alone? This is where the enemy comes in to discourage.
We see this with Joseph in the book of Genesis. God gives him the dream of his family bowing down to him, but years later, we see him in prison from false accusations and looking like he may stay there forever, or worse, be killed. But God was building in him character, perseverance, skills, and hope before the ultimate birthing of the plans God had for Joseph. It was what God did during this building stage that allowed Joseph to become second in command in Egypt and save the entire nation from famine.
If this is the stage you're in, remember what God is telling you to do. Don’t stop pressing in and moving forward, as it says in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
The final stage is the birth.
This is the time when promises are fulfilled, and deeper, more intimate levels with the Lord are reached. I knew from this dream that the Lord was saying to prepare for what He wants to “birth” in me in the current season of life I’m in, which has included struggles and attacks brought by the enemy.
I also felt strongly in my spirit that God is preparing to do the same thing in the overall body of Christ. I see so many in a laboring stage, ready to birth what God has been planning. I see individuals around me and around the world stepping into unknown, uncharted territories, which makes life feel uncomfortable, uncertain, and unfamiliar. I watch as the enemy does all he can to hinder and cause a breach in what is about to come.
If satan can’t stop the conception, pregnancy, and birth from taking place, then he’ll do his very best to stop the birth from being known, keeping it from becoming an eternal impact on the multitudes. Satan tries to convince the person(s) not to go all the way. Take the shortcut so you don’t feel all those labor pains. Stay in the hospital room where it’s comfortable, safer, and only with those people you know; don’t expose yourself, the enemy says in his lies. Stay hidden where it’s a little easier, where no one can see you, and where there is no fear of man.
But God is clearly saying, “No”. Step out and go the whole way. Walk into the deep waters with the waves crashing around you and trust in Him, even as strangers stare, questioning whether what’s taking place will actually bear fruit and last. Because it’s in the deep waters, where we fully trust and depend on the Lord, that the power of God moves. It’s when we get out of our “earthly” mindset, comfort, and security in our abilities, and instead choose to be led by the Spirit, surrendering to God’s will, ways, timing, and process that the Lord will move in mighty ways.
Remember, God often works in new and unexpected ways, as He says in Isaiah 43:15-19. “I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.” This is what the Lord says— He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
When the body of Christ pushes through and finally births what God conceived within them, marriages will birth new life into things the enemy destroyed and tried to kill. Believers will begin to use their voices in new ways, or for the first time, as God stirs a yearning for truth. God's kingdom is established as darkness is driven out. Organizations that bring full freedom, protection, and life are born.
I know and am personally walking and stretching in ways I didn’t think I could, but where we’re headed is undeniably God-ordained.
I see the Lord’s hand upon myself, and those in the body of Christ, and what is getting ready to be birthed. It’s beautiful, powerful, life-changing, earth-shifting, and will only continue as we walk in confidence in the ocean, wearing the armor of God, surrendering it all, knowing what He wants and is about to do in our marriages, families, workplaces, communities, governments, and nations.
So don’t let that idea die and fade away! Don’t let the closed doors, silence, or feeling of being alone stop the building! Don’t let the awkward stares and rough seas stop the birth from taking place!
"See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it." (Deuteronomy 1:21)
But please be aware that when the birthing is complete, you must continue to STAY in the ocean and resist the temptation to return to the “hospital” of control and comfort.
Far too often, we can find ourselves settling after the long journey of conception, pregnancy, and birthing is through. We made it through, put in the hard work, and experienced God doing something amazing in our lives, only for the desires of comfort and control to return. We can start putting up walls, rules, and limitations designed to bring safety, comfort, and control, but they shut off what God wants to continue doing and stifle the fullness of His plan. Stay and go deeper in the water, release control, resist comfort, and allow God to do only what He can as you let Holy Spirit lead.
So I ask you:
What stage has God led you to in this season of life?
What is God stirring in you that you think would be impossible or goes against what you originally planned for your life, but you know God wants to conceive?
What have you been building that has grown weary, filled you with discouragement, and made you feel alone?
Who has come to the end of so much hard work and entered into the birthing stage feeling excited, but also a little fearful, if this God-ordained thing will be fruitful and multiply, and thoughts of taking an easier road are weighing on you?
Who has already gone through the birthing and now finds themselves out of the water, back in the “hospital” of safety, control, and comfort?
I want you to remember the God we serve, and that He wants nothing more than to see His will come to completion. So rebuke the spirit of fear, discouragement, doubt, comfort, and unbelief, and remember this.
Fear never parted the waters of the Red Sea, nor did it slay a giant with just a stone.
Fear never brought down the walls of Jericho or stopped a queen from risking her life to go uninvited before the king and ultimately save the lives of the Jewish people.
Fear never defeated an army of thousands with 300 men armed with clay pots and torches.
Fear never followed God’s call to go to a foreign nation and later become the father of children more numerous than the stars.
Faith did that!
As Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.”
So GO my brother and sister in Christ! Make way for the Lord to work and use you in ways you never dreamed. Don’t look back at the comfort of life you’ve had, because the adventure that awaits you God holds in his hands, and it will surpass anything your mind could ever comprehend!
Prayer: Lord, I praise you for the ways you desire to use me. That nothing in my life you find wasteful, but a part of my testimony that will be used to spread light in dark places. I repent, Lord, when I’ve pushed off your ideas due to fear. Or when I’ve taken an easier road for a feeling of security and safety. Or when I’ve birthed something amazing only to return to quench the spirit with walls, rules, and regulations. Father, I declare that I’m here to walk through the deep waters with you. I put down and surrender this earthly mindset of control, fear, and operating in my own abilities, and choose to instead be led by the Spirit, no matter what the cost, no matter what is shaking around me, no matter how long it may take, or what the process looks like. For I know that as you lead me blindly by ways I have not known, along unfamiliar paths, you will guide me, and turn the darkness into light before me, and will make the rough places smooth, for you will not forsake me, and I choose to walk by faith, not by sight. Amen.
Praying for you all!
Julie
