“I Have a Dream”

“Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee.” Matthew 2:22b (NLT)

“I have a dream” is that memorable line from the civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, of his hope for a racially equal America. For him, it was such a powerful picture that he couldn’t just think it, but had to act on it. We all have dreams, but most are just wishes, pretty, nice thoughts. Although the vast majority of our dreams are simply fanciful desires, some are so compelling that they demand our actions. These kinds of dreams are what one might call visions.

Joseph, Jesus’ earthly step-father, was a man of dreams. Four times in the opening of Matthew, we are told how God used dreams as a way of directing him. (Matt. 1:20; 2:13, 19, 22) At each important junction, Joseph received divine instruction in the form of a dream. They were more than just “wishes”, instead, Joseph understood them to be clear authoritative “visions” of what he was to do. Thankfully, Joseph was a man who made dreams come true.

ONETHING: Commit to making the Lord’s dreams come true through faithful obedience.

Plus ONE: Adding the Habit of Faith to our life requires that we learn to respond to the Spirit’s leading in our life. Already, in our Bible reading we have encountered many different ways God speaks to us: in dreams, through the prophets (Jeremiah, Isaiah quotes), through the preaching of God’s word (John the Baptist), through instruction from godly parents (Proverbs 1:8). Discerning the Spirit’s voice must be followed by obedience to His leading. That is what “faith” is!

The challenge to faith is there too. As the serpent asks Eve, “Did God really say…?” (Gen. 3:1) She allows herself to become convinced that God said something he never did say. Further, Eve convinces Adam that he should eat what God told him not to. (Adam isn’t the first husband who listened to his wife instead of his Lord.)

Faith isn’t some kind of abstract “belief” system. It is a ruggedly practical sense of knowing what one ought to do and then having the courage to do it.