In the beginning…
God would speak to His people through their dreams and give the gift to interpret them.
Dreams are a popular theme in Holy Scripture and God used them to communicate to His people. Do you ever wonder, does God continue to guide us today through our dreams?
Visions of the Night
Do we recall our dreams? There are theories on their biological function and many things can affect them. Social stimulation and stress may have a major influence in our dreams. Perhaps while we sleep, we release emotions we’ve been holding back. Some feel their dreams promote creativity.
Considered a natural phenomenon, one might question, could our dreams be a venue for supernatural activity? In midst of the year of his celebration, let’s reflect on one Holy man of prayer and his influential dreams.
Saint Joseph | Father of Faith
St. Joseph likely had dreams of his own, yet he adjusted his whole life to conform to the will of God. He was a profoundly spiritual man and responded courageously to his most important call. His humility and quiet nature enabled him to understand with clarity the precise instructions revealed to him by an angel in his dreams.
Joseph never utters a word in Holy Scripture, yet his actions speak volumes. In the first 2 chapters of Matthew’s gospel records 4 effective dreams in which Joseph responds in radical obedience. Each timely dream was a directive to protect the most Holy Family and was incredibly disruptive to any plans of his own.
In the first dream, the angel tells Joseph to fear not and take the Virgin Mary as his wife though she was with child. Believing in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, and truly knowing ‘Nothing is impossible with God’, he faithfully accepts her in his home.
His second dream occurs after the birth of Jesus. Joseph is told to flee to Egypt immediately for safety from Herod’s murderous plans. Without delay, he gathers his young family and travels to a foreign land. In total trust, Joseph obeys the heavenly messenger.
After some time, the angel appears again in a dream informing Joseph of Herod’s death. He is told to take his Family back to Israel. While enroute, he is once more redirected to a safer way into Galilee, confirming his own perception of the dangerous rule in Israel at the time.
St. Joseph was a man of prayer and a man of action. God knew his heart before sending him angelic dreams. He knew Joseph was the right man for the important job of protecting His Heavenly Family and raising His only begotten Son.
God knows our hearts just as well!
Dreams from God
In His consistent love for us, why wouldn’t God continue to use dreams to communicate with His people? Dreams consist of all aspects of our lives including our spiritual being. They can reveal good insight or warn us of impending misfortunate. A repetitive dream might indicate a stress related issue, or we may graciously receive a sense of peace or joy in a warm and memorable dream.
Is this message really from God? When in doubt, prayerful discernment should be applied. Is the dream directing us in love and for the better good? Thankfully today, we have faith-filled friends and trusted advisors for spiritual direction. If it’s from God, He will surely make it clear, just as He did in ancient times.
As we celebrate Fathers’ Day, we honor St. Joseph for his fine example of
selfless authentic fatherhood!
Blessings to all fathers and may they turn to him as their role model!
Sweet Dreams to all!
Until our next walk through the garden
-Anne
On a personal note, if I may, I offer a special prayer for my Dad who was named after St. Joseph, also a carpenter and in his good nature fathered 8 of us kids. This one’s for you Daddy-O. I’ll see you in my dreams…
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