Waking Up Thirsty
Have you ever had those dreams where you are very thirsty? In the dream you will do anything to get to water. You might even wake up and realize just how thirsty you really are. Your tongue is somewhat stuck to the roof of your mouth and all you can think of is how good it would be to drink from a tall glass of cool water, but you can’t make your legs move. Maybe you drift back to sleep and dream of finding a beautiful waterfall, plunging into a crystal-clear pool. You run to the water’s edge and just start drinking and it is as good as you imagined it would be but then you wake up, again, and realize you are still thirsty, maybe more so now.
Dreams can be strange, to say the least. Several years ago, I dreamt that I was trying to find my mom. I was an adult, and I was running as fast as I could, in a bit of a panic, really. It was imperative that I find her. I ended up running into a large auditorium. I could hear singing and I ran towards the music. I threw open the doors and there was Cher singing “If I Could Turn Back Time”. I ran back outside and fell down a very muddy, slippery slope. I was trying to claw my way back up, but the harder I tried, the further I would slip until I finally woke up. Whew! That dream was exhausting. I laid there for a few minutes trying to recall more details. I decided it was my mind’s way of processing some of my regret from my teen years. I was a terrible kid. I really was.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average person dreams four to six times per night. You might spend as much as 2 hours in dreamland over the course of a night’s sleep.
I have written about dreams before, but they are so fascinating. The mere fact that our computer would run its own program at night, making up scenarios and re-living pains and joys but in a way we don’t recognize…well, the Bible put it one way, “we are wonderfully made”.
Actually the entire verse says this, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” “Psalm 139:14 ESV
I found the following commentary this morning, and it touched me. “Being fearfully and wonderfully formed, the God of all glory knowns us, every cell. We live before Him, never apart from His near watchfulness. Our Creator, though unseen, is not removed, but has been the unparalleled presence in our lives. He is there even from the point of conception through gestation in the hidden place of His handiwork.” (Source: biblestudytools.com)
We are known by Him and we are deeply loved by Him. But back to those thirsty dreams. Where do they come from?
I found worldly views of dreams that focus on thirst. One suggestion is “that you are in complete control of your destination in life. You know well, on a deep level, what you really want to do.”
Ok?
Here is another worldly view, “You will be liked very much by someone who is going to introduce you and you must not lose track.”
Or, “Your energy and vitality will be very great today, so you should not waste them foolishly.”
And on the opposite end of that dream interpretation spectrum, (you know to cover all the bases), “You are in a current state of chaos and despair. You have lost your groove or have taken something for granted.”
One scientific hypothesis is that it is a way for us to act out unconscious desires in a safe or unreal setting. But if you really press them, even now in the 21st century science still is not sure why we dream. Isn’t that amazing? I submit we dream because our Creator programmed us to do as much.
There came a time when God quit walking and talking with humans in-person and began communicating in dreams.
We are studying the life of Joseph right now on Women in the Word. His life is such a fascinating story! Joseph was on both sides of the dreams.
When he was a teen, he had dreams which he did not understand. You can read about that in Genesis 37. He went on to interpret Pharoah’s dreams when he was 30 years old, and you can read about that in Genesis 41.
All dreams are not from God. Can I just stress that right here. For whatever reason, as our brains sort and store and refresh, we end up with some strange images. But there was a time when God communicating with humans through night visions.
There was Daniel. He often interpreted the dreams of kings. You can read more in Daniel chapter 7.
The earthly father of Jesus had a dream. “When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” Matthew 2:13 NIV
Even the wife of Pontius Pilate had a dream regarding Jesus, and she strongly urged her husband not to harm Him, or have anything to do with Him. She knew He was innocent. “While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” Matthew 27:19 NIV
Yes, there was a time when God communicated with humans through night visions and that time is coming again; yes, it is even here.
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; …in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Acts 2:17-21 ESV
My only prayer is that each of us call upon the name of the Lord. Call upon His name and be saved.
by Jeanette Stark - Friday, October 7, 2022