Sleep In His Peace!
"Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s
reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his
spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him"
Daniel 2: 1
In the Bible, dreams are mentioned more than eighty times, almost
all of them in the Old Testament. That should provide the clue as to
how God has used dreams. As more of His revelation came by the
Spirit and through the Word, the less frequent need to communicate
by dreams. But for a pagan world, dreams were often used by
God
to communicate His intent to rulers like Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2)
and Pharaoh (Genesis 41).
What should Christians make of dreams today? There's no
definitive answer, but some neuro-scientists believe dreams
are a brain’s way of consolidating and reviewing memories
(and experiences) in our life. Sometimes our dreams are
sweet and sometimes they are sour.
The more peaceful our thoughts and memories, the more likely
our dreams will be also. As the apostle Paul wrote, whatever is
true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and
praiseworthy, “meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
And as the psalmist prayed:
“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You
alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).
"We sleep in peace in the arms of God,
when we yield ourselves up to His providence."
François Fénelon
