A Dream Explained

"Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

⁹Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset--rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMP)"

I've mentioned before here that God talks to me through dreams sometimes. One of the frustrating things to me about dreaming God dreams is that often times, I have this dream, and I clearly remember all the parts, but I'll be dipped if I know what it means. I've written many of them down, some not at all, and there are some that I think about often, asking God to show me what they mean. Well, yesterday morning when I woke up for church, I quickly thought about the dreams I'd had, deciding if any of them were important and needing to be remembered, and then proceeded to get ready for the day. As I went about making coffee, I asked God once again if He could show me some of the meanings behind my dreams. There's one in particular that I know has real significance, but I suspect it could be one that the meaning will hold off for years. Yet I still ask God to reveal Himself to me. It's all in His timing that the answers will be there. But yesterday morning, as I sat in church, listening to a great sermon, I had one of my answers that I had been waiting for. *Grins*

Here is the dream I had a few weeks ago, as I wrote it then:

I had a dream that I was walking in our backyard, where there was a lovely garden with lots of foliage. I was walking with Zander and Andy's parents, we were talking nicely, enjoying the garden, when suddenly, in the bushes there was a cougar. And the cougar started growling and eyeing us up. I saw him through the bushes, and the second I saw him, he leaped out, aiming for Zander. I placed myself between the cougar and my son, and the cougar jumped on me instead. He kind of gnawed on my arm, but didn't draw blood. He pulled back, and then went for my chest instead. I remember Andy's parents just watching in horror, not knowing what to do, and my determination that no matter what, this cougar was not going to get my son. At that moment, I felt the presence of God on me in my dream, and I commanded the cougar to sit in the name of Jesus. And it did. And then I commanded it to lie down, walk, sit again, much like talking to a dog, and it did all those things. Then we walked away from the cougar like nothing had happened.

Yesterday morning, Pastor had us turn to 1 Peter 4, and as I scanned the page next to it, 5:18 literally jumped off the page and into my mind. I read it, then re-read it, and then smiled and read a few more verses. Then I thanked God for showing it to me, marked my place and commenced paying attention to the sermon at hand.

My dream was about a cougar- also known as a mountain lion in some regions, and when I thought about what verse 18 was actually saying, and calling the devil a lion, I just knew that my dream was about the devil coming after us. That the devil is very much like a lion, hiding in the brush, blending in with its surroundings, just waiting for the right moment to pounce and catch its victim by surprise. And this warns me to be on guard- to step up the prayers for my family and continue in His Word so that I can be prepared when such attacks happen.

There's more here though. While the cougar itself is a warning to be on guard, there is also great encouragement here, because the cougar in my dream was gnawing on my arm with no results. The teeth were not drawing blood or hurting me in any way. Satan has no teeth. No real teeth anyways. He may jump out of the bushes all scary and frightening and try to devour us, but as a family of God, we are under His protection, and those teeth have no power over us. And as the dream went on, I began to command the cougar in the Name if Jesus, and it obeyed, and there also lies the secret for defeating the devil. It's God's Word. Jesus showed us how to defeat the devil in Matthew 4.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

¹⁰Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." Matthew 4:8-11

While it's not particularly encouraging to think about the devil stalking us, it is encouraging to know that he will not succeed in his attacks. If we stay firm in the Bible and with our time with God, we will have the tools necessary to send him away.

I am so thankful this morning for several things. I am thankful that God does talk to me in my dreams, and I am also incredibly thankful that he reveals to me what they mean at the correct time. I will continue to be vigilant with my prayers, and I will continue to devour God's Word. For by devouring God's Word every day, I will not be devoured myself.