How much should we value our dreams?
In Genesis 40, Joseph interprets the dreams of his fellow inmates in prison. While his ability to interpret dreams accurately is certainly amazing, what strikes me more is the comment that he makes when asked to interpret the dreams. He says in verse 8, “Interpreting dreams is God’s business (NLT).”
This surprised me because many American Christians probably wouldn’t see spiritual significance in their dreams. We laugh at dreams and at dream dictionaries that offer Freudian analysis of the symbols of our dreams. But rarely do we see dreams as prophetic or for that matter, worth interpreting.
When Joseph later interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph tells him that a recurring dream means that the “events have been decreed by God (v.32 NLT).”
I have had recurring dreams, but I have never thought of them as decreed by God, and honestly, some of my dreams have been so ridiculous that they couldn’t possibly be re-enacted in real life. However, maybe if I interpreted my dreams more carefully, I would see how God revealed Himself in my dreams. I know that it seems that God spoke more through visions in the Old Testament than He does today, but how much value to dreams have to us now?
Tags: dreams, Genesis 40, Genesis 41, God, interpretation, Joseph, pharaoh, visions
