The Hidden Power Behind the Dreams We Carry
Dreams are powerful things.
They stir the imagination, move history, and sometimes even reshape the future. This world came into being from the very mind of God. Of course, not every dream carries divine weight; some are fleeting, fanciful or forgotten by morning — yet others echo with purpose, calling us into something greater than ourselves.
Which leads us to the question:
What kind of dreams change the world, and what kind are given by God?
Idle dreams without action are entertaining but dreams with purpose and action should be taken seriously. It is these sorts of dreams that can change the world, for better or for worse. Without dreamers, there would be no wheel, no motorised vehicle, no railways, no nuclear power and no internet. Indeed, for better, for worse! Dreams do not belong exclusively to the clever but are the normal experience of every human being.
Better Things
What do you dream of if not better things? To dream is to open your imagination to possibilities. It can be the seedbed for motivating visions and movements. Here are some lines from three different dreamers that you will probably know:
‘I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life, worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die,
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted …
… Now life has killed the dream I dreamed (last line)’*
Do you think this from ‘Les Miserables’ is a positive or negative assessment of dreaming?
‘Imagine all the people, living life in peace
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one’**
This part of John Lennon’s dream for a world in peace and unity is wonderful so why is it no more than a nice tune?
‘I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal’***
Can this powerful dream from Dr Martin Luther King Junior be fulfilled or do you think it already has been?
Shot And Killed
Two of these dreamers were shot and it was apparently life that killed the first dream. Is this a reason not to dream? Or as William Shakespeare said in his famous soliloquy from his play ‘Hamlet’: ‘To sleep, perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.’
The significance of what is happening here is that Hamlet is contemplating suicide and uses ‘sleep’ as a metaphor for death. The ‘rub,’ or obstacle, is the uncertainty of what happens after death—specifically, the fear of what ‘dreams’ (or suffering) might come in the afterlife, which makes him pause and fear death.
Broken Dreams
A dream that others do not share can lead to assassination – there are many other examples throughout history. The emotion of hope embraces ‘better things’, so there is a destructive power to the human soul when these dreams become broken. People become dispirited, bitter and cynical. Irish poet William Butler Yeats warned us about this: ‘But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.’
Joseph And Daniel
You probably know about the dreams that Joe had that made him so unpopular! Relayed in the popular musical, ‘Joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat’, his dreaming got him into trouble with his brothers, but the narrator comments: ‘Some folks dream of the wonders they’ll do before they’re time on this planet is through. Some just don’t have anything planned, they hide their hopes and their heads in the sand.’ Joseph’s dreams were actually God-given insights and led to a nation having food during a famine time.
The prophet Daniel also had dreams that foretold the future affecting the nations. Whereas Mary and Joseph and the Apostle Paul, also had dreams and visions given by God, both Daniel and Joseph were able to interpret other people’s dreams.
Unscrambling Dreams
Whilst we know that there is a difference between daydreams and dreams of the night, it is less easy to know which dreams are fanciful and which have a special meaning. How on earth can we distinguish the ones with real power that are God-given from the scrambled nighttime ones that are common to most of us?
The Apostle John was given extraordinary visions of Jesus and of Heaven that you can read about in the last book of the Bible, Revelation – some will frighten, puzzle or inspire you. The Apostle Paul had dreams of Jesus, about heaven and even which country he should visit next that were to affect his life and many others. Paul’s teaching on this was that God-given dreams come from through the Holy Spirit and that it is through the Holy Spirit that they can be interpreted.
Dreams As Spiritual Gifts
There are some people in persecuted nations who have met Jesus through dreams. Never having heard of Him before, they have put faith in Him and become Christians. Paul reminds us that God is the giver of spiritual gifts such as dreams and prophecies – they are given to those who seek Him, not on the basis of intellect, wealth or human wisdom. These will build the church of Jesus Christ and help us to understand the present times as being ‘the last days’ before the return of Christ for all who trust in Him. It’s all there to read – for example see Acts 2:17-18, 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 and Luke 12:54-54.
- ‘God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame’ – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- ‘There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work … All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines’ – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6,11
What Is Your Dream?
Dreaming of a white Christmas is one thing but realising that, ‘The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight’ (O little Town of Bethlehem) is where you will find the power of God to meet your deepest needs. Why not ask God to reveal Himself to you – this is what He has been doing throughout the history of desperate humanity seeking salvation.
For further reading:
Here’s a contemporary worship song by Sarai Rivera ‘I give you my dreams’ as you think about this:
* The music of the song was written by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron, for the musical Les Miserables. The English lyrics were by Herbert Kretzmer, and is based on the French version by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel from the original French production.
** ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon
*** Speech given by Dr Martin Luther King Jr August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington. A call for equality and freedom, it became one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement and one of the most iconic speeches in American history.
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